Click on the image below to expand
| Date | Location | Grid Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 4th August 2021 | Woodbury, East Devon | |
| 4th August 2021 | Bay View Farm, Croyde, Devon | 52.12599 -1.35513 |
| 11th August 2021 | Venn Farm CL, Beaworthy, Devon | 50.69968 -4.29632 |
Mileage chart…
| Start | End | Mileage | Time (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodbury | Bay View Farm | 66 | 2 hours |
| Bay View Farm | Venn Farm CL, Beaworthy, Devon | 46 | 2 hours |
| Venn Farm CL | Woodbury | 59 | 1.5 hours |
It’s now Saturday and a quiet day is planned.
Attached to Venn Farm is an area of woodland with a stream running through it. A colony of beavers have made this their home. We didn’t see any actual beavers but the signs are everywhere – from the dams along the stream to the knawed tree-trunks.
Here’s a link to some pictures and a video of them, Wild Beaver Colony (devoncl.co.uk).
Other than the trip through the woodlands, we had a quiet day chilling at the campsite.
Sunday and we headed over to Meldon Reservoir, the last of the reservoirs built on Dartmoor – in 1972.
There are some great walks although there isn’t a circular walk around the reservoir itself. The “Granite Way” runs nearby.
Some pictures from our walk at Meldon.
From Meldon we headed to the Arscott Arms near Launceston for a late Sunday lunch. Food, service and atmosphere was outstanding.
We arrived here a few days ago shortly after lunch on Wednesday. It was a relatively short drive from Croyde although the roads are challengingly narrow in this part of the world.
Venn Farm CL site is beautifully maintained and an Adults only site. All pitches are fully serviced.
You can find further details about the site here.
Despite this part of Devon / Cornwall being very rural, the overriding theme of “difficult” hospitality purveys. At the third attempt to find somewhere for dinner, we managed to secure a table at the Village Inn at Ashwater.
A traditional country pub – certainly no bells and whistles – but the food was ample and seemingly home-cooked. They had “Jail Ale” on draft which is definitely one of my favourites.
Thursday we headed a short distance to Roadwater Lake. Don’t be put off by the term Lake, as this is most definitely a man-made reservoir. There are all kinds of water based activities here along with some nice walks and a cafe. We had lunch at the cafe, which we considered a bit pricy at £16.50 for two sandwiches, crisps and two tins of fizz.
It was a sunny day and evening allowing for the first BBQ of this trip at our personal pitch picnic table.
Friday we headed into Cornwall to the National Trust property at Lanhydrock. A magnificent late Victorian country house with gardens and wooded estate.
We explored the formal gardens and part of the 1000 acre estate and woodlands. We finished up on the banks of the very peaceful River Fowey. This National Trust property is a real gem and if it had been a bit quieter, I think we may even have ventured indoors for a look around the house.
Having learnt our hospitality lesson, we had already booked a table at the Arscott Arms at Campmans Well near Launceston. This turned out to be quite a find. The pub / restaurant had a really nice feel to it and the food was excellent.
The starter we shared was a mixed smoked fish platter served with sourdough toast. It was fantastic.
We’ve been to restaurants where you can choose your own Lobster from a tank but never before been to a pub where there are sheep wandering around the beer garden. We wonder perhaps if there is a similar “fresh and local” concept at play here!
We are staying at Bay View Farm campsite at Croyde for seven nights. We should have been at Bay View Farmers campsite a few miles away near to Woolcombe, but we think the mistake has turned out for the best.
We are just a few minutes walk from the village of Croyde and about 5 to 10 minutes from the beach. The campsite is fine – it’s very busy and like everywhere else this year, it is a complete sell-out. With periods of inclement weather the grassy pitches are becoming a little muddy. The toilet and shower facilities are kept pristinely clean.
