ABOVE: Michael McDonnell has been taking the family business in exciting new directions since he took over from his father in 1983
something in the caravan market for everybody. “It’s like buying a property, it’s a location-driven purchase,” he says. In location, McDonnell Caravans couldn’t be more fortunate. The coast of West Norfolk is breathtaking. It has amazing beaches and a rich wilderness which provides unparalleled access to internationally-recognized wildlife sites. There is high calibre entertainment, a river of arts and crafts in tucked away galleries and well-preserved, unspoilt villages to explore. This is walking, watching, wading country as well as offering the sea and all its magic. It’s the variety of things to do and places to be in a non-commercial environment that makes the region so special. For McDonnell Caravans it means the
area is a quality destination, and the company specialises in offering seven niche caravan parks, owner-occupied with no letting that benefit from their natural settings. The parks each have their own character – for example, Snettisham has more to offer families than Thornham, which can give owners a quiet, exclusive retreat. The parks follow the rim of the coast, and where McDonnell Caravans doesn’t run the holiday park itself, they also supply caravans and static homes to other parks in the area. The caravan season – which used to straddle the summer months – can now last for 11 months of the year. There’s always something to see, something to do and something to experience. Many customers come from within a two-hour drive time and
find it is a stress-free break. There is none of the misery of airport controls, battling with the railway system or lugging heavy cases from one place to another. It is a smooth, quick drive to a place of peace and beauty, a real break and if something was to go wrong at home, or it’s necessary to head back unexpectedly, it’s only a quick drive home. McDonnell Caravans have been around for nearly half a century and over the years they’ve developed their caravan parks to a very high standard and accumulated a high level of expertise in the advising and selling of touring caravans and static homes. The company has developed a perfectly apt slogan: don’t just buy a caravan, buy a McDonnell caravan. “A caravan purchase requires some thought, time and research,” says Michael McDonnell. “Our ethos is that we want to get it right for people first time.” He has a ‘fantastic’ team to help him. Technical advice is on hand from factory-trained fitters, there’s a caring and knowledgeable ground staff, and loyal, highly experienced sales and admin team members. Anyone coming to the McDonnell ‘Caravan City’ in Gayton will benefit from a high level of preparation, expertise and service. There’s no question about the service but there is more to a caravan or static home than meets the eye. When you buy a caravan, you are also buying hope for holiday peace or pleasure. They are a passion. Even celebrities get excited about caravans – Richard Hammond is obsessive about the little house on wheels. Out in the swathe of static homes, lodges and touring homes, at the McDonnell Caravans showground at Gayton, Michael shows me inside a top of the range caravan holiday home with a pitched roof, dishwasher, washing machine, a double bedroom with a touch of glamour, and a lounge area with space to dance. It’s perfect – and about as far from the cramped bunk bed caravan memories of my youth as one can get. Don’t just buy a caravan, I think. Buy a McDonnell Caravan. How true.
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details
McDONNELL CARAVANS Lynn Road, Gayton, King’s Lynn Norfolk PE32 1QJ Tel: 01553 636243 Web: www.mcdonnellcaravans.co.uk
KLmagazine August 2012
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