Welcome to the April edition with a warm welcome to everyone we met up in friendly Yorkshire at the Harrogate Motorhome Show.
The main news this week is that bookings are now officially open for 2024. Full details available below.
2023 tours have been fully booked for sometime although we are getting the odd cancellation from time to time. We have had a space come up on the Swiss & French Alps Tour. More details below along with information on how to add yourself to our reserve lists for this year.
We also have a brief review of the Harrogate Motorhome Show, which proved to be a very enjoyable weekend.
We have another great 'cut out and keep' recipe for you and this month's motorhoming tips are about cleaning your water tank.
Finally you may have seen us on the TV this week. I have made that sound really impressive but couldn't resist. For my birthday we went to watch the snooker. We were sitting directly behind Mark Selby so were featured heavily on ITV4 every time the camera cut to him sitting in his chair. I realise this is nothing to do with motorhome touring but was so impressed by what Mark could do with his balls that I just had to mention it.
2024 Tours - Bookings are now open
We are very pleased to announce that the bookings for 2024 are now officially open. We have our largest selection of tours ever for next year with a mix of shorter and longer tours.
We have been previewing the tours for a couple of months now and initial interest for 2024 has been really strong. We now have the full itineraries available. These are on a hidden webpage on our website, which you can access by clicking on the link below.
If you would like to get in early, then you can book now via the website here:
As always, tours are available on a first-come first-served basis. At the moment, bookings are only available to newsletter readers. We will not open the bookings to the wider public until the end of this month.
As a heads up, early interest in The Baltic States and in the Budapest, Prague & Vienna Tours has been particularly strong, so please act quickly to secure a space on either of these.
2023 Tours - one cancellation spot available
Due to a cancellation, a space has become available on:
The Swiss & French Alps - June 2023
This is available to book on a first-come first-served basis. If you would like to come then please book direct via our website.
As the year progresses, there may well be further cancellations. If you would like us to contact you in the event of a cancellation, please email us with your name and phone number and the tour you are interested in. If anything comes up we will phone you straight away to see if you want it. There is no commitment to go on and book - it just means that we will give you first dibs.
The Harrogate Show - a brief review
The motorhome show up at the Yorkshire Showground is a relatively new one in Warner's schedule. We first went about five years ago and spoke to about six people across the whole weekend - and two of them worked in the cafe! This year, they have really got the show going with around 7,000 visitors. It is an unusual show in that there is no camping for customers, which is a shame. Therefore, those 7,000 people all made the journey as 'day' visitors.
It was a great show for us. It is probably the friendliest and most relaxed show that we go to. First we got to meet up with some of our lovely tour leaders. Colin and Sue (who many of you know), were in attendance along with our newest tour leaders, Andy and Rebecca.
We also got to meet many of our customers based up t'north. As the show is not that busy, it gave us time to go and grab a coffee and spend a bit more time with you than we get chance to do at the NEC. It was great to see you all (you know who you are).
We also got the chance to chat to a few of the dealers and for the first time, it looks like the market for motorhomes may have peaked. Prices are very high at the moment, but a couple of the dealers admitted to us that they were not flying out of the showroom at quite the same rate. Good news if you are looking to buy.
The final thing to say about the Harrogate Show is that it is probably the best Warner's Show to come to if you are looking for bits and pieces for your van. There are loads of accessories stands and the prices were better than Internet prices. We bought quite a few things that we really don't need!
Coq au Van (the amusingly titled recipe feature)
Southwest Chicken
Ingredients
580g chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Texan BBQ seasoning
100g frozen diced onions
2 garlic cloves, crushed
250g frozen sliced mixed peppers
3 courgettes, trimmed and finely sliced
400g tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed
200g tin sweetcorn, drained and rinsed
1 lime, juiced, plus extra wedges to serve (optional)
2 tbsp frozen coriander
cooked brown rice and soured cream, to serve (optional)
Method
Toss the chicken with half the olive oil and the BBQ seasoning. Put a large heavy-based pan over a medium heat and add the chicken (you may need to cook in batches). Fry for 6-8 mins until golden and cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Heat the remaining oil in the pan. Add the onion and cook for 10 mins until soft. Add the garlic, peppers and courgettes and cook for 10 mins, stirring regularly, until the veg is softened.
Return the chicken to the pan along with the kidney beans and sweetcorn. Increase the heat for a few mins, stirring regularly until everything is mixed through and piping hot.
Stir in the lime juice and coriander. Serve with extra lime wedges, cooked brown rice and a spoonful of soured cream, if you like.
Motorhoming Tips
Another tip from a regular we met at the show at Harrogate.
The fresh water system benefits from a clean from time to time. You have water sitting in a plastic tank that can sit there for a while and get warm.
In the past we have used Milton tablets, but this is probably not the best idea as it is unclear what it might do to your pipes, boiler etc. Instead, there are three products we know of that are designed specifically for the job and these are: Puriclean, Pro-Kleen and Elsan Tank Clean.
Chuck it in the fresh water tank and run the taps to make sure that you get it around the whole system. Shut the taps and leave for a while. Then drain your whole system and refill. We do this once or twice a year.
Keep in touch
Please feel free to contact us at any time. When we are away, calls will bounce to our mobiles at no expense to yourself.
