MY 5 NEC SHOW TAKEAWAYS

Practical Caravan's Pete Byrne reveals everything he enjoyed at the recent Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show at Birmingham's NEC

- Peter Byrne

THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING special in the air when the February NEC show is on, because you know that everyone else there is as passionate about your favourite pastime as you are.

While the Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show is traditionally a smaller show than its October counterpart, there was still plenty to see. It's spread across five halls (which my feet were grateful about), and caravanners were treated to new releases from Coachman and Adria, an expanding caravan, a tourer with an MTPLM of 2800kg and a price tag of over £70,000, and more.

I enjoyed the show - here are my top five key takeaways!

1 There was a caravan costing more than £70,000

Yes, that's right. The Fifth Wheel Company was making its return to the February NEC show for the first time in more than a decade, and had some eye-catching 'fifth wheel' models on its stand in the form of the Celtic Rambler and the Dreamseeker, which will be mounted onto the back of a pick-up, instead of hitched up with a towbar.

Joining it, however, was the Inos, a more conventional caravan that comes on an Al-Ko chassis and has GRP body panels, yet is hand-built with a wood-free construction process.

There's certainly an impressive amount of customisation available - much of it is bespoke, and you could even supply your own choice of upholstery finish if there isn't one that takes your fancy amidst the large selection.

Big and heavy