South to North Devon & More Weather Related Stress - 24th August ‘20

Normally we have glorious weather for our moving days - this one wasn’t. A bit of sun but mostly grey and cold. By the time we got to North Devon we were faced with very low cloud and drizzle.

The journey, especially at the North Devon end was extremely busy. It should have taken us 1 3/4 hours but ending up taking over 2 1/2. So we arrived at about 2pm to the Damage Barton Club site at Woolacombe. Our 2nd visit this summer and 3rd overall - we like it.

The purpose of today’s visit is to set up Brunnehilda and Isabella for Laura, George and the boys to have a weeks holiday in her.

So, having arrived in plenty of time to get set up, it then all started going a bit astray. Firstly, when we arrived there was a big sign up advising against putting up awnings! We had just survived Storm Ellen on the south coast and now we had Storm Francis on its way in. It’ll be Storm Gobsh*** next week no doubt! What bloody weather. Problem is , we didn’t have any choice - no awning, no holiday for Laura et al!

The second problem was the almighty mess I made of levelling her. The pitch was heavily sloped from back to front so I needed to get the jockey wheel as low down as possible to enable her to be wound up to maximum height. Im not sure how I did it but in messing around, the jockey wheel came apart and went so low I could neither raise her or lower her - I was stuck. I grabbed one of the wardens, a very helpful chap called Phil and with the help of a very powerful drill (to raise the front stays) and huge dollopings of experience and common sense - he got us sorted!

Then straight onto the Isabella erection. You could almost feel the Storm brewing in the air so we had no time to waste. As it happened she went up fairly easily - not much over an hour. We also put on a storm strap - we got it last summer when we where on this same bloody hillside in the wind, but hadn’t yet used it.

It was quite ironic though, as we were putting our awning up, the bloke opposite us was taking his down in preparation of the brewing storm?!

Into Woolacombe then for a bite to eat. We went to our favourite- The Red Barn. The service is excellent, the food good and fantastic value - especially as it’s a Monday and another chance to eat out to help out!

Back to Brunnehilda and to bed. The rain is lashing down outside now. Although, according to the forecast, the worst of the wind won’t hit until tomorrow evening! So it’ll be Laura and George not us lying awake cursing the British summer weather tomorrow night!

Smallcombe Farm CL:

Pros:

1) Very friendly and pleasant owner

2) Nice views across Dartmoor

3) Handy placed between Salcombe, Dartmouth and Totnes

4) Good facilities - nice shower and ok toilets (unusual for a CL)

Cons:

1) All those Devon Lanes - with and without Brunnehilda

2) Noisy - could hear the A38 over the fields 

3) No where easily to walk from the site

4) Poor 4G. 

A Scorcher at Woolacombe Beach - 30th July ‘2

I’m writing this blog a day late so please excuse more shortcomings than usual. Leaving it until the next morning is not conducive for quality blogging!

Anyway ... what a day for weather? Sun all day and about 28 degrees. Ideal beach weather we thought. Which is exactly what most of the population of South West England thought too and not an insignificant proportion of them had headed for Woolacombe.

Before all that we had had a very leisurely morning. Breakfasting outside for the first time this week. Once again we didn’t get out until gone 1pm. The serious holiday makers saw the sun and were up and gone out before 10. One of the good things about this site is that they leave the shower block open until 1.30 so it gives an excuse for leisurely mornings - not that we need one!

As we were leaving our next door neighbour was returning. We did the normal exchange of pleasantries (it’s the rule - it’s in the manual!) and he said they had tried to get to Croyde beach and had to turn back - the number of cars trying to do the same had made it impossible! 

So as we headed down to Woolacombe we pretty much knew what to expect! Much like a fly stuck on a web. In our case it wasn’t a spider but a bloody long traffic jam to get in the car parks - it went all the way up the hill to the edge of town. If you don’t know Woolacombe that will mean nothing to you so let’s just say, not something you want on a scorching hot day with 3 kids in the car all anxious to get on the beach. 

