Everybody’s got a favourite UK holiday spot – and here are the Practical Motorhome team’s top ten hidden treasures
Make no mistake about it, this is a personal list and it could never be anything but. There may be plenty of people out there who can beat the 100-odd years’ combined touring experience Carl, Andy and I share between us, but even if we spoke to a thousand motorcaravanners, we would still come up with a thousand different places. Which is why, as you read through our ‘Top Ten’ of lesser-known places, you’ll probably be compiling your own mental list. It’s human nature to compare and contrast, after all, and something that fuels countless campsite conversations into the night (aided and abetted by a small sherry or two). We’ve chosen ten places you might not have thought of visiting – the ones we think every motorcaravanner would like to see. And, we’ve explained why we’ve chosen them and what they have to offer.
As we were putting together this article, we realised that there are thousands more touring treats in many places you would never expect to find them. What secret places have you discovered? Do write to us and let us know.
The details below are an abridged version of the article.

The Orkneys are the place where I became converted to motorcaravanning. On the beach at Rackwick, on the Isle of Hoy, I first glimpsed the practice we call wild camping – but in this case, it was fully sanctioned by the local authorities. Two things became immediately clear: firstly, that the best way to see all of the Orkneys would be to hop around the islands, staying a day or two on each, and secondly that a motorhome was the best way to do this.

WHERE TO STAY
Point of Ness Caravan Site (off Guardhouse Park), Stromness, Orkney. Tel 01856 873535

Seeing Somerset mentioned in a ‘hidden Britain’-type feature such as this, might astonish some – after all, isn’t it a top holiday destination? Well yes, it is. Brean Sands and the like attract thousands of holidaymakers, yet there are some really beautiful hidden parts, where few people venture.

WHERE TO STAY
Lakeside Caravan Club Site Higher Grants, Exebridge, Dulverton, TA22 9BE. Tel 01398 324068
Web www.caravanclub.co.uk Open 26 Mar - 30 Aug

On Cromer seafront, there’s no sign of a Starbucks and the clingfilm-wrapped sandwiches on sale in the little café are usually limited to cheese and pickle, and ham salad. This, to me, is a good thing.
I enjoy living in the modern world, but Norfolk reminds me of a Britain that’s fast disappearing, so my visits are always tinged with flushes of wistfulness and nostalgia. Although Norfolk is a popular destination for many, within its predominantly minor road network it has many delights that you might not have noticed – even if you’ve visited before.

WHERE TO STAY
Old Brick Kilns Little Barnley Lane, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 0NL Tel 01328 878305
Website www.oldbrickkilns.co.uk

Finding relatively unspoiled parts of England is hard these days – it seems that everywhere you look, new out-of-town retail parks and purpose-made housing estates are nibbling away into the countryside, taking away the untouched parts. Happily, the Peak District, one of my favourite areas in the whole of England, hasn’t suffered that fate. Its green hills dusted with shale, and roadsides dotted with wild spring flowers, make it a wonderful place for a break, and parts of it really are well-hidden. In fact, it’s possible to miss most of the tourists, and you can feel entirely alone up on its majestically bleak moors.

WHERE TO STAY
Chatsworth Park Caravan Club Site Chatsworth, Bakewell, DE45 1PN Tel 01246 582226
Web www.caravanclub.co.uk Open 28 March-5 Jan

Berwick upon Tweed is a long way north – it’s right between Edinburgh and Newcastle upon Tyne. The North Northumbrian coastline where it lies is known as the ‘Secret Kingdom’. It’s an apt soubriquet for an area between two nations which is full of ancient castles and churches, and visited by rare birds from the frozen north on their summer holidays – the place can seem outside time. Northumbria is my favourite place in the UK. Motorcaravanning takes me all over these isles and though there are still a lot of places I haven’t seen, something deep down tells me I will always come back.

WHERE TO STAY
Ord House Country Park East Ord, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland TD15 2NS Tel 01289 305288
Website www.ordhouse.co.uk

The first time I encountered the Scottish Borders was during a day out with my parents, but it was only years later when I was working in the area that it took an unrelenting hold on me. The Scottish Borders has an understated beauty that makes it very special – it has a sense of colour and light I’ve seldom encountered elsewhere. The daft thing is, most people rush past it on their way to the Highlands. In my view, this is the undiscovered Scotland, largely tourist-free and breathtakingly beautiful. The best time to see it is in May, when the gorse is still yellow and the colours are at their brightest.

WHERE TO STAY
Springwood Caravan Park, Springwood Est, Kelso, Roxburghshire, TD5 8LS Tel 01573 224596
Web www.springwoodestate.co.uk Open Easter-15 October

For many years, the only thing I knew about Hampshire was its status as one of the top cricket counties. But it was on a guided walk two years ago that I discovered that the area around Winchester is home to some fine English food and drink. I’ve focused on a handful of treats, but there’s a caveat: due to the rural location, narrow lanes and small or non-existent car parks, it’s best if you can leave larger coachbuilts on site and use bikes (public transport is limited). Nevertheless, all the places mentioned below can be reached on foot from Morn Hill Caravan Club Site, through some gentle pastoral landscapes.

WHERE TO STAY
Morn Hill Caravan Club Site Morn Hill, Winchester SO21 1HL Tel 01962 869877
Web www.caravanclub.co.uk Open 26 March-1 Nov

The first time I sampled HM The Queen’s retirement destination of choice was during the extremely windy January of 2002. Even the best that the North-West’s winter could throw at me couldn’t dull my enthusiasm for this rural, rugged, untouched part of England. When I took my motorhome, I had no problems. All the villages I visited had car parks, but I would recommend calling ahead to check height restrictions.

WHERE TO STAY
Clitheroe Camping and Caravanning Club Site Edisford Rd, Clitheroe, Lancs BB7 3LA Tel 01200 425294
www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk Open 27 May-1 Nov

Had ‘Lord of the Rings’ not been filmed in New Zealand, Snowdonia would have been just as good a setting. Lovers of the great outdoors know that Snowdonia National Park is among the greatest holiday destinations. Filling most of the peninsula at the top of the Welsh mainland that juts out into the Irish Sea, and stretching almost as far south as Aberystwyth, this area offers every kind of inspiration for the outward bound: dramatic, looming hills covered with thick forests, sharply raked slate valleys and, at its heart, a spellbinding range of awesome mountains crowned by the magnificent 3650ft Mt. Snowdon.

WHERE TO STAY
Barcdy Caravan and Camping Park Talsarnau, nr Harlech, Gwynedd LL47 6YG Tel 01766 770736
Web: www.barcdy.co.uk Open April-September

Ask anyone who’s been to Lincolnshire what is their most enduring image of the county and the first response may sound a little discouraging. There’s no doubt about it – the county is overwhelmingly… flat. In fact, most of it lies only 10ft above sea level, with only the Wolds, a gentle band of hills rising in the north, breaking the otherwise even line of the landscape.

WHERE TO STAY
Bainland Country Park Horncastle Rd, Woodhall Spa, Lincs LN10 6UX Tel 01526 352903
Web: www.bainland.com Open All year