Another theme of this year is the lack of hospitality. Given all the usual campsites are at bursting point and there are numerous pop-up sites, you’d expect the pubs and restaurants to be booming. Quite the contrary – indeed last night only one of the Croyde pubs was open and then, only serving drinks. The queue for Stonebaked pizzas from the van on the beach was over an hour…
There aren’t many National Trust places near to Croyde. There’s a car park providing free parking for members and a Tea Room in Croyde. A short drive away is the National Trust property at Arlington – Arlington Court and the National Trust Carriage Museum.
We didn’t arrive until mid-afternoon and last entry to the House and Carriage Museum is at 3:30pm. We weren’t much interested in these but we had a quick look around the carriage museum and then spent time in the gardens.
I’m not a fan of the latest craze of “re-wilding”. I think it’s untidy and somewhat inappropriate for our parks, green spaces and formal gardens. Is it really best for our wildlife or just the latest cost-cutting exercise.
There is a nice walk from the campsite which circles all around Croyde bay, which is a busy place for surfers.
On Sunday, Sue travelled down from Taunton and spent a few days with Moe in the Caravan.
Moe and Sue walked to Baggy point and then further north along the coastal footpath prior to returning via the National Trust tearooms on the outskirts of Croyde.
Another day they walked South on the coastal path to Saunton beach and then over the hills to the rear of Bay View farm campsite.
It turns out they gained more steps looking for somewhere to eat for dinner than the actual walk. And were un-successful!
Farmers; noun, plural – a person who owns or manages a farm
Farm; noun – an area of land and its buildings, used for growing crops and rearing animals.
And why, you ask is this important. The dictionary definitions themselves are remarkably un-important but when they are strung together with other words they become remarkably relevant.
The two images below are of two campsites. Bay View Farmers campsite, is a touring site a couple of miles from Woolacombe beach and located on the Tarka cycle trail.
Bay View Farm campsite is in the centre of Croyde, a 10 minute walk from the beach.
Both sites have much in common, a small spelling difference of just two letters and neither site appears to have outstanding views of their relevant bay, despite their names. In fact, the two letters are actually 15 miles apart down some horribly narrow Devon country lanes.
We are actually staying at Bay View Farm site in Croyde, which was a surprise because we planned on staying at Bay View Farmers campsite near Woolacombe. We planned all our trips around this site – the only problem being Joe seems to have loaded the wrong booking system…
So, here we are in Croyde at a very busy campsite just opposite Croyde beach. The journey was uneventful once we figured out that our final destination was Bay View Farm at Croyde, not Bay View Farmers at Woolacombe and definitely not Bay View Farm at Looe.
Damn this is confusing.
Views of and from our pitch at Bay View Farm.
And Croyde beach in the distance (not a view from pitch D4!).
I am trying to catch up with some of the Trip Summaries. This one was from earlier this year, including my 60th Birthday – the relentless march of time…!!! It wasn’t supposed to be spent on a Campsite!!!!
Click on the map picture to enlarge.
| Date | Location | Grid Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 16th June 2021 | Woodbury, East Devon | |
| 16th June 2021 | High Onn CMC, Church Eaton, Staffordshire | 52.81733 -2.25021 |
| 17th June 2021 | Buxton CMC, Grin Low Road, Buxton, Derbyshire | 53.24560 -1.92857 |
| 28th June 2021 | Anita's, Mollington, Oxfordshire | 52.12599 -1.35513 |
| 7th July 2021 | Bladon Chains CMC, Woodstock, Oxfordshire | 51.83825 -1.34094 |
| 11th July 2021 | Sunnydale Farm, Hamble, Hampshire | 50.88573 -1.34141 |
| 16th July 2021 | Woodbury, East Devon |
Mileage chart…
| Start | End | Mileage | Time (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodbury | High Onn CMC | 184 | 4.5 hours |
| High Onn CMC | Buxton CMC | 57 | 2 hours |
| Buxton CMC | Anita's | 119 | 1.5 hours |
| Anita's | Bladon Chains CMC | 22 | 1 hour |
| Bladon Chains CMC | Sunnydale Farm, Hamble | 79 | 2 hours |
| Sunnydale Farm, Hamble | Woodbury | 115 | 3 hours |
Some time ago it had been our intention to cruise to St Petersburg for Joe’s 60th birthday along with twin Ali and hubby Chris. Coronavirus put paid to that so an alternative plan was hatched.