In the end it wasn’t too bad and only took us about 45 mins to get to the car park entrance. Lucky for us all those efficient and organised folks who had been on the beach since 10 had now had enough and were leaving.

The beach, as you might expect, was crowded. We walked as far to the left (away from the town) as we could but it was still a challenge to find a socially distancing spot. As we were setting up I could literally feel the disapproval of those millions of Daily Mail readers! But, s** them, they don’t have 3 kids chomping at the bit to get in the sea!

We spent a lovely 3 hours on the beach. Body boarding with Charlie was a highlight but it was also fun just chilling with the Twinnies. I have to say I felt a little inadequate today at the beach. Now I know what your thinking but no, it was nothing about body image - how could I feel inadequate in that department??! It was that everyone seemed to have a wet suit on - young and old! Why you need one in the 28 degree heat and warm sea I have no idea - yet another fashion trend I suspect? Any way not having one made you stand out like a pork pie at a Jewish wedding!

The operation to get 3 boys (and yourself) sand free was helped by me bringing a container of water in the car - to be fair with the de-sanding thing, and as you might have guessed, Kim does most of the “heavy lifting” with the Twinnies. 

Charlie was keen to revisit the restaurant right by the beach - The Red Barn - so we did. They had a good post COVID process and we had a nice table outside to eat our grub. Harry didn’t like the cheese in his cheeseburger and at one stage did a rather loud “old man burp” that turned a number of heads, but apart from that it was a nice meal / experience.

Laura was joining us today but had had a late start and a delayed journey. She arrived at the campsite at about 8.45.

We headed straight back out to Ilfracombe as she was gagging for a fish supper and some ice cream. Of course we all joined her with the ice cream. Kelly’s Cornish with clotted cream on the top is heaven in a cone (or in last nights case - a tub).

The wind has got up again and as soon as the sun went down it got blimin cold. We had our ice cream sitting by the harbour and then set off back to Brunnehilda. Kim and I are sleeping in Isabella tonight so a fair bit of “set up” was required. All 6 of us went to bed very tired!

Funniest (no most embarrassing moment) cane at the Red Barn. When you are sitting having a pleasant meal and you hear a loud “old man burp” and you look to the table where it can from you do tend to assume it came from the old man sitting at the table rather than the cute 5 year old! So after being the recipient of a number of undeserved dirty looks about 5 mins later I managed to spill my glass of cider all over the table. In this case the dirty looks were deserved! I think everybody was rather glad to see me leave!

A day in Clovelly- 31st Jul ‘19

It’s amazing how quickly a morning disappears!! Charlie and I slept in Isabella - the new camp beds were good. It was a little chilly in the night and the wind howled but we both managed to sleep well. Better than Kim did with the Twinnies thrashing about! We all woke at 8 and it was 1.30pm before we had had tea in bed, breakfasted (used the Caddy again!), washed up, ablutted, put a load of washing on, emptied the toilet cassette and took the boys for a quick bike ride.

We decided to go to Clovelly this afternoon. We didn’t really do our homework - I knew it was a walk down through the village to the harbour but I didn’t remember it being so bloody steep and cobbled! If we had realised we might have chosen more appropriate footwear. The boys did well and we got to the bottom, ate a pasty, had an ice cream, walked on the pebbled beach and got back to the top - all in a very enjoyable 3 hour stay. 

On the way back up the hill we had some caricatures done of the boys. These will embarrass them for decades to come! The guy was very good if not a little over assertive with both sitters and guardians! I suppose you need to be and he did a good job.

Back to Woolacombe for another game of Pirate Golf and dinner back at the Red Barn. This place is growing on me - the food is plentiful and good, it’s reasonably priced, the people are nice and, considering it’s so busy, they seem very efficient. Ice creams all round and then back to Brunnehilda.

Charlie didn’t  want to sleep in Isabella tonight so Kim and I had a manic 30 mins doing some packing up prep to make tomorrow morning just a little less stress full!

