English villages are beautiful, and in our October issue we explore 38 of them! Bryony Symes sets off to visit Suffolk’s finest locations, then she and Claudia Dowell discover England’s unspoilt ‘Stone Belt’ villages, from the Cotswolds to the Midlands and the East of England. From inns to village fairs and local produce, we celebrate the best that English village life offers visitors.
September marks the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain – the epic fight between our heroic airmen and squadrons of would-be invaders – the turning point in WW2. See Spitfires and Messerschmitts and visit Fighter Command and follow in the footsteps of the few with our Battle of Britain tour this month.
Next we head right to the heart of England for a selection of 10 great sites and 10 things to do there. In this feature we find out where to stay and what to expect when you visit a chocolate heaven, an apple and ale festival, go hunting for pumpkins or brave the dizzy Heights of Abraham.
Motorhome of the Year Awards 2015
From micro-campers to spacious A-class motorhomes, we’ve tested a wide variety of campers in Practical Motorhome. It’s nearly time for our judges to decide which of this year’s finest motorhomes will be crowned the winner of our annual Motorhome of the Year Awards 2015!
But first, this month we are proud to reveal the shortlist. We’ve picked three hot contenders to battle it out in each category: best for innovation, best rising-roof camper, best high-top van conversion, best budget motorhome under £40,000, best compact motorhome, best family motorhome, best coachbuilt motorhome and best luxury motorhome. Read the October issue of Practical Motorhome to see the cream of the crop in each category – and we’ll reveal all the winners and crown one superb overall winner next month! (In the meantime, you can see last year’s winners here.)
New motorhome reviews and previews
Autumn heralds a harvest festival of exciting new motorhomes that have just been unveiled for next year, as we report in our October magazine. We bring you the news from top motorhome brands in our 14-page ‘2016 New models preview‘, part three. Read all about Auto-Trail‘s V-Line ambitions, three new models from Elddis and the return of Fleurette and Florium to the UK. Big brand Hymer decides that small is beautiful too, and Rapido makes changes across its ranges for 2016, and adds four new models to its Itineo brand. Roller Team offers a new choice of base vehicles, Britain’s biggest brand Swift launches new models and refinements, and Tribute designs a new double-lounge six-berth.
We’ve tested a selection of new motorhomes in this issue, too. Editor Niall Hampton reviews the Auto Campers Day Van, an elevating-roof camper, which we also used for our Grand Tour this month.
Need something bigger? Read our Adria Sonic Supreme I 710 SL review to find out how Adria‘s brand new 2016 portfolio-topper aims to match the cream of European A-class motorhomes.
For those with deep pockets it’s possible to specify a bespoke motorhome and this month we test the RS Motorhomes Endeavour R230G. Our test ‘van is a wheelchair-friendly six-berth palace-on-wheels, which shows off the versatility of the makers.
If you’re searching for advice on finding great used motorhomes for sale, don’t miss this month’s used ‘van challenge. British motorhome manufacturer Auto-Trail has always specialised in mid-sized and larger models and now Nick Harding compares three ‘vans at three price-points from its varied fleet.
If you aspire to own a German motorhome, don’t miss this month’s used ‘van buyer’s guide to the Knaus Sun TI that were built on the Renault Master base vehicle between 2005 and 2010. Our expert tells you which of these Knaus models are the best, what to pay and any problems to avoid.
Win a foodie day out
We’ve a brand new competition for you to enter and we think it will appeal to your tastebuds! In the October issue Stacie is offering a chance for 10 couples to win free tickets to the Autumn Food and Country Fair at the East of England Showground in Peterborough. The event takes place on Sunday 11 October and you’ll need to enter online here from 28 August to 23 September. Good luck!
If you missed out on winning tickets to mid-October’s NEC Motorhome & Caravan Show 2015 last month, don’t despair. There’s a special offer in the October issue – check out the magazine for your ticket discount code on page 18.
We think you deserve only the best camping accessories available, so we’ve tested a dozen portable camping barbecues this month. Read our expert’s reviews to decide which barbecues are the best to make your touring sizzle with flavoursome fun.
At Practical Motorhome we love hearing from you, our readers. This month you can read a great selection of letters, photos and comments from you in our ‘Talk’ section, from memories of camping as a child to a plea from a fellow motorhome driver for slower ‘vans to pull over now and then. And we sign off with a ‘Tour that changed my life‘ by reader Jan Wood, who discovered the joys of road trips after hiring a motorhome in Australia.
Don’t miss the October issue of Practical Motorhome – it’s a huge 164-page bumper issue and it’s on sale in the shops now!
See Spitfires and Messerschmitts and visit Fighter Command with our Battle of Britain tour this month