Motorhome and Caravan Show Best Bits

After two years of waiting, the highly anticipated Motorhome and Caravan show has returned to the NEC - And what a show it was!

Since the last October show was way back in 2019, it was easy to forget just how big this event is, with 11 halls packed with the latest and greatest products on display. Excited to get stuck in, we did our usual sweep through the halls to get a lay of the land before diving deeper into the show...

Accessible Viewing…

The Swift stand was impressive, not only in size but the displays and demonstrations happening throughout the week. It was hard not to be drawn in with the scent of delicious cooking from celebrity chef Rachael Green, who had been brought in especially to show everyone some simple yet delicious dishes you can cook whilst away. Her setup resembled the kitchens that feature in Swift caravans and motorhomes, complete with Calor gas and all!

One thing that caught our eyes were the virtual reality headsets, which could transport you into any Swift you chose — Perfect for viewing models which weren’t on display, but also brilliant for accessibility, saving the need to climb through every model on your list, and waiting for them to be empty!

As usual, the biggest and most expensive models caught our eyes, and we were drawn into the stunning Elegance Grande 835 - Wow, just wow! At 7.98m long and 8ft wide it was simply HUGE! With a spacious lounge/dining area up front, a nice kitchen, generous size wash room in the middle, and a cosy, luxurious bedroom at the rear which would give any hotel room a run for its money. We’ll keep saving and dreaming for now!

Outjoyment Report…

Camping is good for you, and now it’s been scientifically proven!

Thursday afternoon saw us attend the media launch of a new research study titled The Outjoyment Report. Commissioned by the Camping and Caravanning Club and undertaken by the Liverpool John Moores University and Sheffield Hallam University, this major new study explains how all types of camping has a positive impact on peoples mental health and well being.

More information, along with the full report are available to see HERE.

Anniversary Dinner…

Wednesday evening saw a return of the Caravan Writers Guild annual dinner and awards ceremony. This year the Guild was celebrating its 40th anniversary, and had booked the glamorous Hampton Manor for the birthday bash. With a Michelin star chef at the helm, the catering was simply delicious, and it proved itself to be another great networking event for us, with fellow CWG members in attendance, along with the Guilds friend sponsors made up of industry manufacturers and companies.

The awards ceremony features two awards — The Douglas King Award for Written Journalism, and the John Wickersham Award for Video Journalism. With Karla previously winning the written award in 2019, and us both coming runners up last year, we were keeping everything crossed!

Once we’d all finished dinner, John Rawlings, the guilds new chairman, stood up to make a speech and announce the winners. Karla wasn’t in luck for the written awards this year, but for the second year in a row I was runner up for the video award, with my ‘Accessible Motorhome Tour’ video which was filmed at the Coachbuilt headquarters in 2021. A massive congratulations go to our good friend Andrew Ditton for winning the video award with his ‘My Caravan, My Sanctuary’ video, and Marcus Leach, for winning the written award with his article about the Cambrian Mountains.

Both very deserving winners indeed!

Live Life Unlimited…

What NEC caravan show is complete without a visit to the Coachbuilt stand? For us it’s always the highlight of the show, year after year. This time Kate and Chris from the team returned with a gorgeous Swift Kon-tiki 635, which had some incredible accessible modifications to it. It’s important to remember that Coachbuilt build bespoke for each client, so this was just one example featuring some of the endless possibilities available.

Access was provided thanks to the hydraulic cassette lift and wide aperture door. Once inside we found a wheelchair tie-down point, ceiling track hoist throughout, Vendlet bed, spacious washroom and all the mod cons that come with modern touring vehicles. The pièce de résistance was a 12v slide out system which created an enormous amount of space for the bed and washroom set-up with a good turning area for even Karla’s larger-sized powerchair.

Unexpectedly Accessible…

It’s always a pleasure to bump into the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s technical manager Martin Spencer, and gives us a good opportunity to discuss and share our thoughts on accessibility within the industry. He pointed us in the direction of some very cool-looking trailer tents, which for some people could be a good first step into the pastime, due to them being fairly accessible by nature — with level access into the spacious living area, beds off the ground at a good transfer height and relatively inexpensive too.

We thought they looked great, and would love to try one out! What you your thoughts on these?

Bigger is better!

Long term Adventure Wheels followers will know that one of our favourite caravans on the market today is the Elddis Crusader, so visiting the Elddis stand to see the latest version was a must. For 2023, this model has now gone 8ft wide, and boasts even more space than before - which, once converted, would be perfect to allow for the extra space needed for Karla to manoeuvre her chair inside comfortably. Keen to take a closer look, I dived into the 4-berth Zephyr model…

Whilst on the Elddis stand, we were pleased to learn about the recent developments which have been built at their manufacturing facility in County Durham. A new PDI centre has now been created as part of overall improvements being made. Every Erwin Hymer Group vehicle built at the plant will now pass through this new facility, which also houses a new factory service centre, plus testing facilities which includes water testing too. The benefits of this investment should mean that any issues are found on site, leading to less strain on the dealer network, which will ultimately result in a better customer experience — Good news indeed!

3-Time Winner…

Another gem which caught our eyes was the Bailey Alicanto Grande. This flagship range has now had a new layout added to it — The Evora. The new layout seems to have gone down well, and is already a multi-award winning caravan after winning the Practical Caravan’s ‘Best Caravan over £30,000’ category, the Caravan Magazines ‘Best Couples Caravan’ and first place in the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s 2023 Design Awards ‘Any 8ft Wide Caravan’ category. We had a look around and loved it, from the light warming woodwork to the spacious washroom, I’m sure we’ll be seeing lots of these on campsites soon!

And that’s a wrap…

Once again, the Motorhome and Caravan show captured our imaginations, gave us the opportunity to explore some amazing new products, and meet more lovely followers of Adventure Wheels in person! We can’t wait to do it all again in February, when the Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show returns in 2023.

Hopefully see you there!