Due to economic, historical, cultural and political factors, the caravan and camping culture in the UK started earlier. As early as the early 20th century, many British people have been exposed to the camping lifestyle. What’s even more amazing is that this club, developed on the basis of a huge membership system, has established a chain of campsites of the same brand in the UK under the premise of precisely targeting the needs of members. With the rapid development of the camping industry, chain camps in the form of clubs are very common in Europe, and RV camping clubs are well-deservedly regarded as a model of European club chain franchise brands.
In the UK, there are more than 100 franchised camps under the RV Camping Club. These camps are inlaid on the picturesque British map like bright pearls, and usually these camps are arranged along the surrounding area of the scenic spot. The managers and administrators of the chain camps will provide tourists with a pleasant and comfortable camping feast with warm and thoughtful services. The facilities in the camps are complete, and tourists of all ages can find entertainment items suitable for them in these camps. .
The British Caravan Camping Club is a non-profit organization, which means that every penny received by the club will be “taken from members, used for members”, and these funds will be used to improve camp facilities and member services. As a club with a clear theme, there is no doubt that the members here are also RV and camping enthusiasts. They love tents, RVs, outdoors and travel. It is always the mission of the club to spread and carry forward these elements.
peek into history
After more than 100 years of baptism, the British Caravan and Camping Club has formed a set of rules and regulations for member service systems. The formation of these rules and systems is closely related to the founding team of the club. There is a camping area on the outskirts of Wantage, England. In August 1901, a small team of 6 people happened to camp in the orchard here. Then, this well-known British caravan and camping club was born.
The original initiator of the caravan and camping club was Thomas Hiram Holding, who grew up in London. He has loved camping since he was 9 years old. He crossed the American prairie with his parents in 1853. The long-distance travel did not make him feel tired. He was particularly shocked by what he saw and felt during the journey. Holding was an avid biker and founded the Cycling Tour Club in 1878. Many years later, by chance, he tried a “cycling camping” with his friends, and then he had the idea of cycling and camping in Ireland. In 1901, Holding invited some like-minded friends to camp in Wantage. At that time, only 6 people responded to his call. This was the first “meeting” after the establishment of the British Caravan and Camping Club.
In 1906, with the continuous efforts of the founding team, the club already had hundreds of members. In June of the same year, the club’s first campground opened in Weybridge. Some members believed that the activities and facilities provided by the camp should be further increased, so some members spontaneously established a camping club on the basis of the club. Holding also brings together the Association of Cycle Campers and the National Camping Club. In 1909, with the rapid development of the camping industry in the UK, the Bicycle Touring Club and the National Camping Club officially merged into the British Caravan and Camping Club, with a total of 820 members at that time. It was also during that period that a number of regional clubs sprung up, including the Birmingham District Association, the London District Association and the North Island District Association, founded in 1907. In 1909, explorer-loving Navy Captain Robert Falcon-Scott became president of the club, leading the club toward a more formalized path.
However, good things never come, and the club also went through a difficult time during the war. In 1914, the number of members of the club decreased from 820 to 755. It was not until the end of the war that the club regained its strength in 1919 and once again ushered in a stage of rapid development. Subsequently, the club changed its name to the Camping Club of Great Britain and Ireland. That same year, after the Boer War, Robert Baden-Powell, a household war hero, founded the Boy Scouts and became president of the club. The development of the club and the camp is relatively synchronous. With the gradual maturity of the club system, the leaders have gradually realized the importance of camp activities for bonding members. The club once imitated the Chinese Lantern Festival and asked members to decorate lanterns by themselves, which gradually evolved into the most important annual activity of the camp. Today, the number of people participating in this activity has exceeded 10,000.
In 1930, the club announced the death of its founder, Thomas Hiram Holding. Two years later, the club began to form the International Federation of Camping Clubs, which has since held camping rallies in various countries around the world. In 1933, the British Canoeing Association became a member of the club. At the same time, some members of the original canoeing club gradually fell in love with caravans and camping life.
At that time in the UK, although there were many RV manufacturers like Eccles, Winchester Car Cruiser and Raven, members were still keen to modify RVs by themselves, and the chassis, tow hooks, wheels and springs they used All from old cars. Based on the love of caravans among members, the club established the British Caravanners Club in 1993, which is dedicated to caravans. During World War II, Robert Baden-Powell, president of the club, passed away. In the same year, the club donated to establish the Youth Camping Association, aiming to lead more teenagers to come into contact with and fall in love with camping life. The war did not slow down the development of the club, on the contrary, it allowed the camps laid out by the club to move from the countryside to the towns. This kind of development made the members full of confidence. After the baptism of the war, Britain has a lot of waste to do, and people have woken up from their dreams. They have begun to realize the importance of vacations and short breaks in life, and it also makes people cherish the beautiful camping time even more. Based on this, after the end of World War II, the number of club members did not decrease as it did after World War I, but has always maintained a stable number of members. In 1944, the Association of Cycle Campers was reorganized as part of the club, and the association’s name was later changed to the Association of Lightweight Campers.
and do it now
After undergoing various changes, the number of club members has shown a steady growth trend, and more and more camps have joined the club chain system. In 1951, the number of club members ushered in a milestone moment. After the 15,000th member was successfully enrolled, the club hereby issued a golden commemorative coin for the 50th anniversary, and the then reigning British King George VI also paid tribute to the club’s contribution Commendation.
Along the way, the club has gone through one milestone after another, witnessing and participating in the ups and downs of the British camping industry. In 1983, in order to attract more members to join the club, the club officially changed its name to the British Caravan and Camping Club, which is still in use today. After changing the name, the club headquarters moved from London to the current suburb of Coventry in 1990. After the club has gradually grown, the number of camps that provide services to members has also seen a blowout growth.
For decades, the club’s humanistic care for members has made it well-known at home and abroad, which has led to the increase of camp service items, including RV insurance, new or second-hand RV sales, trailer camping services, tent camping , bringing pets or home insurance and other services. After 2002, a large-scale caravan and camping group formed in the UK. In 2008, according to the club, 96,000 people spent the night in campsites. So far, more than 3 million tourists have visited the high-quality camps under the club, the total number of camp members has exceeded 600,000, and the number of authorized chain camps under the club in the UK has reached 16,000. Under the leadership of the new president of the club, Julia Bradbury, the service modules of the camp have also changed from diversification to comprehensiveness.
