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Alan Rogers was one of the major personalities whose work created the camping, caravanning and motor caravan industry. After service in the British RAF in the Second World War, Alan devoted his post-war leisure time to his twin passions of rallying and caravanning.
In the early 1960s he, like many other caravanners, had become disillusioned with the quality of campsite information available to the users. He reasoned that what users wanted wasn't a list of facilities available on the site, but an accurate and impartial guide to the way that the site was run.
In 1968, Rogers published his first guide, the Alan Roger's selected sites for caravanning and camping in Europe. Retailing at four shillings (20p), from small beginnings the guide grew in strength through the years based on its clearly defined statement that the only way sites would be included in the guide was on the basis of quality. In the introduction to the first guide Alan wrote "I would like to stress that the camps which are included in this book have been chosen entirely on merit and no payment of any sort is made by them for their inclusion."
In the same guide Alan accurately predicted trends for the future. For example, he pointed out that a number of overseas sites were providing mains electricity hook-ups and suggested that British caravanners and motor caravanners should take advantage of this by having their units wired to take mains electricity. In 1968 no standard British caravan was supplied with mains electricity wiring. The Alan Rogers' series of guides continued to expand until 1986 when Alan decided to seek retirement.
The eventual purchasers of the Guide's publishing company Deneway Guides and Travel Ltd were Clive and Lois Edwards. Clive Edwards remembers the negotiations with Rogers clearly. "The actual business negotiations were conducted quickly. What Alan was really concerned about was that we would maintain the philosophy and the impartiality of the Guides. Following Alan's retirement we found that he was always willing to offer us advice and guidance".
Perhaps the true measure of the success of the movement that Rogers started is to note how many of the things he called for in his original guide have now become reality. Mains electricity connections in caravans and motor caravans, marked pitches of a minimum size, hot water freely available in the amenity blocks, British style toilets on French campsites, the use of trees and bushes to mark pitches and an end to the practice of over-crowding of sites during the peak summer holiday times.
Many of the sites - like Camping du Pavillon at Bidarte in the Pyrenees recommended by him in 1968 - are still recommended in the current guides, although all the sites have developed along the lines originally recommended by Alan Rogers.
Rogers died on 14 January 2000, aged 81, after suffering from long term illness. [1]
Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home in a shelter, such as a tent or a recreational vehicle. Typically participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more natural ones in pursuit of activities providing them enjoyment. To be regarded as "camping" a minimum of one night is spent outdoors, distinguishing it from day-tripping, picnicking, and other similarly short-term recreational activities. Camping can be enjoyed through all four seasons.
A campsite or camping pitch is a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area. In UK English, a campsite is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using tents or camper vans or caravans; this UK English use of the word is synonymous with the US English expression campground. In American English, the term campsite generally means an area where an individual, family, group, or military unit can pitch a tent or park a camper; a campground may contain many campsites.
A caravan, travel trailer, camper or camper trailer is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent. It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places where none is available. However, in some countries campers are restricted to designated sites for which fees are payable.
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Shell Island, also known as Mochras, is a peninsula lying west of Llanbedr in Gwynedd, Wales. It was formed after the River Artro was diverted by the Earl of Winchelsey in 1819 from its previous course where it entered the sea to the south of Shell Island. Prior to this, access to the ancient settlement on the island would have been through the village of Llandanwg, which is now across the estuary.
A portable toilet or mobile toilet is a toilet that may easily be moved around. They may be toilets that can be brought on site, such as a festival, concert or building site, to quickly provide sanitation services. Others may be toilets within mobile vehicles, such as boats or caravans. Some are re-usable and may be moved on to further sites, others are easily installed but become permanent once in place. A major characteristic is that most types do not require any pre-existing services to be provided on-site, such as sewerage disposal, but are completely self-contained.
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A recreational vehicle park or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in allotted spaces known as "sites" or "campsites". They are also referred to as campgrounds, though a true campground also provides facilities for tent camping; many facilities calling themselves "RV parks" also offer tent camping or cabins with limited facilities.
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Mark Hammerton Group Ltd was a UK-based travel organiser and travel publisher specialising in camping, caravanning, motorhome and mobile home holidays on campsites in France, Spain, Italy and other European countries. The Group published the market-leading Alan Rogers campsites guides and offered a European travel service for readers including ferry bookings. The Group was acquired by The Caravan Club in 2012 under the brand Alan Rogers Travel Group, along with its subsidiary company Belle France, which offers walking and cycling hotel holidays.
The Alan Rogers Guides were started in Britain in 1968 by camp enthusiast Alan Rogers. The guides place utmost importance on the quality of the campsites; campsites cannot pay to be in the guide. Travel guides have been published every year since 1968. In 2018, Alan Rogers Guides celebrated its 50th anniversary.
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The Camping and Caravanning Club is a United Kingdom not-for-profit organisation involved with all aspects of camping based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1901, the club now represents over half a million members.
Alan Rogers Travel Group was formed in 2012 following the purchase of various brands from the former Mark Hammerton Group Ltd by The Caravan Club.
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Tripcony Hibiscus Caravan Park is a heritage-listed caravan park at Bowman Road, Caloundra CBD, Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1912 onwards. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 3 April 2009.
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Thrybergh Country Park is a reservoir and nature reserve in South Yorkshire. It is located between Thrybergh and Hooton Roberts on the outskirts of Rotherham and opened in 1983.
Noosa River Caravan Park is a heritage-listed caravan park at Russell Street, Noosaville, Shire of Noosa, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1929 onwards. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 3 April 2009.