The event will be the biggest Motorhome, caravan and camping showcase to take place in London for over five years and is the only one taking place this spring where you can see the new 2012 Motorhome models.  Tickets are best purchased in advance if you want to go and start at £7 per adult with children and parking free.

The exhibitor list is huge and as usual you’ll be able to get anything you want to buy, or didn’t realise you wanted to buy until you got there, and presumably at discounted prices especially given the recession we are in.

I’m not sure how this show compares to one at the NEC size wise but the Excel is a pretty big place.  If you don’t fancy the drive by the way then there is a train service that drops you off outside.

Remember the health warning ; Buying a new Motorhome can damage your bank balance so unless you go there specifically to purchase one, don’t be tempted.

For more details about the show have a look at their website.

Related posts:

1. Top Dealers Team Up With Bentley Motorhomes at the National Motorhome Show
2. AA Caravan & Camping Guide 2011 Britain & Ireland; Great App for iPad or iPhone

Heart of England Motorhomes are the dealers that we have bought both our Motorhomes from and they also have a service and repair workshop. The service they provide is excellent and they are extremely helpful if you do have any issues or just general questions. I’ve always used them and always will so there’s a recommendation for you if ever I’ve heard one.

If you are going to the National Motorhomes Show make a beeline for the stand and take a good look at the Bentley Motorhomes.   Autocruise was a great Motorhome manufacturer and the build quality was second to none and I’m sure Bentley  Motorhomes will match that at the very least.

Bentley Motorhomes are of course the reincarnation of Autocruise for which I am extremely grateful.

You can read the article in full on the PR Fire website.

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I’ve had a newsletter from the Caravan Club giving the details but no doubt you’ll see it all over the place.

By the way, why on earth have the Caravan Club seemingly invented a new name for the Motorhome and started calling them Motorcaravans.  I guess it’s the obsession with Caravans that does it!!

There is the usual health warning with this post, ” Buying a new Motorhome at a show, if that was never your intention in the first place, can damage your financial health” So be careful.

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We’ve never been to this location, usually go to the NEC, but for anyone based in the North it’s ideal.

The show is on between the 20th and the 23rd January and you can get all the information you need at the show site.

I’m sure given the financial conditions in the UK at the moment and that we’re only just past Xmas there should be some real bargains to be had.  So if you’re going then take it easy, don’t be tempted to buy something you don’t need.

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We’ve decided not to attend this year simply because we have been too busy doing other things this week.

I’ve received a newsletter from Clarion with details of the show and for those of you who haven’t seen it, it does give you a good synopsis of what’s on at the show.

If you act quickly there are still some ticket deals on offer and you can save £4 on the door by completing this form and then receiving a voucher.

I’m sure the Motorhome manufacturers are hoping to sell a great deal of units at this show and the new year VAT increase is a big incentive, but of course we are still in a recession so it will be interesting to see the results.

For those of you who have managed to get there then it would be great if you would let us know what you thought about it.

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What will this mean to you;

Announced by the new government in the recent budget, it has been confirmed that VAT will rise from the current rate of 17.5% to 20% in January 2011. If you are thinking of purchasing a new Motorhome then make sure you do it before the increase happens.

• On an average priced new Motorhome at £30,000 - you will save £750

• On a mid priced new Motorhome at £45,000 – you will save £1,125

• On a high level Motorhome at £60,000 – you will save £1,500

This is a considerable amount of money that you can save. This would finance your trips for the next 12 months and would be far better than giving it straight to the taxman.

So if you are thinking of purchasing a new Motorhome in the next 6 months then you need to do it before the end of the year to be sure you do not lose out.  In any case I’m sure there will be some great deals at these shows, but remember, spend wisely and not hastily.

Here’s another sweetener ; To celebrate the launch of their new Spirit of Britain and Spirit of France ferries that will take to the waters in 2011, P&O Ferries are offering a free return crossing for a Motorhome, and up to 5 people from Dover to Calais to all those who purchase a new Motorhome at the NEC show this October!

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Both of these shows have camping available at the venue and entertainment laid on at a cost.

