The Silk Route Motorcaravan Network.
The Silk Route Motorcaravan Network (SRMN) is a meeting place for travellers who aspire to journey beyond their comfort zone, together with those who have done just that.
Its principal objective is to support its members to fulfil their dreams, not least by sharing information, without which challenging journeys become daunting. The Network offers the opportunity for members to band together for major expeditions to exotic destinations such as China. Hence its name. However, the Network is not a travel agency and does not organise expeditions: it facilitates them. Nor does the Network ignore those who wish to travel alone: indeed most expeditions fall into this category.
The Network grew from the work of English-speaking members of the French motorcaravan club l'Association Camping-Cars sur les Routes de la Soie et du Monde with whom it continues to have strong and friendly relations*.
Though members travel in the real world, much Network activity takes place in the virtual world where the Network hosts this website and operates a Facebook Group.
However, the Network also organises an annual three day get-together, usually in September in the UK, giving members the opportunity to meet and exchange information and ideas in person, to gawp in wonder at other members' vans, and to party. In the past, such meetings have been fertile seedbeds for major expeditions.
Last year (2020) the SRMN AGM was canceled due to Covid-19, however this year many members will attend the Adventure Overland Show on June the 5th and 6th 2021.
Many network members publish a web blog of their trips. These four below are just examples of recent (or on-going) trips to give a flavour of what network members get up to.
2014 South America, 2015 South America, 2016 Round the World, 2016 North Africa.
Historically members of the network have organised trips from Europe to Beijing in 2002 and in 2006 as well trips to Siberia and Mongolia in 2004 and to South, Central and South America in 2006-2007.
A Chance to meet - Informal Network Get-togethers.
Many network members regularly attend the Adventure Overland Show camping as a group in the "club" area (rather than the general camping area).
This is an excellent place for SRMN members to meet up and for prospective members to make contact. Many SRMN members are expected to bring their impressive vehicles to the show in 2021
We will be there this year (2021). Do look us up if you are!
The picture below (showing the fifteen SRMN vehicles present in 2014) is from this LRW Skyfilms video with thanks.
SRMN AGM 2018 (Held at Malvern 2018-09-14).
The network held its Annual General Meeting as part of a weekend get-together for both members and non-members at Malvern.
Many thanks to those members who attended the meeting and in particular to those who made presentations.
Many members attend the AGM in their overland campervans and the chance to inspect each other's vehicles is one of the highlights of the AGM. New and prospective members often learn a lot from this process!
