TALK Q&A SPECIAL
Our panel of experts
Sarah Wakely, Editor
Sarah has been editor of PC since 2018, but has been working on the magazine since 2013. She loves everything caravanning and travel related; one of her very earliest memories is holidaying in Cornwall in the family's 1980s Sprite Alpine. She hasn't stopped touring since!
Paul Critcher, Deputy Editor
Paul has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist, and has covered everything from sailing in the Seychelles to shark diving in the Bahamas. A lover of the great outdoors, his next trip will take him to the Outer Hebrides
Peter Baber, Reviews Editor
Peter started off in journalism as a staff writer for PC back in the early 1990s. After more than 20 years in business journalism, he found he missed getting out on the open road. He now spends much of his time doing just that, reviewing new caravans and finding the latest vehicle news
David Motton, Tow Car Editor
A former editor of PC and What Car?, Motty has a long journalistic pedigree. His detailed tow car reviews for the magazine are highly respected by readers and colleagues alike. If the team have any car-related queries, Motty is always first port of call
John Sootheran, Consulting Editor
John started his journalism career with Practical Photography, before moving to automotive titles and Caravan magazine, where he was editor. He's won several Caravan Writers’ Guild Awards, and says his favourite touring destinations are in France: “I love it – we've had some amazing adventures”
Andy Jenkinson, Contributor
An authority on used caravans, Andy has been a caravanner since 1969, when he went on tour with his parents in an Elddis Tornado towed by a Ford Cortina 1600E. An expert on the UK caravan industry, he has also published 16 books so far, and regularly tests new and used caravans for PC
Nigel Hutson, Contributor
Keen caravanner Nigel writes on all aspects of his life-long hobby, including travel, van reviews and technical articles, for the magazine. He prefers to describe himself as an ‘enthusiast’ rather than an expert, but his vast experience and knowledge of all things caravan are truly impressive!
TRAVEL
We are planning our first trip abroad since Brexit changed the rules, and we're wondering how to interpret the regulations on taking food abroad.
Many articles and websites merely duplicate verbatim that we are not allowed to take meat, milk or dairy products.
I appreciate that there would be a small potential risk if we were transporting fresh meat from an unknown origin, or unpasteurised milk or cheese, but do the rules really apply to small quantities of chicken in a tinned curry, which has been, in effect, sterilised, or to cartons of UHT milk?
We used to take tinned ham and chicken with us, which are produced in Denmark. Surely these should not be a problem, because they have already been sanctioned by the EU?
We are also not allowed to take fruit, vegetables and plant products. Again, the question I have is, do these rules include tinned goods, such as baked beans, which started life as a plant, or tea bags, which contain dried plants?
If you take the rules in the nth degree, most food is derived from meat or plant products, so what are we really allowed to take? Surely unopened tinned products present no risk if they are for our own consumption?
Your insight into what happens at the border these days, for yourselves and other readers,
