MEET The Calendar Girls

21 November 2018

A BRAVE group of caravanners have bared all to raise money for charity.

The Caravan Girls – a group of friends who all holiday at Flintshire’s Tree Tops Caravan Park – have stripped off for a cheeky calendar which will be sold to raise funds for Breast Cancer Care.

The idea came from Tree Topper Rachel Anchors & Wendy Wild who soon persuaded there fellow caravanners to take the plunge.

But agreeing to be part of the calendar was only part of the challenge for the group of friends – who range in ages from the 30s up to mid-70s.

Rachel, 46, has been at Tree Tops, near Holywell, for 4 years and said: “My friend Wendy and I came up with the madcap idea one afternoon. Persuading other caravanners to take part was one thing but staging the photos, deciding where to take them, exploring the props to use and, more importantly, finding someone we trusted to take them, was quite another. Agreeing to take your clothes off, even for a good cause, is brave but it requires a greater level of bravery to actually do it.”

The group turned to Andrew Walker who runs Tree Tops alongside parents Maureen and Harry. A keen amateur photographer, Andrew offered to support the project, taking all of the pictures and agreeing to meet some of the printing costs.

Over the last few months, the group – some of whom are breast cancer survivors themselves or who have had family members face difficult health issues - have worked tirelessly to capture the perfect shot.

“Given we’re a caravan park with lots of different people staying with us, we’ve really had to think about how we approach this. We’ve had to be mindful of how and when we took the photos, aware of making those taking part comfortable, and finding props for pictures that best reflect the caravan girls’ personalities.

“There has been endless patience but a lot of laughs and joy through the whole process. What we have is a calendar of pictures which reflect the fun of both the women and caravan life – the calendar girls have most definitely put the perky in our park,” said Andrew.

From tractors to strategically placed balls of wool, the photos offer a snapshot into life at Tree Tops and a glimpse into the lives of the people who stay there.

Rachel added: “We’ve bared all during this process – physically and metaphorically, wobbly bits and all. Stripping off isn’t always comfortable but we found a way of doing it that worked for us and Andy was great at making us feel at ease and took endless test shots, so we were happy and comfortable.

“We’ve all had personal reasons for wanting to be part of this and, as friends, we’ve also been able to share our stories, learn more about each other and have fun along the way. It’s made us closer but, more importantly, it’s about raising funds for Breast Cancer Care.”

The calendars, which cost just £6.50, are available by visiting the facebook page www.facebook.com/caravangirls