Tag: The AA

The AA Caravan and Canmping Guide 2026.

Birthday Gifts, Books, camping, Family Life, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, travel

Disclaimer: We received these books for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

Summer holiday season is here and the weather is currently glorious and perfect for camping and caravanning. Whether you’re pitching your tent for the very first time or like us, have been enjoying caravan holidays for years, then a guide book is a great way to discover the best sites around the country.

The AA Caravan and Camping guide is the UK’s best selling annual camping guide and covers the United Kingdom as well as the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Scottish Islands. The guide is split into regions with the AA 5 star site recommendations at the start of the book along with sections for adult-only and glamping sites. With over 550 sites it’s a great place to start your holiday planning.

Before you start looking at the sites there’s a useful introduction explaining how to use the guide. A series of symbols make it easy to see at a glance what facilities are available on site from the type of pitch available, eg caravan, motorhome or tent, as well as the facilities on site which could include an indoor/outdoor pool, playground, showers, WiFi, and services available like cafés, electric hook up and bars. The symbols are quite self explanatory but there’s a handy a key at the bottom of each page so it’s easy to see at a glance what they mean.  

The sites are split into areas and then into counties and are in alphabetical order making it easy to find a campsite in the area you plan to visit. Every regional section begins with an overview of the area, complete with ideas for places to visit, before moving on to the campsite listings themselves. Each site is given an AA rating, which I found really useful when trying to narrow down the shortlist.

Each campsite entry includes full contact details , basic directions to the site and a paragraph describing the site and facilities. It also tells you when the site is open as well as arrival and departure times. The symbols make it easy to see the types of pitches, on-site amenities and leisure facilities, as well as attractions and activities within three miles of the campsite. Many of the listings also include a colour photograph, giving you a feel for the site before you arrive.

Whether you’re planning a weekend by the sea, a walking holiday in Wales or fancy trying glamping, this guide takes a lot of the guesswork out of choosing a caravan or camping site in the UK.  

RRP £14.99  

Available from Amazon and all leading bookstores.

AA 2024-25 Walking Guides

Birthday Gifts, Books, camping, Days Out, Family Life, Fitness, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, health, National Walking Month, Sport, Stocking Fillers, Summer

Disclaimer: We received these books for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

May is National Walking Month and is the perfect opportunity to get outdoors and explore our beautiful countryside. If you’re new to walking or just on holiday, then a guide book is a great way to discover the best routes in the area. The AA have recently launched a new series of walking books covering some of the most beautiful areas of England, each featuring 50 walks to suit all abilities. The walks are numbered and it is easy to see their locations on the handy map at the start of the book. As well as being numbered they are also colour coded according to the difficulty of the walk – easy (green), intermediate(orange) and hard (red).

Each walk has information about the distance, time, gradient, type of surface and accessibility, landscape, dog friendliness, parking, and public toilets as well as the OS map that covers the area. They also give useful information about the area, a little of the history of the area and things to look out for. There is a map of each walk with the route clearly highlighted making it easy to follow the written instructions. As the guide is meant to be taken out on a walk with you it fits perfectly in a map pocket or rucksack, making it easily accessible when walking.  

There are two books covering Yorkshire and there is a great selection of walks in them, some we already know like Malham, Pen-y-Ghent and Grassington and lots for us to discover over the coming months.

Whether you want to explore country lanes, the coast or the fells these handy guides offer plenty of walks for novices and experienced walkers alike.

The new 50 Walks In guides are £13.99 and feature Devon, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire and Worcestershire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, North Yorkshire, and West Yorkshire.  

Available from Amazon and all leading bookstores.