In August 2024, Brian and his family purchased a brand new Elddis Avante 868 – the Connoisseur retailer special edition, built exclusively by Elddis for LPC Caravans in Bangor, Northern Ireland.

Brian, his Husband and young Son, have wasted no time, celebrating their new caravan – and the last of the Summer weather – with a fun-filled trip to the coast and their favourite local places.

The family previously owned a Compass Camino – also from Erwin Hymer Group – which they loved and enjoyed for 4 years. But, when we introduced our 868 layout, with it’s rear double bed and bunk pods, they knew this model would be the perfect, and most practical, for family adventures with ‘Junior’!

The family are absolutely thrilled and delighted with – not only their new caravan (who they’ve named ‘Conny’ the Connoisseur) but with Elddis, and the team at Erwin Hymer Group UK’s HQ – with whom they’ve established a fantastic rapport.

No sooner than the family had returned from their maiden voyage in Conny, Brian jumped straight onto Elddis’ Trustpilot, with a fabulous 5 Star review:

“Hi everyone! I wanted to jump on and detail a bit about our amazing journey with Elddis so far, as we have moved on from our 4 yr old baby, the Compass Camino 674 to the brand new Elddis Connoisseur 868 just two weeks ago.

“We started our Elddis journey 4yrs ago with the purchase of our Compass Camino 674 from the fantastic Elddis dealer here in Northern Ireland, LPC Caravans in Bangor.

“After spending many happy years through all of my childhood at my parents’ static caravan in Castlerock, we decided to try touring. We purchased a 10yr old single axle. After a short time - absolutely loving it! - we upgraded to the Camino at LPC.

“The build quality was instantly noticeable. Everything within the van was solid and of the highest quality. No squeaks, no rattles, no movement in panelling. Internal doors and cupboards all shut and opened in such a solid way. It was actually hard to believe that the van only weighed 1775kg, as the quality of the build was just so sturdy!

“The layout and location of lounge, through kitchen, mid-bathroom and back end bedroom had clearly evolved and been meticulously thought about and designed because the user friendliness of all aspects of the van was simply fantastic, and vastly superior to anything we had seen before. The exterior was signaturely eye-catching. The Camino was a real head-turner on the road and caravan parks with the high quality front end, bluey-grey side panels and decals and the lovely dark tint privacy windows. We got lots of people on site coming to compliment the van, and just have a wee nosey!

“I am a huge Instagram fan, with a large account @.brian. This very quickly became the perfect place to showcase the Camino and our travels. I began tagging Elddis in our travels of stories and photos of it on site with its beautiful exterior and interiors as me and my husband and child enjoyed many happy times with everything you can imagine the North Coast of Northern Ireland to include, from paddleboarding to cycling and everything in between. Games nights, parties with the family, movie nights, rainy TV nights with a TV in the lounge and TV in the bedroom. The Camino just supplied the ultimate safety and luxury to support our outdoor and caravanning lifestyle. It was a pleasure to be in.

“As i started to tag Elddis, much to my pleasure, I started to get reactions and comments of support from Elddis HQ and they often shared my stories on their Instagram. With big companies you are often “lost” in the online social media world, as your little story or post is simply overlooked…not with Elddis!!!

“Very quickly i realised that Elddis HQ had a genuine interest in their caravan owners and their travels. I got chatting with Rachel from HQ. She had mentioned that they enjoyed following our travels!

“On the road, the Camino was incredibly safe and stable with the twin axles. No swaying, stable during windy journies, fantastically reactive to sharp breaking and perfectly balanced to front and back creating no undue balance issues with the towbar."

“So, getting right up to date, we decided to upgrade the van a few weeks ago, again with our fantastic friends at LPC Caravans. The Camino was 4-berth and we decided to go for the Elddis Connoisseur 868 – a 6-berth, 8-foot wide model. We picked it up just 2 weeks ago!

“I have to say I was incredibly sad and emotional saying goodbye to the Camino, but equally as excited to pick up the 868! What can I say…the new 868 is OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!

“Like a good old friend that we have come to know, the exact same Elddis characteristics are present in our new 868 - with this new generation of a yet higher standard! The solid and secure build quality, the attention to detail both outside and inside, the signature colouring, paintwork, decals and alloys.

“The 8-foot wide is even more stable on the road and, again, no roll or misbalance or stability issues. The 868 is mind-blowingly eye-catching. The attention it got on our first trip to Benone, North Coast NI, for 5 nights was crazy! I gladly stand a chat to people about our journey with Elddis!

“Yet again, Elddis HQ left a lovely comment of support and well-wishes for our new 868 on my first Instagram post of it. For such a massively long-established UK brand to give that personal touch only reinforces my decision to be the right one, to buy our second Elddis Caravan.

“It’s virtually unheard-of now to have that personal relationship with such a huge company…a company that has been inspiring travel since 1964. Bringing multi-award winning caravans, motorhomes and campervans for over 60 years, but yet still has the good old-fashioned values that it did all those years ago!

“Thanks for all the happy, safe, cosy and classy times Elddis, and here’s to many more! Cheers!!.. you managed to find the secret to joy and contentment and pack into a little box on wheels!!”

You can follow the family’s adventures – of which there will be many – on Instagram

For more information on the Avante 868; including layouts, specification and a 360 virtual tour, head over to AVANTE 868 model now.

If you are ready to see what Special offers we have waiting for you, please fill in our Get The Best Deal form and we will be in touch with your offer!