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22 GRAND TOUR: ALSACE Caroline Mills discovers gastronomic delights in glorious north-east France

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SHORT TOUR: EXMOOR Kate Taylor explores the wild and dramatic National Park in a Topaz

80 HEADLIGHTS Maintain your road lights with Ed Evans

84 STARTER VAN: PART VII Gentleman Jack revamps the upholstery on a budget

ALL NEW BAILEY MOTORHOMES Our full test team’s verdict on the first ever prototypes from caravan-maker Bailey

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Contents

TALK Your letters and more Your shout, on connecting two hook-up leads, a reader’s new Tribute and Joint Motorhomes Ask Jack Our sage advises on drive-away awnings, flaky paint problems, and down-plating your ’van Subscribe to Practical Motorhome and save Plus, get a fantastic free Autoglym valet kit worth Vote for your favourite site Take part in our Top sites survey, and share the wisdom of thousands of other tourers

TOURING Tour smarter Sarah Wakely’s travel news digest: language learning with a brandnew app, motorhome Christmas cards and the Festive Gift Fair COVER STORIES Grand tour: Alsace Caroline Mills and family meander along the Moselle valley, sampling the food, wine and countryside of Alsace, in north-east France Short tour: Exmoor Kate Taylor visits this pretty part of England, for a weekend break in the Auto-Sleeper Topaz high-top Olympics sites guide We explore the camping options to help you see the greatest show on earth, in summer Tours that change lives How Roger and Helen Taylor caught the camping bug, after touring beautiful Tasmania

TECHNICAL Workshop Our team answers your questions. This month, fixing vibrating brakes, and repairing windscreen chips Check your headlights Follow our guide to ensuring your motorhome’s lights are safe Project Sherpa: part VII Our Gentleman Jack revamps the upholstery of our project ’van, in the next instalment of our series

BUY & OWN Marketplace news Our buying and owning expert Nick Harding on special Hymer deals and a high-top Hyundai NEC show preview We round up all the models from the major manufacturers, and reveal our NEC Show Stars Adria Auto-Sleepers Auto-Trail Bentley Bürstner Carthago Chausson & CI Dethleffs Elddis & Knaus Hobby Hymer Laika Niesmann + Bischoff Pilote Rapido Tribute

TESTED Tested column Jeremiah Mahadevan on the debut of the new Hymer Exsis-i, Bailey’s high build standards, and more COVER STORIES Bailey Motorhomes After years of speculation, they’re finally here: Bailey is ready to launch its first trio of motorhomes. We go behind the scenes, and put two prototypes to the test Reviewed: new Swift ’vans We test two of Swift’s most popular models, after the company’s recent line-up tweaks for : the Bolero FB and Kon-Tiki

Personal shopper We help Practical Motorhome readers to find the perfect ’van Secondhand challenge Nick Harding hunts down a pair of , Hymer A-classes Used-’van buyer Our guide to buying a Fiat-based Pilote, from all-new www.practicalmotorhome.com | November 2011 | 9