We would spend a few days at Hamble-Le-Rice and dine at the Jolly Sailor for our joint 60th celebrations. The Jolly Sailor is nestled on the banks of the River Hamble with stunning views of the river and harbours.
We travelled from Woodstock to our campsite at Hamble (Sunnydale farm caravan park) and were allocated Pitch 2, for the second year in a row. A fully serviced pitch close to the toilet block.
We were not blessed with nice weather on our joint birthday bash but we secured a great table at the Jolly Sailor. Food was good, Ali’s choice of pink champagne excellent. Long lunch followed by a cream tea at the caravan.
Spent the next day with Chris and Ali at their retirement place on Hayling Island. Nice walk to the pub for lunch and refreshments – The Ferry Boat Inn.
Watched a seal swimming just off-shore.
The next day was very hot and sunny. A mini heatwave has finally arrived so Joe finally got his birthday cruise – albeit a few days late.
There are some nice walks along the coast and up the estuary alongside the River Hamble. This Egret was the most interesting bird we saw.
There were some interesting boat names. The “mouette blanche” and the one below caught our eye.
Tomorrow we pack up for an early departure on Friday morning. The site has already cleared out substantially this week, but somehow a group of “proper” travellers has occupied a number of pitches here. Could there be a link?
I can see now why many sites ban White Transit vans with lettering, German caravans and twin axle caravans. This group would have been caught by all three.
Giant Propane bottles are leaned against the caravans and black sacks of litter strewn around. Bicycles are tossed in the hedge. Need I say anymore…
Assuming we have an event free packing day tomorrow and a safe return to East Devon on Friday, this will be the last posting from this trip. I think it is nearly 5 weeks ago that we headed to the Peak District and the weather was damp, often downright wet and very cold. Temperatures in the South are now a very pleasant 25 degrees and we look set fair for about a week of excellent weather.
This is our last visit to the Caravan and Motorhome club site at Bladon Chains – a short walk away from Blenheim Palace and the Oxfordshire town of Woodstock.
The site has been rented by the Club from Blenheim Estates and it seems Blenheim estates just can’t build houses fast enough on their vast “bank” of land assets. In this case it appears that they are going to build dozens of Log Cabins. It’s a shame because this site is always a sell-out and it’s the perfect location to explore the surrounding area and has regular bus and train routes into Oxford itself.
We have visited this area on a number of occasions and here is a link to a prior stay.
We arrived after a very short tow from Mollington near Banbury arriving around 12:30. The wardens here are helpful and polite and the site is well-kept despite the fact it will be handed back as early as September 2021.
The Kampa Leggera Awning was swiftly erected devoid of any “divorce” moments. In the evening, Bob and Mandy hosted a BBQ and we settled in to watch the England (2) v Demark (1) Euro 2020(1) tournament semi-final on Bob’s not so-wide-screen TV!
Thursday and made our first foray onto public transport and caught a train to Reading From Long Hanborough. Met some friends and spent the afternoon eating and drinking. The food at the London Street Brasserie was as good as ever.
Friday we set out on what was described by Bob as a 7 mile hike. Some 5 hours later and we arrived at the Black Prince, having covered some 10 plus miles with another one or two until we arrived back at Bladon chains.
We entered Blenheim palace grounds “under” the car exit barrier. Apparently there are public footpaths through most of Blenheim, one just needs to avoid the area close to the building itself.
We saw lots of butterflies on our route through Blenheim and beyond and lots of froglets crossing the paths
From Blenheim grounds we exited towards and through the village of Combe and finally arrived at the Roman villa of North Leigh.
