Tickle your tastebuds
Price £36 Web www.workman.com
ISBN 9781579658762
So this isn’t really a book you’ll want to take with you in your caravan – it weighs in at more than
3kg. But it is a fabulous tome to browse when you’re at home, planning those fantastique French tours. It covers everything you could possibly want to know about the joys of Gallic cuisine. Its 432 beautiful pages feature 375 delicious recipes, details of 1250 specialty foods, maps, tips, anecdotes, charts and more, all giving you a tremendous insight into the food you’ll find while travelling anywhere in France.
There’s everything from a timeline about croissants to a fascinating page on the use of insects in French cooking – who knew? Wine highlights and details of some fascinating gastronomic museums are just a few of the many highlights to be found in this fabulous, inspirational book – and those illustrations really are amazing. SW
Scrub up!
Price £12.99
Web bootbuddy.com/pages/paw-buddy You might have seen our mention of the Boot Buddy a couple of months ago. Now, the clever people behind that handy device have something new to offer.
The Paw Buddy has been designed with dogs in mind, to help scrub up after they’ve had a good roll in the mud.
Spruce up muddy paws using 300ml of water with Paw Buddy’s neat system: there’s a fur-friendly rubber comb to remove debris, and soft bristles at the other end, where you unlock the water flow. What better gift to get your canine friend ready for the inevitably muddy Christmas day walk? BS Win a Briteangle warning triangle Price £37.95
Web www.briteangle.com
Keep your touring road-safety kit in tip-top condition with the addition of this high-quality LED warning triangle – it was highly commended by our judges in the Best Accessory category of our recent Tourer of the Year awards.
It combines a bright red, highly reflective surface with flashing red LEDS that turn on automatically as you unfold the triangle, to make sure that, should you have the misfortune of breaking down on the road, you will be visible up to 300m away.
Although it’s not compulsory to carry warning triangles in the UK, it is mandatory to do so in 30 EU and European Free
Trade Association countries, so anyone touring abroad will need to pack one.
The Briteangle is a great choice, with the sturdy box forming the base of the triangle, which can be assembled in seconds. It can also withstand winds of up to 45mph.
If you have to make an unexpected stop on the road, just place the triangle behind your outfit.
You could even win one of the two Brightangle warning triangles that we have to give away this month! Simply enter the competition at www.practicalcaravan.com/win by 26 December 2018 to be in with a chance of winning. BS
Now it’s time to sup up
Price £45.95 Web www.knivesandtools.co.uk
This is a brilliant present for that person in your life who enjoys walking, cycling or any other outdoor activity – and it could potentially save their life. The Lifestraw Go 2-stage water bottle features two-stage filtration to eliminate almost 100% of bacteria and protozoa; it also reduces chlorine, organic chemical matter and bad taste. This means the user can be sure that the water they’re drinking when out and about is safe, even if it comes from a natural source; what’s more, the bottle weighs just 227g, holds 0.65 litres of filtered water, and looks great – it’s available in a range of five different colours. SW
Bird’s eye view
Price £10.25-£16.99
Web www.rspbshop.co.uk
Enjoy watching the birdlife around the campsite while you’re pitched up? Give yourself the best seats in the house: simply attach a bird feeder from the RSPB to your window with the suction cups, fill with tasty treats, and sit back to enjoy the show. Just don’t forget to remove it before leaving! BS
A light touch
Price £19.99 Web www.jmldirect.com
Add an extra touch of luxury with the easy to install, even easier to use Tri Bright. This trio of stick-on lights can be placed anywhere you like in your caravan: in cupboards, above your favourite reading spot, or in your gas locker. You simply peel off the plastic backing and place them where you want to boost your van’s light.
They come with a compact remote control that allows you to turn the lights on and off, and even dim them, either individually or all at the same time. You can also turn them on and off just by touching the individual lights, or use the remote control to set a timer to make sure the lights turn off after 30 minutes.
Each light is made up of five LEDS, which are energy-efficient, and runs on a trio of AAA batteries
(which are not included). BS
Ship-shape awnings
Price £28 Web www.etsy.com/uk/thehappycaravanner
Keep your awning smart and tidy with these fantastic handmade organisers that stick onto the side of your caravan via suction hooks (not included). With four pockets to store your shoes or other bits and pieces, this is a great way to keep your awning clear of clutter, and store your footwear away from the ground.
The organisers are made of oilcloth, making it easy to clean off any mud and grass transferred from your shoes, and they have an attractive print of caravan illustrations, backed by pale-blue and white spotted oilcloth.
If the standard size with four pockets isn’t quite big (or small) enough for your needs, you can even order the organisers in bespoke measurements. BS