Nina from the Museum and Pam from New Milton Library

Community news update: Spotlight on the Sprite!

As autumn unfolds this update reflects on our gloriously bright and busy summer programme of community outreach activities. Notably, our 1971 Sprite 400 ‘Caravan for the Community’ (@chatty_caravan on Instagram) has taken centre stage in full retro glory at various locations and events across Hampshire. It’s a mobile museum space for us to meet with diverse communities, some of whom may be enthusiasts of vintage vehicles, supporters of community connections or who may simply be intrigued by our creative presence out and about.

Our travelling time capsule has been bringing joy and fond memories to visitors of all ages as they have shared stories of their own caravan holidays and motoring memories. At the celebratory 75th Sprite Anniversary Rally event at Beaulieu’s Spring Autojumble in May, and the caravan’s first visit to Brockenhurst College’s annual community event ‘BrockFest’, we welcomed over 235 visitors who reminisced, shared stories, and chatted together. Stepping into the Sprite, many of them were moved by the sensory memories inspired by the smell, the feel and the colours of the interior. Whilst others enjoyed the ambience of simpler times gone by. Some of our younger visitors were also keen to learn how they too could become owners of their own vintage caravan!

Special thanks go to Cameron Burns (@notanotherwhitebox on Instagram) for his vision for the Sprite rally, Sara Riccabone (CAMCC Curator) and to our colleagues for their support in helping the event come to fruition. Likewise, sincere thanks to the wonderful events team at Brockenhurst College who made us so welcome.

Watch a fantastic film created by Cameron showcasing the event.

Following these events, our ‘Chatty Caravan’ then spent a lovely summer’s afternoon at Sway Place residential care home for a reminiscence visit as part of their summer BBQ lunch and garden party. Meeting with the residents and staff was a true pleasure and there were many smiles, conversations and enquiring questions. Also, a special moment with a lovely lady, Anne, who shared happy tears as she told us of her lifelong love of caravan holidays in the New Forest, which has led to her choosing to spend her later life in Sway. The visit proved so popular that a follow-on visit to share other motoring memories, objects and photos has been planned for late September.

Travelling on, the caravan then journeyed to Hampshire towns during July and August with a ‘Stories from the Sprite’ library tour visiting Totton, Lymington, New Milton, Hythe, Ringwood and Romsey libraries. The tour offered a joyful insight not only to our Sprite 400 but also shared a range of fun, motoring and journey themed storybooks for children and their families. The library tour outreach project was developed to coincide with the national Summer Reading Challenge and highlighted some of the museum’s vehicles such as our Austin 12, as depicted in Val Biro’s classic storybook ‘Gumdrop to the Rescue’. We also had a surprise visit at Ringwood from local author Lynda Stewart who kindly gifted a copy of a self-published book, ‘Cookie’s Caravan Holiday’. Written and illustrated by Lynda, it’s a charming story of an adventurous guinea pig who takes to the road on a family caravan holiday, learning about her world along the way. It’s a truly fitting story to add to our caravan library.

Find out more about the ‘Cookie’s Caravan Holiday’ book.

In total, the library tour welcomed 335 visitors of all ages to the caravan who shared chats and conversations about journeys and more. Our youngest visitor was just 3 weeks old, our oldest visitor in their 80s and then every other age in between. Feedback received from adults and children alike highlighted something very meaningful was taking place.

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Seeing this caravan has brought back so many memories – it has really made my day.

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“Stepping inside this caravan brings me such comfort”

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It’s so calming...I completely feel at home.

Alongside the stories on offer were art activities inspired by the caravan and caravan pennants. An array of colourful artworks was created by children across all the libraries who visited with their parents and carers.

Sixty of these works can be seen in our online gallery on Instagram @chatty_caravan creating a rainbow of expressive joy on display. The summer library tour was made possible with the support and enthusiasm of Nicola Hopkins (Library Team Manager, Waterside and Test Valley Libraries), and the many friendly, smiling staff across the six Hampshire libraries. Sincere thanks to everyone for being the warmest of hosts!