From the Roman villa we headed back towards the grounds of Blenheim palace, before dropping into Woodstock by the Black Prince public house.
The plan was great, a decent 6 or 7 mile walk and lunch in town. In reality, the final tally of nearly 12 miles, limited water and no food en-route proved a challenge. Arriving at the Black Prince after the kitchen closed at 14:00 was just the icing on the cake!
The landlady took pity on Moe and provided her with chocolate ice-cream and a wafer – on the house – a very nice touch. The guys enjoyed a couple of beers and a packet of crisps!
Evening we were entertained at Bob and Mandy’s, eating take-away pizza from a “home chef” in Combe. The pizzas were delicious.
We bought the Kampa Legerra 260 Air Awning last year as somewhere to keep our shoes and coats along with the Dometic freezer we acquired a few years ago. This is now the fourth awning currently in our possession.
This has become our “go to” awning based upon how easy and quick it is to put up. In fact its so fast that we don’t feel the need to start packing things away the day before when we change sites.
It now takes longer to fold and pack the awning and put away the pegs than it does to erect this Kampa porch awning.
The awning itself is very lightweight and whilst it clearly isn’t going to last as long as our Isabella Magnum 390, it was competitively priced and given the ease of use, I image it will serve us well.
We use a couple of awning stoppers to enable accurate positioning of the awning. The right hand one stays permanently in place and we move the left hand one out of the way to thread the awning through the rail via the upper rail entry point.
Then it’s a case of inflate the air beam, pop down the custom carpet to help align the awning correctly and maybe a dozen pegs, two guide ropes and two storm straps. It also comes with its own awning skirt.
It’s a reverse of the process to take it down and in transit, we stuff it in a plastic bag without folding and transport it in the car. It’s then ready to pop up at the next site.
Ideally this awning would be around half a metre wider and that would allow us to miss the rear window and locker with the side panel. We also found two new folding chairs which will replace our current ones. They were bought from Broad Lane leisure and the brand is “Liberty Leisure”. These aren’t the lightest folding chairs I’ve ever come across but they are the strongest. They are also a very comfor
They also fit the Kampa Leggera awning perfectly alongside one of the Kampa slotted tables. So for short trips, the Isabella Thor chairs will remain in the under-bed storage, again improving put-up and pack-away times.
Finally, this Kampa Awning hasn’t leaked or had an excess of condensation so apart from wishing it were slightly bigger, this suites our purpose extremely well.
On Wednesday (tomorrow) we leave for a very short drive from Anita’s Camping and Touring park to Bladen Chains Caravan club site at Blenheim, Woodstock. Predicted to take an massive 45 minutes.
The weather over recent days has been rather mixed.
On Saturday, the morning was a washout with very heavy showers. In the afternoon we managed a walk along the Oxford Canal towards Banbury.
In the evening we enjoyed a BBQ back at the campsite which was a great pre-cursor for the Euro 2020 (1) fixture, England (4) v Ukraine(0).
Sunday we headed towards the National Trust property at Farnborough Hall, which, just our luck, was closed – it only opens for two half days each week. There was however a 5.5 mile circular walk from the Farnborough Hall National Trust overflow carpark taking in some stunning countryside and views across the Cotswolds. Half way around the heavens opened – fortunately at the time we were just finishing our picnic in Aston Dassett and managed to shelter under the porch of the local church.
Monday was a “work” day. We filled the Safefill bottle at a local industrial unit “The Nursery” (see mylpg.eu). It was service only and the guy wasn’t impressed attending to us for a top-up fill of 6.6 litres!
Some shopping at Costco Coventry and then a visit to the accessory shop at Broadlane Leisure, Kenilworth, where we managed to buy a couple of very sturdy folding chairs. Will take a picture sometime but they are very comfortable and look like they will last the test of time.
Tuesday was a visit to Upton Hall and gardens at Edge Hill (another National Trust property) – who’s idea was it to buy Moe a lifetime National Trust pass?
