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p21

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Visiting an island can add that frisson of adventure just because you are crossing water to a new body of land. We explore the islands around Britain’s shores, Lindau Island on Germany’s Lake Constance and the jewel in the Med that is Sardinia.

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News

Travel

10 Noticeboard Stop here first for touring tips, deals, news and views, plus our crossword puzzle 12 Letters Your news and views from the sites, as well as posts from our Forum 17 Caravan bore Bore gets asked whether smartphones and caravans are compatible

Cover story

Islands Special p21 The Practical Caravan team and our readers explore island destinations at home and abroad 22 Offshore adventures Cross the water to reach these nine enchanting islands, some with places to pitch up 28 Jersey Peter and Ann Frost find plenty on this tiny Channel Island for a family holiday 34 Isle of Wight Lee Davey and his family get a lift out of their break across the Solent 38 Sardinia Les and Mal Roberts explore Europe en route to this Mediterranean isle 45 Your postcards Our readers write to us about trips to York and the Medway, Kent 47 Independent site reviews Your views on great touring sites in the UK and France

6 | FEBRUARY 2012 | www.practicalcaravan.com

Idyllic beaches ar e jus t one of the jo ys of Jerse y p28 BREAKING NEWS… Dealer of the Year 2011 Catterick Caravans has taken over three former Discover Leisure sites. For more information, turn to page 10

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Cover story

Twin test Bailey Unicorn Valencia vs Lunar Clubman SE p57

Caravan Genius 84 Genius ideas Internet access on site gets a boost from a new mobile modem 86 Doug’ll fix it Have caravan queries or quandaries? Ask Doug “Fix-it” King 89 Project van Doug King repairs the gas locker of our old Elddis GT Whirlwind 91 Winter touring tips Enjoy the cold by following these clever van-warming suggestions 93 Caravan College We explain the kinds of caravan water systems — and how to use them 97 Tech advice — tachographs Some caravanners must have ‘a spy’ in the car. Here are the ‘ifs’, ‘ands’ and ‘buts’

Cover story

The rear nearside fixed-bed layout is the UK’s most popular floor plan. And it’s hard to find two better interpretations of it than the Bailey Unicorn Valencia and Lunar Clubman SE. But which one is the best?

Showroom Close inspection We put Bailey and Lunar tourers to the test, and pick between premium 4x4s 57 Twin test Bailey and Lunar stack up the luxury in this contest between upmarket fixed-bed tourers 67 First drives Towcars by Audi and Peugeot set out to prove that small is beautiful

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69 Towcar test Premium 4x4s from Volvo and BMW hit the road and track to decide which is the better tug 75 Awning review A bargain awning from Outdoor Revolution aims high 77 Running reports The latest from the Practical Caravan fleet — where we’ve been and how we got there

Can the Volvo XC60 outperform the BMW X3? p69

98 Tech advice — heaters

Cover story

Choose the right heater to suit your caravan and the way you tour 112 Used caravan buyer Compass Omega is known for its generous kit levels and traditional interiors 114 Subscription offer Save 15% of the cover price and get a Milenco Aero towing mirror worth £20, FREE 116 Second-hand shoot-out We compare end-washroom two-berths costing around the £10,000 mark 121 Talking towcars From matches to motors, send your tough tug questions to David Motton 122 Used towcar buyer Mitsubishi’s L200 pick-up makes a great second-hand towcar 128 New kit A trusted name in power tools launches a compact generator 135 Caravan basics Essential touring knowledge for beginners and experts alike 145 Caravan scrapbook More unusual and unlikely caravans from yesteryear, courtesy of Andrew Jenkinson

Buyer’s guide 104 New caravans Updated and revamped with prices and data for all new UK tourers 125 Top 25 new towcars Here’s our choice of the 25 best new tugs on the market 126 50 top accessories Take a look at our pick of touring accessories www.practicalcaravan.com | FEBRUARY 2012 | 7