Official tourist board guide

4:58pm Monday 28th April 2008

Britain's Camping, Caravan & Holiday Parks 2008 - Official Tourist Board Guide to quality-assessed sites, published by VisitBritain in softback price £8.99 The key thing with this guide is that it features more than 1,000 sites which have all been assessed by national tourist board assessors, so when it says that the Hill of Oaks at Newby Bridge has 5 stars, for example, you can expect an exceptional' holiday experience - and that's official!

The guide is divided into 11 regional sections and entries are listed alphabetically by place name. There's also a really useful quick reference index at the back of the book if you are looking for things like swimming pools, whether or not a park is in the National Accessible Scheme'; and if sites have been given a David Bellamy conservation award' seal of approval.

At the beginning of each regional section there's an informative overview, a list of places to visit, diary, and contacts listing for all the tourist information centres in that area which is an excellent idea.

There are further reading recommendations too, and travel information.

If you are a member of the Caravan Club or the Camping and Caravanning Club then you will have copies of their respective site guides. This book might not have as many sites listed, but that's not the point. Those that are have been inspected and have made the grade so you can make your booking in the knowledge that the parks have been checked and rated for quality.

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