The Caravan Club at The Boat & Caravan Show
THE CARAVAN CLUB SHARES THE SECRETS OF A GREAT BRITISH HOLIDAY – OUR FAVOURITE SIGHTS, SOUNDS, TASTES AND SMELLS
Prepare for your perfect summer holiday with The Caravan Club at The Boat & Caravan Show, 22-27 February 2011, NEC Birmingham
Nothing beats a happy, memorable holiday. Imagine a warm evening, the sun is setting and you are sitting in a deckchair outside your caravan with a chilled glass of something. The children are playing and laughing in the fresh air, the birds are singing and the smell of freshly mown grass helps you to relax. The barbecue is lit and the smell of cooking gently teases your nostrils with the thought of food pleasures to come: is there a more heart warming testament to the “Great British Holiday”?
Over two thousand Caravan Club members and their families were surveyed this winter and asked to recollect their favourite sensory holiday experiences. The results show without a doubt, that the great outdoors and the freedom of the caravan holiday is a treat for all the senses.
SURVEY RESULTS:
Top Sights:
1. Sunsets
2. Great British Countryside views
3. Sea Views
4. Cows and sheep grazing in green fields
5. Groups of caravanners enjoying an evening drink
Favourite Sounds:
1. Birdsong
2. Sizzling bacon at breakfast time
3. Laughter and children playing
4. Kettle boiling for that first cup of tea
5. Corks popping in the evening
Evocative Smells:
1. Bacon and sausages cooking
2. Barbecues in the evening
3. Freshly mown grass and hay
4. Fresh, clean air
5. Salty sea air
Classic Tastes:
1. Food cooked on the barbecue
2. A great cup of tea
3. Ice Cream
4. Fish and Chips
5. Locally brewed beer
TV personality and long standing member of The Caravan Club, Rowland Rivron, agrees that it is these sensuous experiences that really make a memorable holiday; “As a family we have enjoyed many great British breaks. For me, the sights, smells, sounds and tastes I experience on holiday stay with me and evoke memories of enjoying the great outdoors and the adventure of caravanning whenever I re-experience them! There is nothing better than a cold beer, while a steak sizzles on the barbecue and the children are playing in the fields on a balmy British evening – total bliss!”
Caravanning holidays look set to continue to grow in popularity in 2011 after record numbers of bookings were taken by The Caravan Club when the lines opened for the new season. Over 66,000 UK sites bookings were made between 9am and midnight, on Wednesday 8th December – a superb achievement and 19% up on last year’s figure. And these new survey results show that simple pleasures are the secret to a great holiday, and best of all, they don’t break the bank.
“Over the last couple of years The Club and The Boat and Caravan Show has found the number of people re-discovering the Great British Holiday has risen considerably,” says Lawrence Bate, Marketing Director of The Caravan Club. “Taking in our surroundings and savouring the small pleasures in life really can make a holiday memorable. Caravanning is a great way to get back in touch with the outdoors while offering so many different sensory experiences to evoke happy memories. The recent survey of members highlights that the things people associated most with happy times are simple and comforting pleasures…nostalgic and inherently British!”
