This is a film of a family caravanning holiday in the Yorkshire Dales made by Halifax Cine Club member Charles Thomas.  It especially features the children in the caravan and playing by the River Wharfe, as well as the villages of Kettlewell and Skipton. Title – Caravan Production and Photography by C C Thomas (B&W) Intertitle – If you ever come to the Yorkshire Dales . . . The film begins showing various points along a river and some country lanes.  Then there are views over the Wharfe...

This is a film of a family caravanning holiday in the Yorkshire Dales made by Halifax Cine Club member Charles Thomas.  It especially features the children in the caravan and playing by the River Wharfe, as well as the villages of Kettlewell and Skipton. Title – Caravan Production and Photography by C C Thomas (B&W) Intertitle – If you ever come to the Yorkshire Dales . . . The film begins showing various points along a river and some country lanes.  Then there are views over the Wharfe valley. Intertitle – . . . and find yourself in the village of Kettlewell . . . The village is seen from across the River Wharfe. Intertitle – . . and having explored its many delightful corners . . . Several of the village streets are shown. Intertitle –  .  . . and not forgetting to sample the  hospitality of the “Bluebell” . . . The Bluebell Hotel is just on the other side of a bridge.  Outside the pub, a man serves three women drinks.   Intertitle – then take the narrow road out of the village . . . There is a view down a country lane. Intertitle – . . . until you come to a field with a windmill in it  . . . The windmill is turning in the distance, and hills can be seen behind the windmill.   Intertitle – . . . come through the gate and there you will find our Caravan . . . A caravan and car are parked in the field on their own. Intertitle – if you arrive very early in the morning . . . A man in his pyjamas opens the swing door of the caravan, with ‘Stanley House’ written on it, and looks out at the sun.  He comes outside and does some stretching exercises, joined by the pet dog, and watched by a group of cows.  He has a shave and gets dressed.  His wife cooks bacon and eggs and sets the table for breakfast.  She then washes the dishes while he dries. Intertitle – Breakfast over, we do our morning duties . . . His wife gives the mat a brush down while he goes over to the river, past the windmill, with an urn and a saucepan to collect water form a stream feeding into the river.  The dog runs off up the lane and brings back a newspaper. Intertitle – and prepare for visitors . . . The wife sits outside preparing a basket of strawberries and scrapes some potatoes, while inside the husband carves a chicken.  A car arrives bringing another couple, and there is also a third.  They all sit outside in the sun drinking tea and eating. Intertitle – We can offer our friends a wide variety of activities.  Would you care to swim . . . Two women and a man walk down to the river, where the man goes for a swim while the two women sit on the bank watching.  His dive into the river is filmed backwards.  Then, they all sit down at the table to eat.  Intertitle – . . . have a quiet read . . . The man sits reading a copy of the Sunday Chronicle, with the headline ‘British scientist beats the world again’, about the deadly effects of the atom bomb.  He then reads ‘The People’ with the headline ‘Dalton’s Ministry gets into a black market deal’. Intertitle – . . . practise shooting  . . . A boy lies on the grass with a rifle, and shoots an apple off the head of another younger boy.  Intertitle – . . .or just do nothing at all? A dog lies on the grass, as do two lambs, before the lambs go off and feed from their mother. Intertitle – A visit to Skipton to replenish our larder . . . . Two women, possibly mother and daughter, park up in Skipton in their Morris Minor convertible and go shopping.  They visit several shops and walk around the stalls on the market, buying fresh fruit and vegetables. Intertitle – The birds are our constant companions . . . (Col.)  A robin, very close by, feeds from the top of a box in their field and hops around on a machine. Intertitle – In the bank above a small pool a whitethroat has a nest . . . (B&W)  A boy and a girl peer over the side of the river bank onto a nest and examine an egg before the whitethroat returns. Intertitle –  . . . and a few yards away from the caravan a skylark has built . . . Several pairs of hands reveal six eggs in a nest. Intertitle – A Missel Thrush is bringing up its family in a nearby tree . . . In a nest at the top of a tree, a Mistle Thrush feeds its young. Intertitle – Our nephews and nieces find caravanning great fun. Two boys and two girls are all tucked up in the caravan in the same bed with their teddies.  In the morning they get dressed, and have a mock fight on the bed.  They then sit down to breakfast, and afterwards, go outside to wash.  They give their legs a particular good scrubbing.  One of the girls has her hair plaited while another has a bow put in hers.  The children then line up to be inspected for cleanliness before heading off to the river, wandering along the bank picking flowers. Intertitle – And our Yorkshire air promotes healthy appetites. The children sit down to a large dinner.  Included is a birthday cake with nine candles as well as other goodies for dessert. Intertitle – Each day draws to a peaceful close . . . Sunlight twinkles on the surface of the river towards the end of the day, and the sun sets over the top of the caravan.  The windmill is still, and the pet dog lies in a bad with a blanket over him. End credits – Caravan, a CCT production The End