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People of all
ages enjoy caravan touring for a variety of reasons:
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It gives them the freedom to come and go as they please.
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It is a relatively cheap way of taking a holiday once the initial
outlay has been completed
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It provides flexibility
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It enables them to meet other people
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They enjoy the outdoors
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They love their caravan
It’s probably true to say that people either love or hate
caravan touring! Certainly, once people have the bug they are very
reluctant to take any other sort of holiday.
If you have
never been caravan touring before, it certainly can be lots of fun
– and you’re never too old to do it. But try to test the waters
first, before you buy a caravan and the associated equipment, in
case you don’t like it.
One way of doing this is finding people who do it already and
talking to them. One such group is the Retired Caravanners Association, who
are a caravan touring club specifically for the Over 60s. Read all about
them below They
will be only too pleased to give you some help and advice.
The Retired Caravanners
Association (The RCA)
We are a happy band of social caravanners,
all over 60, who revel in the freedom and camaraderie of the rally
field and the easy going companionship of like minded friends of our
own generation.
Our membership, currently about 2,500, comprises both touring and
motor caravanners. We
celebrate our 30th Anniversary this year (2006).
We run between 60 and 70 rallies each year from March to October
throughout mainland U.K. These rallies vary from 7 to 14 days in
duration. Many are so arranged that ‘follow on’ rallies are within
easy driving distance. Attendance varies from 15 to 100 outfits.
We are a totally volunteer, non-profit making organisation licensed
to run rallies of up to 28 days duration. Our aim is to encourage
and promote touring caravan touring as a recreational activity among
persons aged 60 or over who have retired from full time gainful
occupation.
Organising Rallies is the sole reason for our existence. They are
run by volunteer Rally Officers who are encouraged to ‘do it their
way’ resulting in each rally being unique in terms of its content,
but which always includes some form of entertainment on or off the
rally field - often both!
In Spring and Autumn many of our caravan touring rallies are held on commercial
sites with full facilities. Consequently these rallies are often
more expensive than those we hold in the Summer months when we use
school playing fields, rugby grounds, showgrounds, the odd garden centre and even
farmers' fields.
In all cases the sites are carefully chosen to ensure easy access
and minimum impact on the local environment. We often travel on
Sundays for ease of traffic movement. Caravan sites are chosen which have a
hall for our evening entertainment either on site or nearby.
Our Annual General Meeting is held at a venue selected by the
Executive Committee and forms part of our week long ‘end of season’
rally run by the Vice-Chairman - with a little help from his/her
friends! About 300 outfits usually attend.
The aim is to make the AGM Rally a memorable showpiece.
Entertainment provided each evening includes bands, choral
performances, concert parties, dancing to live music and a variety
show presented by the members themselves.
There is also plenty to enjoy during the day with a coffee morning,
coach trip, members’ arts and crafts exhibition, bowls and boules competitions and a
‘caravan boot sale!’ Attendance at any event is, of course, optional
but most members join in.
We publish our newsletter (free to members) tri-annually. Included
are reports from the Executive Committee with members also
encouraged to contribute letters and articles expressing their news,
views, anecdotes and poems.
Our Association is a V.A.T.
Registered non-profit making company, limited by guarantee of £1 per
member, and administered by an Executive Committee elected by the
members.
For administrative purposes the mainland U.K. Is divided into five
geographical areas, listed in detail in the rally book. Each area is
the responsibility of an Area Organiser who selects sites and dates
for rallies, negotiates with site owners and liaises with the
Planning Authorities.
Complete programmes of the rallies, together with booking forms, are
sent to members at the beginning of each year giving them the
opportunity to plan their holidays in advance and hopefully secure
places on rallies with a non-returnable deposit of £5.
Each rally is organised and run by volunteer members who are obliged
to conform with broad guidelines set by the Executive Committee, but
are encouraged to put their own stamp on their rally in terms of the
service and entertainment provided.
All the above give their services free, being remunerated on a
strictly expenses only basis.
If you are a caravanner
who likes to mix with people of your own generation why not give us
a try? There is a warm welcome waiting for you.
For more information, contact:
Ken Pick,
33 St. George Road,
Hardwick Court
Chepstow. NP16 5LA
You might also like to contact the
Caravan Club or the
The Camping
and Caravan Club. These are both national bodies which run
their own sites, organise rallies and generally help caravanners as
much as they can.
This month why not visit our
New Retirement Courses site
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