There are a number of different organisations that exist to help people get the most out of their caravan. The U.K. is home to some of the largest organisations of this type and some of the smallest as well. There are advantages and disadvantages to both as they all offer different perks and varying specialist knowledge. The following is a brief guide to the main caravan organisations that you can join in the U.K.

The Caravan Club

This world famous club is the largest of its kind in Europe. The Caravan Club has a membership of over one million caravan, motor caravan and trailer tent owners. They claim that half of all of the caravanners in the U.K. are members of their organisation. On the 14^th June 2007 they celebrated their centenary and over the hundred years of their existence they have built up a comprehensive network of caravan sites. They run 200 sites in the U.K. and have certified over 2500 locations. Being a member of the club entitles you to have access to all of their information about where to stay and what to do, as well as access to their wealth of knowledge about caravanning. The Caravan Club have a good reputation, it is run by members for the members. This huge club has its own vibrant social scene. The downside of being just one of a million members is that you are unlikely to have much say in what happens within the club, but for resources and information it is a great organisation. The club also offers a number of member only deals on holidays, insurance and finance.

The Camping and Caravanning Club

This is the oldest and largest club for all of the different kinds of camping. Boasting over 400,000 members, the club and its facilities are run by members who really enjoy camping and caravanning. This club also runs many sites of its own, over 100 of its sites have won awards. They cater to 3 million campers and caravanners every year. One of the principle advantages of being a member of the Camping and Caravanning Club is their private member sites. They have 1200 small sites located in some of the most picturesque areas of the U.K. that only members are allowed to use. If you enjoy caravanning abroad this club has its own dedicated travel organiser called Carefree. This part of the organisation deals with any international travel and destination requirements and they also offer exclusive member deals. There are also a host of other member privileges such as good deals on insurance, security and financial services.

The Association of Caravan and Camping Exempted Organisations (A.C.C.E.O.)

This organisation was started in response to the government restrictions on spontaneous rallies in 1960. The restrictions were imposed to protect areas of natural beauty and to stop over use of popular areas. The A.C.C.E.O. works closely with government departments to further the interests of their members. Clubs and individuals can join, there are over 200 rallying clubs that are members. Clubs use the A.C.C.E.O. to organise and promote their events. Personal membership allows for easy networking between the different clubs and invitation to restricted events. This organisation simplifies the process of getting exemption certificates from the government so that rallies can be held on unlicensed land. The organisation is run by elected and unpaid officials so you can be certain that they are always working in the interests of the members.

Caravan Owners Clubs

There are a number of caravan owners clubs. The advantages to being a member of a club specifically related to your caravan is that there will be lots of people who can help you if you have any problems with your caravan. Sourcing parts and selling items become a lot simpler as you are only dealing with people who have the same kind of caravan as you. As you may expect the individual clubs all have different policies and activities.

Local Clubs

There are lots of small local caravan clubs, a little research should uncover the ones in your locality. They can be great for connecting with other caravan enthusiasts in your area. Most of these clubs will operate within a confined area but are likely to have the best knowledge about the area in which they are active. Another advantage if you cannot store your caravan at home is that they are likely to be connected to local storage sites, so you may be able to save money by joining a local club.  Other perks vary from club to club.

The impact of travel on the environment is huge. Daily car trips and annual summer holidays abroad are the norm for many people. This causes a huge release of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. But there are a number of ways that you can actively reduce your carbon footprint when you go on holiday.

Environmentalists have long praised the green credentials of caravanning when compared with other modes of transport, particularly plane travel. The National Caravanning Council’s research shows that the C02 emissions released when transporting a family of four on holiday in a mid weight caravan and car combination are significantly less than catching a plane and are also the same as or less than taking the journey on a train. In fact if you go on holiday in a large car towing a heavy caravan it will still be a great deal less harmful to the environment than if you went on a plane. This is especially true of short and medium distance journeys such as travelling within the U.K. and travelling to France or Spain.

There is always more that we can all do to reduce our impact on the environment and whilst caravanning is a good start it is by no means the end. Here are five tips that will help you to lower fuel wastage whilst driving:

1. Make sure that your caravan and car are well matched for fuel efficiency.

2. Towing at 40 mph uses significantly less fuel that towing at 50 mph. Try to not exceed 75% of your maximum speed as this makes a large difference. Also avoid rapid acceleration.

3. Turn off your engine if there is no movement ahead. If you have to leave the engine idle for more than approximately 30 seconds then it is more fuel efficient to turn it off.

4. Ensure that you have the correct tyre pressure and that your vehicles are in optimum condition as this combats the inevitable inefficiencies as your vehicles get older which will reduce fuel consumption and make oil leaks far less likely to occur.

5. Obtain a profiled roof box; increasing aerodynamic efficiency on your caravan can make a surprising amount of difference to your overall efficiency.

Lowering fuel emissions on the journey is an effective way to have a greener holiday. You should also find that the cost of your holiday will be less than with foreign travel. Particularly for travel within the U.K. where there is no need to deal with unfavourable currency rates and generally no need to use other more expensive forms of transport such as ferries.

There are many other measures that you can take to ensure that your holiday has the lowest environmental impact possible, Here are five more ways that you can save the environment and save yourself some money in the process!

1. Avoid short journeys with your caravan; the start of the journey uses up a lot of fuel.

2. Take less with you! More weight = more energy consumption.

3. Take bikes with you. When you are at your destination you can use these instead of the car for fun, healthy and carbon free travel.

4. Trips to the beach or nature reserves are a great day out and will not cost you much at all.

5. Choose a eco-friendly caravan site. Both the Camping and Caravanning Club and the Caravan Club have schemes in place to ensure that their sites are always trying to improve upon their green credentials. 

Influential botanist David Bellamy gives Conservation Awards each year to any caravan sites that achieve high levels of natural integration with their surroundings. The awards include consideration of every aspect of how the site is run including water conservation, encouraging bio-diversity and having good recycling facilities. Some caravan sites get bad press for being unsightly and unnatural areas but any that David Bellamy has awarded are sure to be the exact opposite of this. Giving you and your family many opportunities to stay in beautiful places that are designed to sustain and celebrate nature whilst creating a lovely holiday destination.

If you put all of these factors together you are going to be going on a great holiday that costs you and the environment less!