7 Chatty Caravan Oil Painting By Chris Wright Art

And the art continues...

In August a Salisbury based artist, Chris Wright reached out to us via our Instagram channel to ask if he could paint a picture of the ‘Chatty Caravan’ as part of his ‘100 Caravans’ project. With a skip of a heartbeat the answer was clear, and we immediately said ‘Yes, what an honour!’ We shared a photo of the caravan (from its best side) with Chris who then set to work on creating a beautiful, postcard sized oil painting which perfectly captures the spirit of our beloved ‘Caravan for the Community’.

8 A Selection Of Caravan Paintings From Chris's '100 Caravans' Project

Thrilled with the painting and keen to learn more, we asked Chris to tell us about his project and his inspiration.

Why 100 Caravans?

My name is Chris Wright, I am an artist and teacher, and I have painted all my life. This summer I was fortunate enough to have two paintings of vintage caravans selected for the Royal Academy Summer Show in London, which had been a long-held ambition of mine. I was about to embark upon some larger scale works when out of the blue along came an opportunity to create two, postcard sized works for a charity auction. I was asked to include these as part of the final ever auction held by Art on a Postcard and the Hepatitis C Trust. So, I experimented with this smaller painting size and was immediately hooked.

After completing my submissions for the auction, I continued painting a few more and they quickly developed into a series using many images from my visit to Beaulieu for the 75th Sprite Caravan Anniversary Rally. It was only after I returned that I came across the ‘Chatty Caravan’ on Instagram. This is such a brilliant initiative and so inclusive getting people talking together about their memories of travel. The ‘Chatty Caravan’ itself is adorable, a beautiful piece of restored nostalgia and I felt compelled to paint it as a part of my series. By this stage, the idea of painting 100 of these self-contained oases seemed like an appropriate number to showcase the variety and splendour of our caravanning history. The ‘100 Caravans’ will form an exhibition in Marlborough next September. I also currently have a painting at the Royal West of England Open Exhibition in Bristol which is based on photos from the 75th Sprite Rally.

I have been painting caravans both static and touring on and off for over 25 years, but there seems to be a resurgence in vintage caravans and themes of hankering for a simpler time. I hope my paintings serve as a window into the past, sparking curiosity and longing for times gone by. I have great memories of visiting Beaulieu when my children were younger, travelling on the monorail and seeing all the fabulous vehicles from across the ages. And as a child, I had wonderful holidays in a caravan and distinctly remember the sound of rain on the roof. With everything being of a slightly smaller scale it was such a cosy place to be. Every caravan has its own story to tell.

If you would like a painting of your own special caravan to be included in the ‘100’ project then please contact Chris via his website or via his Instagram @chris_wright_art

Discover more about Chris and his work at www.chriswrightart.com

www.chriswrightart.com

Our humble Sprite 400 is clearly a superb example of classic caravan design, iconic enough to be immortalised in oil paints and with a heritage to be shared and celebrated. With this in mind, and to round off our Sprite summer (...or slightly autumnal) outreach programme, we displayed our ‘Caravan for the Community’ at Lepe Country Park, New Forest, as part of Heritage Open Days 2025 on Saturday 13th September. It has now returned to the museum for static display, but our community work will very much still be in motion.

Our National Lottery Heritage Funded community projects are a meaningful opportunity for us to hear from our community. Through our activities we engage directly with many people who share their stories, travel tales, motoring memories, and ideas for collaboration. We especially welcome people of all ages to get involved with our National Lottery Heritage Funded project ‘My Generation – journeys made, memories shared.’

9 My Generation Community Stories Project

My Generation – journeys made, memories shared.

This project is an exciting opportunity for us to listen to community voices. Tell us about a memorable road trip, significant motoring memory, or fun caravan journey. Whether you’re a driver, a passenger or part of a group coach journey, it’s the experiences, people and places that matter. By sharing your stories with us you’ll be adding your interpretation of motoring social history to ours. Simply register your interest in the project HERE and we will be in touch.

Meanwhile, stay connected with our community activities via Instagram @chatty_caravan