All I had to do was help pack the campervan and drive an hour or two South from East Devon. Location was unknown but as we left the Devon Expressway near Buckfastleigh, I had an inclination of what might be one of the programme of events…

Five minutes after leaving the Expressway we pulled into the main camping field at Churchill Farm, just a mile or so outside the village of Buckfastleigh. This is a Caravanning and Camping club Certified Site (ie small and rustic) but with facilities. We were set up in a few minutes for a very promising weekend of weather, with another heatwave on the horizon.

What I wasn’t expecting was the arrival of a white campervan which located itself right beside our pitch. Our daughter Suzanne and husband had come along for the birthday celebrations.

Moe had everything planned out. A walk down the hill, past the ruins of Holy Trinity church and dinner at the Abbey Inn. Food and service were good.

We returned via the now abandoned Holy Trinity church and watched the sunset over the campsite.

Saturday was Joe’s birthday and the main event was lunch on the South Devon steam railway. Joe had guessed steam trains would be part of the plan, with the campsite just over a mile away from the northern end of the Heritage Steam railway. With exceptionally hot conditions, Joe was mightily relieved that the birthday treat did not consist of a day on a steam engine footplate!

A pleasant 20 minutes walk to Buckfastleigh station.

In fact, steam engines were a problem today. With the dry spell having created tinderbox conditions, we watched as our steam train arrived at the platform only to be replaced by a Diesel unit. Trackside fires were occurring and the last steam trip had already caused another one. Our trip was delayed whilst the “fire unit” was despatched down the line.

Moe had booked us into the dining car for a special lunch. The food was centred around the most amazing Ploughman’s lunch. Quality and quantity were outstanding – luckily Moe had brought some sandwich containers which were swiftly filled with the excess from our meals and one of the staff stored them for us in a refrigerator.

The meal service took the entire time of the outbound and return journeys and the original plan had been to then catch another service back to Totnes. With temperatures in the mid 30s, we decided this wasn’t sensible or desirable and instead headed to the River Dart, where the young ones at least, enjoyed a swim in the refreshing water.

After cooling off in the River Dart, we headed for a relaxing evening at the campervans and enjoyed Moe’s birthday cake. Battenburg cake!!

Temperatures remained in the mid 30s until sunset.

We left Churchill farm the next morning having had a pleasant two night stay. The campsite has EHU, toilets and showers and is in a stunning rural location. The Pedrick family run the campsite as an add-on to their dairy and sheep farm.

We have visited Buckfastleigh Abbey on previous trips so chose not to visit again on this occasion. However, the campsite is perfectly located for a visit to the Abbey and we would highly recommend it.