NEWS | Garmin Unveils Trip Down Memory Lane to Celebrate Great British Summer

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Garmin recently announced its ‘Trip Down Memory Lane’: a historical British holiday route created using its Camper GPS Sat-Nav range, with consultation from Professor Christopher Cooper of the School of Events, Tourism and Hospitality Management at Leeds Beckett University.

Garmin Unveils Trip Down Memory Lane to Celebrate Great British Summer

With Britain set to enjoy another bumper year for 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, camping and campervans give the freedom and flexibility to enjoy the best of the British Isles without competing for holiday rentals and hotels.

The route leans on the origins of the Great British holiday, which started out in the medieval age, when people would visit their nearest spa for its healing properties. All these centuries later the destinations have retained their popularity as resorts.

The Great British holiday may have shifted from medicinal to recreational, but holidaymakers can still discover the restorative benefits these sights became famous for while also enjoying the beautiful landscapes, charming towns and attractions that built up over the history of domestic holidaying.

The Garmin Camper GPS Sat-Nav’s Trip Down Memory Lane is designed to help plot out a holiday that explores the storied history of Britain as a tourism destination.

Garmin Camper GPS Sat-Nav’s Trip Down Memory Lane

Seaside Sojourns

The route starts with one of the UK’s most popular, and first, holiday locations – Brighton. Following the discovery of spa waters in Scarborough in the 17th century, which gave birth to the first British seaside resort, it was soon followed by many other towns we know and love today.

Brighton was one of these first 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 benefits of bathing in the sea came to be known.

Recommended stay: Brighton Caravan Club Site, BN2 5TS

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

Garmin Camper GPS Sat-Nav range

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 travel, with steamboats bringing thousands of holidaymakers from London. Railway stations also opened in destinations such as Cleethorpes.

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, a hop across the Queen Elizabeth II bridge to Essex and a visit to another destination benefited by steamboats, Southend-On-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

The trip now brings us to where it all began, one of the towns that kicked off the very essence of holidaying. Buxton, a spa town where the sick would come to regain their health before people realized 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

Northern Delights

As the route travels north, make like the Lancashire Mill town workers would have done using the new railway lines at the start of the 20th Century for a visit to Blackpool’s Pleasure beach and Morecambe (soon to be the home of 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 favouriteof staycationers this summer.

Windermere, Kendal, Ambleside and Ullswater are all highlights. The area was the inspiration for the establishment of the National Trust, leading to it becoming a hot spot of dispute between conservationists and developers since the 19th Century.

More remote destinations like many places in 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 or caravan 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.

Garmin CamperVan GPS

The newly-launched CamperVan, designed for adventurous travel in smaller vans, comes with a “6.95 screen and includes Michelin Green Guide to enhance spontaneous travel.

  • Camper 890 (8” screen), currently available on promotion for £399.99
  • Camper 1090 (10” screen): currently available for on promotion £539.99
  • CamperVan (6.95” screen): currently available for £259.99

All are available to buy at Garmin.co.uk.

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