IIf you’re thinking about a few days – or even longer – in your caravan this Christmas, you’d better go prepared. With less than a month to go, the weather will undoubtedly get colder, but as long as your prepared, you can enjoy a cosy Christmas somewhere different in your caravan. (Our Winter caravanning: What to pack and where to go blog has lots of useful ideas and tips).
Here are six Christmas trip ideas …
1. Bournemouth
If you fancy a trip to the south of England, Christmas comes early in Bournemouth where you’ll find a bustling, German-themed seasonal market open from mid-November right through until the end of December.
When you’ve had your fill of Bratwurst, German beer, and Glühwein (mulled wine) in the market’s Alpine Lodge, it’s only a hop, skip, and a jump to the tranquil wintry delights of the New Forest or a bracing walk along the cliff paths.
2. Blenheim Palace
It might not be among the first places you’d think of for a Christmas market, but even the upper classes, it would seem, enter the festive spirit with gusto. The lavish surroundings of Blenheim Palace offer perhaps one of the most unusual settings for a Christmas market that’s open from mid-November until the 3rd of January.
You’ll find no shortage of touring sites at which to berth your caravan in the surrounding Oxfordshire countryside.
3. Birmingham
Venture just a little further north to England’s second city and you’ll find that Birmingham also hosts Christmas festivities in Victoria Square. The Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market is said to be the biggest of its kind outside Germany or Austria.
It’s open from the beginning of November until the 24th of December.
4. Cardiff
While many caravanners head westwards during the warmer summer months, you’ll find relatively few of them making that kind of journey in the wintertime – but it’s well worth the mileage.
The South Wales coastline is attractive at any time of the year but from the 13th of November until the 23rd of December the Principality’s capital Cardiff also hosts a Christmas Market that gives full expression to local traders, craftsmen, and artists.
5. Bath
It’s historic, it’s picturesque, it’s quiet and laid back – not for nothing is the elegant city of Bath described as “the original wellbeing destination”.
The city is full of thriving independent shops, with bars and restaurants in which to relax and unwind at the end of any day. If you’re quick about it – from the 27th of November until the 14th of December – you can also experience a Christmas Market in cobbled streets that could be plucked directly from a Jane Austen novel.
6. Manchester
For the past quarter of a century or so, Manchester has hosted its own series of Christmas Markets around the city centre’s Piccadilly Gardens. This year, there will be over 200 stalls across no fewer than nine sites – most of them open from the 7th of November until the 22nd of December.
The Burrs Country Park Club Campsite – a Caravan and Motorhome Club site – in the Lancashire countryside of nearby Bury is open all year.
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