This is a collaborative post: 2020 has not been the best year, I think that’s something we can all agree on. We’ve all had to spend time away from friends and family, had events we were looking forward to cancelled and had to put even things like a simple trip to the cinema put on hold.
Above all else, holidays abroad are the thing I’m missing most. This year I was planning on a huge trip around New York with some friends – a holiday several years in the making where we were going to see all the sights – but the pandemic has put pay to that.
Not all has been lost, however, and the one good thing that’s come out of the pandemic is it’s made me fall in love with staycations in this country again. When lockdown eased over the summer, I camped in Bude with the people I was supposed to be going to New York with and had a great time.
Such a great time, in fact, it got me thinking. Why not commit to more staycations once restrictions lift? What the trip made me realise is there’s so much more of this country to see, and staying in a campsite made me realise I quite like the idea of caravanning. So why not buy a caravan?
When I was a kid my parents owned a caravan (in fact they still do) and I loved our holidays in it. The trip to Bude made me reminisce and realise in the years I hadn’t caravanned how much I’d missed it. So, as I’ve been weighing up whether to buy one, I thought I’d share my list of reasons why a caravan might just be the best holidaying option out there:
Caravans are really cosy
I’ve always thought of a caravan as like a really posh tent. They give you the freedom of tents in that you can go almost wherever you want, but without the faff of set up and the worry of getting caught in the rain and having your trip ruined by everything getting soggy.
Caravans, like the 6 berth ones available at Bailey of Bristol, are plush and filled with features to make your life cosy. They all have comfortable seating, a cosy bed, light and homely designs and, most importantly, heating to keep you warm even on the coldest of nights.
They are like hotel rooms
Alongside being cosy, caravans are actually filled with features – so much so they’re actually more like hotel rooms than tents. The 6 berth caravans at Bailey of Bristol all come with a full kitchen complete with fridge, freezer, an oven and a hob; a lounge area with seating for a full family and USB sockets for them to charge their devices, and there’s even a full bathroom onboard with shower, toilet, sink and storage cupboard.
If you’re interested in looking around these features, one thing I recommend is Bailey of Bristol’s Virtual Showroom. Bailey have ingeniously designed their website so that you can walk around all of their caravan and motorhome models from the comfort of your own home. It’s perfect for social distancing, and gives you a chance to decide what vehicle you want before you even see it in a showroom!
They give you freedom
Once restrictions ease and life gets more back to normal, perhaps the best thing a caravan offers you is freedom. With a caravan, you’re literally taking your home with you. That means, within reason, you can go anywhere you want. The UK is filled with places to visit, and there are so many campsites around it’s almost certain you’ll be able to stay within only a short drive of whatever attractions you want to see.
One of my favourite things as a kid was always the certified location campsites. These are tiny sites, often just a field with no shower block, that have limited capacity and allow you to really escape from it all. It feels a bit more like wild camping and gives you a sense of escapism and adventure, but thanks to solar panels and gas bottles onboard the caravan, you still have access to your own gas and electricity. If you’re needing some inspiration about what you might do and where you might be able to go on holiday once restrictions lift, then check out the News & Events page of the Bailey of Bristol website. It has all the information you need for socially distanced family fun.
Caravans give you affordable holidays
Although a caravan is a big upfront expense, the cost of pitching it for a night is often a lot lower than other holiday accommodation options.. Caravan sites vary in price but can begin at around £15 per person per night. This is a lot less than even the cheapest hotel or B&B, so you can really make the most of your holiday when you’re away. I have always found any savings on accommodation means I feel I can spend more on the experiences!
Caravans are also durable, so you know that one upfront expense is going to save on the cost of hotels for years to come. Bailey of Bristol makes all of their caravans with Alu-Tech construction. This is a new kind of bodyshell construction which uses an interlocking aluminium framework to clamp the body panels together. It gives your caravan greater protection against the elements and means your caravan should be around for years to come.
You can take your home with you
One of the best things about a caravan or motorhome is the amount of things you can take on holiday with you. If you’d like board games, you have enough room to take all of your favourites with you. Books? You can take a mini-library. Fishing? All your equipment. A caravan means you can explore during the day and still have all the things you love from home to come back to in the evening.
Time to buy a 6 berth caravan
After having written that list, I’ve sold myself on the idea of buying a caravan. The holidays you can have in them – once restrictions are lifted – are always amazing. This is partly due to the freedom they offer you, and in my opinion it really cannot be matched by any other kind of accommodation.
If you’re interested in buying a caravan or motorhome, I recommend taking a look at the range of vehicles Bailey of Bristol offer.
This post is sponsored by Bailey of Bristol.