Paradise is just a ferry ride away and we’re whisking you away with us to Jersey in our Practical Caravan Summer Special. Bryony Symes explores the stunning beaches and rich history of the island and enjoys a taste of France while she’s there.

Our cover stars this month are Bryony and photographer Dave LF Smith, with the Mitsubishi ASX and Adria Altea Forth in Jersey. It was Bryony’s first visit to Jersey and she says, “We drove up the west coast of the island, along the vast length of St Ouen’s Bay, and couldn’t resist pulling over to take in the view.’

Once you’re on the island it’s easy to go on to explore gorgeous Guernsey, Alderney, Herm and Sark with a little help from our special guide to the Channel Islands. 

While we’re talking about perfect sandy beaches and caravan holidays, don’t miss Mike Le Caplain’s tale of his fantastic family-friendly seaside holiday in Scarborough, on North Yorkshire‘s east coast. 

We’ve a Walking Special in the latest issue of Practical Caravan, too. Enjoy Mick and Elaine Statham’s tales of the best walks in the Lleyn Peninsula in wonderful wild Wales. Mick also shares his 10 best caravan sites for walking holidays all around Britain, France, Croatia and Italy. Then Caroline Mills decides to walk her way back to fitness during her caravan holiday in the Peak District. Hiking is a joyful experience for so many of us, provided we have the right walking kit – and James Stanbury shares his top 10 walking gear essentials in our latest magazine.

Next we explore the 16 counties right in the Heart of England, from the picture-perfect Cotswolds villages to the bustling metropolis of Birmingham, the industrious Black Country, genteel Henley-on-Thames and cultured Oxford. Here in central England we find 10 great caravan sites and memorable things to do near each of them.

The new Practical Caravan competition offers a chance to win a new inflatable porch awning from Outwell, worth £699. Read more about the awning in the magazine and enter the competition online by 12 August, 2015. 

In Stacie’s super savers there are two attractive Practical Caravan reader offers. Add colour to your caravan’s cupboards with a selection of melamine cups in rainbow hues, using our special 20% discount code for online retailer Loving Home. You can also take advantage of our 5% discount with Comfort Insurance, again quoting the discount code on page 17 of the magazine.

‘Owning a Cheltenham gave the impression that you knew your caravanning onions,’ says Andrew Jenkinson, who reports from the Cheltenham Owners’ Club’s 65th anniversary rally. For this month’s ‘Me and my caravan‘ feature he meets eight devoted owners of this distinctive classic caravan, an absolute luxury brand in its day. 

Fresh from the latest 2016 caravan launches, our globe-trotting Test Editor Mike Le Caplain brings us exciting showroom news. He reviews the new Compass Corona 564, with its twin lounges, the twin-axle Swift Elegance 630 and the new Coachman Pastiche 575/4 with its transverse island bed. He looks at where these models sit in the latest line-ups and assesses how they compare.

Nick Harding tests the Inaca Jeroboam porch awning for this month’s new awning review. Find out its vital statistics, optional extras and specification in Practical Caravan’s new awning test.

Not everyone wants to attach an awning to the caravan, so this month James Stanbury tests a range of day tents and shelters that make versatile alternatives to the traditional caravan awning.

Tow car tester David Motton gets his hands on the latest Land Rover Discovery Sport SD4 HSE Auto this month and wastes no time at all hitching it up to a 2015 Swift Challenger SE 645 and putting it through its paces on the test track. Find out how this mighty car handles the chicane in our lane-change test, emergency stops, hill starts and more in the full Practical Caravan Land Rover Discovery Sport tow car test.

David also brings us his Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer tow car test. This handy 2-litre 4×4 estate costs £31,009 and is a new addition to our long-term fleet. Find out how it coped with our rigorous test in the Summer Special.

Our used tow car buyer’s guide looks at the Mazda 6 made between 2002 and 2007, and Russ Smith gives advice on what to look for if you’re thinking of buying this Japanese tow car.

Finally, we bring you loads of practical advice on caravanning, with John Wickersham’s guide to buying a used caravan and Nigel Hutson’s DIY caravan mechanic tips on how to fit Al-Ko side-lift jacking points. Then we compare used end-kitchen two-berth caravans you can buy for less than £9000 and bring you our used caravan buyer’s guide to the Sprite 2012 range. 

We hope you enjoy Practical Caravan’s Summer Special – it’s in the shops now!