Take a trip down memory lane

trip take a down memory lane

Garmin celebrates the Great British summer with an historical holiday route created using its Camper GPS Sat-Nav range

With Britain set to enjoy a bumper year of domestic tourism, many holidaymakers will be considering how to make the most of destinations closer to home. With resorts such as Margate, Scarborough, Skegness and Great Yarmouth seeing their bookings skyrocket like they did during their heyday in the 1940s and 1950s, touring in a motorhome gives the freedom and fl exibility to enjoy the best of the British Isles without competing for holiday rentals and hotels.

The Garmin Camper GPS SatNav’s Trip Down Memory Lane is designed to help plot out a holiday that explores the storied history of Britain as a tourism destination. The order listed below is by no means set and is best mapped out using one of Garmin’s camper-specifi c sat-navs. With custom routing, road warnings, and a directory of motorhome sites and services at your fi ngertips, you can spend less time planning and more time adventuring.

Seaside sojourns

The route starts with one of the UK’s most popular, and fi rst, holiday locations – Brighton. Following the discovery of spa waters in Scarborough in the 17th century, which gave birth to the fi rst British seaside resort, it was soon followed by many other towns we know and love today. Brighton was one of these fi rst spa resorts and, over time, restorative trips to the area evolved into recreational visits for the upper classes, gaining even more popularity when the health benefi ts of bathing in the sea came to be known.

Recommended stay: Brighton Caravan Club Site, BN2 5TS – are we recommending Caravan Club sites or should we fi nd another one?

Also consider: Aberystwyth, Blackpool and Southend, three other typical early holiday destinations.

Blackpool

Steamboats, railways, architecture and creativity

With the establishment of holiday resorts in the 17th century, the 1800s saw the emergence of piers in destinations as a facilitator for >>

Ullswater Lake District

travel, with steamboats bringing thousands of holidaymakers from London. Following Brighton, the Trip Down Memory Lane moves our campers on to Margate – one of the key destinations buoyed by access via steamboat. From Dreamland to Turner Contemporary, it’s a great example of a resort turned around, home to cultural pursuits and small creative businesses.

Recommended stay: Hawk Place Camping, CT7 9QS

From Margate, hop across the Queen Elizabeth II bridge to Essex and visit another destination benefited by steamboats, SouthendOn-Sea.

Recommended stay: The Lake at Nine Acres Campsite, SS9 5QT

From new favourites to the originals

A trip through Essex and Suffolk’s AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) to the Norfolk coast takes holidaymakers to one of this year’s most popular holiday destinations – Great Yarmouth. Enjoy the town’s ‘Golden Mile’ seafront and the heart of the Great British holiday’s prime, before settling down not far from town in the beautiful Norfolk Broads.

Recommended stay: Wild Duck Touring and Camping, NR31 9NE off the very essence of holidaying. Buxton, a spa town where the sick would come to regain their health before people realised they enjoyed the trip out of the city so much they started doing it for leisure purposes.

Recommended stay: Buxton Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsite, SK17 6UJ – ditto this one

Northern Delights

As the route travels north, do as the Lancashire Mill town workers would have done when using the new railway lines at the start of the 20th Century for a visit to Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach and head to Morecambe (soon to be the home to the Eden Project of the north). Morecambe was one of the hardest hit resorts from overseas travel in the 1970s; it’s now bouncing back with developments such as the refurbished art deco Midland hotel.

Recommended stay: Little Acre Holiday Park, LA7 7NN No look back at the history of the Great British holiday would be complete without a stay in the Lake District – set to be a huge favourite of staycationers this summer. Windermere, Kendal, Ambleside and Ullswater are all highlights, and the area was the inspiration for the establishment of the National Trust. More remote destinations like the Lakes became even more popular after the Second World War as cars became more affordable for families to own, followed by the development of the campervan, such as the cult classic, the VW Westfalia in 1955.

Recommended stay: Low Wray Campsite, Ambleside, LA22 0JA

To finish the trip, a stop in the Scottish spa town of Dumfries is essential, particularly with the beautiful Galloway Forest Park on its doorstep.

Recommended stay: Barnsoul Caravan Park, DG2 9SQ

Plot out this route, or create your own Trip Down Memory Lane with the Garmin Camper GPS Sat-Nav. With custom camper routing, which considers the size and weight of your motorhome to find the best routes, extra-large 8” and 10” sat-nav display with portrait or landscape view and a directory of campervan parks and services, the Garmin Camper is the perfect companion to your next Great British adventure.

Kendal