Practical Motorhome June 2008
The Caravan Club's Certificated Location (CL) of the Year Awards are the annual Oscars for the five-'van site industry. There are now some 2500 privately-owned, minimum facility sites operating under the banner of the Club.
The top three site owners, voted for by the Club's 370,000-strong membership, are rightly honoured in high-style with a trip to Westminster for their 15 minutes of fame.
Margaret Hodge, Minister for Culture, Creative Industries and Tourism handed out the gongs and this year's proud overall winners were Ian and Janet Kelly for their Birch Hill site in Ellesmere, Shropshire. They took over the site in 2002, which they describe as "a wildlife haven with a superb local bakery nearby." Other categories include Best CL for Fishing, won this year by Cottington Court Farm CL in Deal, and Most Picturesque CL, a prize taken this time by Oaklea CL in Woodhall Spa. As our feature on p53 shows, CLs (and the 1280-or-so similar sites that are certificated by Caravan Club rivals the Camping and Caravanning Club) are some of the finest locations for any campers wanting to 'go back to nature'. Many of them are set in idyllic, rural locations on farms and country estates, with wildlife teeming around them in all the many forms that make the British countryside such a big draw. The British tourist industry is worth £85bn each year, and 80 per cent of that comes from us Brits. And, with the recent opening of Heathrow's Terminal Five drawing all the wrong kind of attention right now, it's an advert for camping in the UK.
This, then, is an issue that celebrates motorcaravanning in Britain's finest natural environments, drinking in everything from wild camping (p53) to whale watching (p66).
Enjoy the issue!
 • Stop press: I've just heard that Lowdham Leisureworld's Reading branch, formerly Colins Leisureworld, has begun to stock new and used motorhomes now that Jeremy Symonds is at the helm as general manager. For details of Knaus, Autocruise and Swift Freestyle ranges, give Jeremy a ring on 0118 971 2424.

Rob Ganley,
Editor

Sarah Wakely
Deputy Editor

Ben Davies
Sub Editor

Philip Curry
Technical writer

Bob McDowell
Planning Director

Elizabeth Paterson
Art editor

Rob Ganley
Editor

Sarah Wakely
Some squirrels kept pinching our food when we were staying on a Forest Holidays site in the New Forest – but seeing them so close up made the inconvenience worth it!

Ben Davis
On a trip to Iceland, our photographer disturbed some nesting Arctic terns. Suffice to say, his top was a different colour by the time he returned to the 'van.

Phil Curry
I came across a stag once, while driving along a Scottish single-track road. I couldn't get past him for ten minutes – it caused quite a traffic jam behind me!

Bob McDowell
My young kids love the Forest Holidays campsites, where New Forest ponies wander freely though the woodland parks. They're not truly 'wild', but are very engaging.

Elizabeth Paterson
The west coast of Scotland – it was there, in July, that I was fortunate enough to see porpoises swimming. It was an incredible experience.

Rob Ganley
While driving through Australia, an emu burst from the bush next to the road, then sped off. A second emu emerged, stared at us briefly, then ran after its mate. Wow!

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Practical Motorhome
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July 08 issue on sale Wednesday 21 May 08.