What with our recent re-design of the magazine, and our upgraded forums, we’ve got lots of achievements to celebrate this New Year, but we won’t be resting on our laurels. There are plenty more things we want to achieve in 2020!
We’re looking to the year ahead and thinking about what our touring resolutions will be for 2020. We asked our team and a few of our contributors what their resolutions are likely to be.
Whether it’s travelling further afield and being more adventurous, or re-visiting an old favourite you haven’t been to in years, this coming year offers the opportunity to get out in your ‘van all the more.
Claudia Dowell
It’s not so very long ago that my visits to Scotland numbered just one, to the Isle of Bute.
However, since my trip to Fort William in January a few years back – the journey was beautiful – and more recently, an autumn tour to Speyside and the Cairngorms, where the spectacular scenery simply took my breath away, I have become a bit of a fan of this beautiful part of the world.
This year, I want to visit Inverness. From there, I will be able to explore Loch Ness and the Highlands, look out for dolphins in the Moray Firth and enjoy the heritage and culture of a very cosmopolitan city.
And if time allows, I might even drive a little of the popular North Coast 500 route. There are plenty of great sites to choose from in that area, too.
Sarah Wakely
I’ve always wanted to return to the heart of the Alsace, in north-eastern France. I’ve been to Strasbourg, but never really explored the rest of the region, and in 2020 I’m hoping to make the dream come true.
I love touring in France, but the combination of stunning architecture, wealth of campsites and fantastic food makes Alsace my must-see destination.
Peter and Vera Whalley
A few months ago we lost our beloved Labrador, Harry. He was a wonderful companion. He loved exploring and could always sniff out the nearest boulangerie in France, pizza place in Italy or souvlaki shop in Greece. So, our New Year resolution for 2020 is to treat ourselves to a new Harry – or Molly!
Andrew Jenkinson
I must return to the North York Moors, a region that I haven’t been to for some years. Places such as Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay are superb to visit, as are the villages of Goathland and Hutton-le-Hole, made famous by TV series Heartbeat. And we won’t forget the Pickering Forest off-road trail – an exciting experience in itself, giving you the chance to test your cycling skills!
Nigel and Kay Hutson
I actually stopped making New Year resolutions several years ago, because I failed so miserably at keeping them.
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve resolved to lose weight, and yet here I am, still as rotund as ever.
But for 2020, Kay and I are making a joint resolution, and that is to visit at least one of the following – Lancashire, Ireland and/or Versailles. Let’s hope that we can keep it this time!
Bryony Symes
For years, I’ve been mulling over the idea of taking a trip to Santiago de Compostela. The rich history and evocative architecture of this small city are the perfect combination, and I could do with some Spanish sunshine!
I’ve visited northern Spain in a motorhome before, several years ago, but only had a couple of days to explore the Bilbao area, so I would love to spend time touring further west.
Peter Baber
This year I hope to fulfil a long-held wish to revisit the two European sites I worked on as a holiday rep in the late 1980s. I passed one of them, Camping Belchenblick in Germany’s Black Forest, a couple of years ago, but only in a car. The other, Camping Bella-Tola in the Valais in Switzerland, has so far proved to be just that bit too far away.
David Motton
In 2020, I want to get away more often. In particular, I want to go back to the far north of Scotland, somewhere I haven’t been on tour for more than 12 years. I’m not sure how I allowed that to happen! A trip north of the border is long overdue.
John Sootheran
For 2020, my resolution is to get back up to Scotland. Two of my top 10 best-ever holidays have been north of the border, and I’m determined to go there again. As a child, I went on a school Outward Bound trip to the Isle of Harris. It’s a long way from North Yorkshire to the Outer Hebrides on a prehistoric bus! But once we got there, I had the most amazing week in the hills above Auldearn, near Nairn, with family and friends.
Scotland is just incredible in almost every way, and if you’re a photographer, doubly so. There are great shots to be found wherever you look.
This time I’d like to do the west coast, possibly the entire North Coast 500 route. My motorhome-friendly route is already planned out.
Marcus Leach
As a family, our resolution for the coming year is to make the most of the UK, which we plan to do by embarking on a series of what we are calling micro-adventures.
All too often, we tend to be focused on places far away; but you don’t have to go for a long time, or indeed that far from home, to have a great holiday.
So why not join us in making 2020 the year of micro-adventures and help to showcase the very best of Britain?
Trish Deeley
My resolution is to keep trying new things! I have always had a bit of an adventurous streak, and having grandchildren seems to have brought it out even more.
So when I suggested to my 10-year-old granddaughter that she might like to try an indoor climbing wall, she naturally expected me to be beside her all the way. The wall rotates at different speeds (we chose slow) and tilts, which is fine when it is tilting away from you, but challenging on the fingernails when it tilts towards you. Such fun!
Simon Mortimer
My New Year resolution is to introduce my five-year-old daughter to the delights of a motorhome holiday. It needn’t be too far away, just as long as she can enjoy the magic of touring and sleeping under the stars.
Of course, there will definitely need to be a play park fairly close by, and probably somewhere to buy chips. But other than that, I think we should cope just fine!
Jenny Owen
For me, 2020 is going to be the year of mini-tours, with some long weekends away in the UK, visiting some of the small sites we have heard great things about. Cartref Caravan & Camping, near Shrewsbury, and Diamond Caravan Park in Oxfordshire are just two on a long list.
Now we just need to get out on the road and start ticking them off.
Gary Richardson
My resolution is to keep on touring, whatever the weather! It seems a shame to put the ‘van into storage at the end of autumn, especially with gloomy thoughts of a long winter without a weekend break in new surroundings.
Sam Johnson
We don’t really do resolutions. But if anyone in the team has made a resolution to learn to scuba dive, I would happily teach them.
Whether it's travelling further afield and being more adventurous, or re-visiting an old favourite that you haven't been to in years, this coming year offers the opportunity to get out in your 'van