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!