Who Invented the Caravan?

The history of caravans can be found dating back to 13th century around the time of Marco Polo. However during this of course they were not the vehicles that we know today, in fact they were mere shells made of wood and pulled along by horses. The hobby caravan that we have come to know today was first seen and began to take off around the 20th century.
When this fascination for caravans erupted even Harrods used to rent out a caravan and the caravan then became something that was pursued by the enormously wealthy people. In 1939 the National Caravan Council was founded which of course is a representative body for the whole of the caravan and motorhome industry.

Of course the history of caravans is often portrayed with Romany’s who used caravans to tour around from town to town and also lived in them. From here caravans took off in a big way and evolved into luxurious homes and from home and they have become more affordable for the basic models. Dame Helen Mirren, the singer Robbie Williams and actor Will Smith are all reported to own their own caravan or motorhome. Today over 29,000 touring caravans alone were produced with and around 90% of the caravans that have been bought and are out on the roads of the UK were made in the UK. From 2003 to 2006 the UK overtook the German market for the largest market specifically in touring caravans. If you were to line up all the touring caravans on the UK roads from end to end they would stretch out over 3,000 miles that’s how much the caravan has took off in the UK since it was first invented and seen on the roads.