Start planning YOUR BEST TOURING YEAR EVER!
January
Happy New Year!
Why not… go skiing? Kickstart the season with some exciting adventures on the slopes
The more adventurous among you might head for the Alps and beyond (travel rules allowing), but we’re focusing on UK ski destinations.
Top of the bill is Scotland’s Cairngorms, where Aviemore is a famous and popular centre for winter sports.
You’ll find a choice of three ski resorts in the National Park: Lecht, popular with beginners; Glenshee, suited to all abilities; and Cairngorm Mountain, suitable for all but offering more challenging runs for experienced skiers.
In northern England, head for Yad Moss, in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Although the snow can be unpredictable, if there’s enough, you can enjoy 4km of intermediate skiing.
There are artificial slopes right across the UK, too. Try Manchester’s Chill Factore, which operates a children’s snow school.
In the Midlands, head for the Snow Dome in Tamworth, Staffordshire, where, as well as skiing and snowboarding, you can ice skate or scale the indoor climbing wall.
More indoor resorts
You could travel south to the SnoZone at Xscape Milton Keynes, or the Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead.
In Wales, a great place to go is Cardiff Ski and Snowboard Centre, for both skiing and boarding – and the highly entertaining sport of tubing, where you use huge inflatable rings to slide down the slope.
Buy of the month
St John Ambulance Large Motor Vehicle First Aid Kit
Price £30.60
Web www.sja.org.uk
Suitable for those travelling in larger vehicles, this comprehensive first aid kit has everything that you might need to handle most minor emergencies, including heat-retaining foil blankets, sterile cleansing wipes and a variety of dressings and plasters.
For something different…
Burns Night on 25 January is not just for the Scots! There are celebration suppers across the UK. These lively commemorations involve eating haggis, and listening to the bagpipes and readings of poems, including Burns’ ‘Address to a Haggis’: “Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face…”.
Perfect pitch
Grantown-on-Spey Caravan Park, in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park, has easy access to the best of Aviemore and its beautiful surroundings.
Now’s the time to…
Go online shopping
Traditionally, January has always been good for sales and bargains (although November’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday are also a great time to spot deals), so if there are items of kit you need that didn’t make their way into your Christmas stocking, now’s the time to get out the credit card.
How about a new camera to do justice to all of those wonderful views you are going to find throughout the year?
Be sure to check out some of the Buying Guides on our website (www.practicalmotorhome.com) – not just for vehicles, there are lots of accessory reviews, too. Happy shopping!
February
Still party time
Why not… celebrate Chinese New Year? Keep the party going while we wait for spring
In 2022, Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, welcomes the Year of the Tiger.
As the story goes, each year is named after an animal that was invited to the Emperor’s party, following the order in which they arrived. The ox beat the tiger, but was then deceived by the rat, so it’s not the line-up you’d