The Motorhome show at the Lincolnshire Showground takes place on the 24th, 25th and 26th of September and the day admission rates are £6.50 adults and £2.50 children (5-14 yrs).  There is a  separate charge for camping and for the saturday night entertainment although there is other entertainment included in the price.   There are no electric hook ups but toilets and showers are available.

Click Here for more information and to book on line

The Caravan and Motorhome show at the NEC Birmingham takes place on the 12th – 17th October and the day admission rates are £14.95 in advance or £19.95 on the door which seems a bit excessive to me.  It does include parking and a show guide but given that this is a sales event it still seems very expensive.  If you’re a Caravan Club member you can get a day ticked for £12.45 but you have to book this in advance on line and quote promo code TCC2.  I’m sure the Camping and Caravanning Club are running a similar discount scheme.

There is a temporary campsite being run by the Caravan Club in North car parks 9-11 and fees are £27.50  per night including electric.  Entertainment is free and there are bars available.

These pitches should be booked with the Caravan Club directly by clicking here.

There is much more information available from the organisers of the show here

We usually go to the NEC show because it’s an easy train ride from Northampton and there’s always tons of stuff to see and spend your hard earned money on.  There are two pieces of advice I would offer if you are going for the day, take the train because parking isn’t always easy and there are often queues and take a packed lunch because this is much more convenient.

Whichever one you decide to go to have fun and spend wisely.  If you are going there to negotiate and buy a new Motorhome then fine, but if you aren’t then be careful, the temptations are huge.

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The Caravan Club has put together a list that they have just sent through to their members so for those of you who didn’t receive it here is the link.

Have fun and enjoy.

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Apart from just generally having a look around the stalls to see what goodies were on offer we wanted to take a look a good look at the Camping Cheque stand and decide if that was something we wanted to make use of.  I also had this notion that I’d read about the ideal Motorhome layout, a Rapido, and I wanted to have a close look at it to see.

We had a good look at the Camping Cheque and a long chat with the person on the stand and in the end we bought a silver card for £2 and the site book for £1 ( instead of £6 ).  We’re going to give it a go simply because we usually go to France out of season anyway and using the Camping Cheque is the cheapest way to do that and at around £14 per night is a real bargain. The silver card is a new thing that you use instead of the paper cheques and it means you can pay for the cheques electronically and then get them credited to your card when you arrive at the first site.  Easy; I hope.  There are hundreds ( 588 ) sites in Europe to choose from and even a handful in the UK. Have a look at the Camping Cheque site and see for yourselves.

The brand new all singing all dancing Rapido that I thought I’d read about turned out to be a figment of my imagination and doesn’t exist after all.  Never mind, one day.

On the subject of new Motorhomes we did have a look at most of the Manufacturers and Dealers but didn’t see anything that was better than our Autocruise Starseeker thank goodness.

We did the obligatory visit to most of the French site stalls and collected plenty of brochures but of course these have been superceded by the Camping Cheque sites list because we are determined to try as many of these as we can.  We have a 3 week French holiday planned for June and have booked the return ferry but no sites.  I’m a stickler for making site bookings normally but am determined to go on spec this year and see how we get on.  Incidentally we booked the ferry with Norfolkline ( never used them before ) and got a fantastic deal. We booked through the Caravan Club and got the return for the Starseeker plus the two of us for £48 return, going and returning on a Saturday. How good was that!!  Let me know if you’ve got a better deal than that!!

We also bought a couple of items for the house,weirdly, but I guess you do see a lot of innovative stuff at these shows.

We won’t bother going to another show this year but will try this one again next year.

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The Boat and Caravan Show is taking place at the NEC Birmingham between the 23 – 28 February.

Both the Caravan Club and the Camping and Caravanning Club were offering discounted tickets but only the Caravan Club have these still available.

Tickets are priced at Adults £10.95; seniors (60+ yrs) £9.00; child (5-15) £4.50, under 5yrs FOC.  The prices include a show guide worth £5 and parking £8.

If you want to take advantage of this offer then either ring 0844 581 3000 or visit www.boatandcaravan.co.uk and quote CLUB1 but you must do so before 22nd February.

My favourite chef James Martin will be demonstrating at the show on Thursday 25th.

You can see James’s motorhome here in a previous post.

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