Your essential source of travel news, and the chance to win a holiday

Finding a parking space is difficult enough in many places, but what amazes me is the lack of thought in designing caravan parking places at motorway services. For instance, last weekend I set off with van in tow, and stopped for a brew and a break at services. First, there were only a few spaces for caravans and all were occupied. It wasn’t even high season! So I had to park between a couple of lorries.
Second, the spaces provided were tight, with little room to manoeuvre, and situated miles from the services’ entrance. To make sure that the van’s never left alone we take it in turns for coffee and loo breaks, which is a bit frustrating for whoever’s left behind.
A little consideration for caravanners would go a long way, especially when you consider the money we fork out at these pricey stop-offs.

Rant over. I’ve been lucky enough to test a special sat-nav this month that I’ve been hankering after since mentioning it in our April issue. Aside from the usual bells and whistles, this one has a built-in camera. This two-mega-pixel effort won’t replace your digital camera on tour, but is great for taking snaps of hard-to-find places.
The S90i automatically stores the GPS co-ordinates for the image so you can navigate back there using the picture as a visual reference.
The snaps are well enough defined for easy recognition. And the cradle doesn’t obscure the lens, so places can be snapped as you drive.
I am just getting to grips with Navpix, the online photo library. From here you can download images of places that you’d like to visit, including campsites or gems from The Times Online’s album called Britain’s Best Kept Secrets.
It costs a steep £300, but if I had the cash I’d buy one.

Come July it will be ten years since we first saw our mugs staring back from photocard driving licences. Because of the photo, your licence needs to be updated every ten years, and 2008 is the first year that compulsory renewals come into effect.
Before your next trip, check the date that appears at 4b on your photocard licence. It costs £17.50 to renew – a lot less than the £1000 fine incurred if you’re driving with an expired licence. Also, once it runs out, your insurance is invalidated.
If you plan to go abroad with your van soon after renewing your licence, make sure that you leave time for identity documents, such as your passport, to be returned.

This year’s National Camping and Caravanning Week is from 24 to 30 May. I read more about it on the friendly club’s website; the event is to publicise how much fun our hobby is, although this is obvious enough to anyone who’s spent a summer’s night on site. This year it has a wild theme, so we’re being encouraged to camp in wild places and appreciate the wildlife that’s around us when we’re away.
If you’re going away on Saturday 24 May, as I am, then you can take part in The Camping and Caravanning Club’s audit to see how many people are enjoying wild places. If you don’t have time to get away that weekend, you can still take advantage of some money-saving deals. Go to www.nccw.co.uk/specialoffers for a list of deals from retailers on discounted equipment to use on your next trip.

  Your essential source of travel news, site reviews, accessories and events

Your essential source of travel news, site reviews, accessories and events