I’ll do a summary of the Damage Barton site tomorrow but in the meantime I thought I would summarise the highs and lows of our caravanning week.

Good - we got Brunnehilda set up safely and easily on quite a fierce slope.

Bad - I wasn’t happy with how Isabella. looked - not as tight as I would have liked.

Good - the awning light and carpet are great - good buys.

Bad - the inner tent and blow up mattress were a disappointment.

Good - we managed well with all 5 of us inside overnight. Not bad in a 3 berth!

Good - we slept in Isabella for the first time. Even in a gale force wind she stood firm!

North Devon (July /Aug '19) - Day 2

A cracking day - productive and enjoyable so whats not to like?

It started off with a visit to the office to check in properly and guess what ... it turns out I did have Brunnehilda correctly positioned on the pitch after all. The confusion was partly due to our neighbour's (other-side) sloppiness and the campsites positioning of the markers, Either way, I wasn't at fault and Brunnehilda remained un-moved. Result - nice to start the day with a heathy dose of vindication.

So, mainly because so much happened and partly because I can't be arsed to prose this entry as neatly as I should, I have summarized the day using a chronological list of highlights. And, of course it gives me another opportunity to do a bullet list!

10 am: A visit to the camp shop to buy a toy poo, a croissant and a pan au chocolat. The first 2 were for Charlie.

10.30 am: A superb fry up. Probably the finest bacon bagel I've had for some considerable time. Good job Mrs Pitts!

11.30 am: The erection of Isabella - which, considering we were on a significant slope and the wind was howling off the Bristol Channel, it all went surprisingly well. Full erected and pegged out in about 1 3/4 hours. Charlie provided the muscle for the pegging out. One disaster though ... the centre roof pole came out during construction and crashed onto Kim's head. After a period of groggyness and the resulting cartoon like bump, an important lesson was learnt - don't erect awnings in the company of small children or without having all your wits about you!

1.30 pm: We walked for 45 minutes via a splendid footpath from the site to a little village on the sea called Lee Bay. The views (and the properties) were absolutely splendid. We walked up to the pub, called Grampus but we couldn't get a seat in the garden. We headed back to the water and bought a smashing coffee / tea from the wee stall by the car park. It tasted so much better as we drank it down by the water amongst the rock pools. By this time the sun was shining and the strong wind we had at the top of the hill had all but disappeared down at sea level.

3.30 pm: The walk back up to the campsite, along the same footpaths, still took 45 minutes but it has to be said was more of a physical challenge for the 2 older members of our party of 3!

4.30 pm: We went off to Woolacombe - about a 10 minute drive. We had a bit of a snack at the Red Barn. Not exactly high cuisine but Charlie and I cleared our plates - Chicken nuggets and Chill Nachos respectively. It was quite good value for money as it had a nice view of the beach and I was certainly tasting the chilli in my nachos several hours later! After that we had a round of Pirate Golf at Funderland. Kim won! I was holding back to let Charlie win but the current Mrs Pitts clearly hadn't read the script!

6.30 pm: A walk and a paddle on Woolacombe beach. It has apparently won an award as the UK's best beach. I for one wouldn't argue with the merits of that particular accolade. The water was nice and warm and the huge expanse of sand and water (it was high tide) was very impressive. We did witness a bit of early evening excitement though. The Coast Guard were out, on the beach and in the sea, to try and find / help a surfer who had got into trouble. I don't know how it ended but for the sake of maintaining the holiday mood lets assume everyone got home safely for their tea!?

8.30 pm: Back to the campsite and I put down the new awning carpet and put up the new light. Very impressed with them both. Not so with the inner tent though! We need some string (high tech eh?) to fix it to the awning. Charlie will have to sleep in Brunnehilda again tonight and wait to christen Isabella tomorrow with his dad.

9.30 pm: Kim and I have a cup of tea watching the sea and sky merge into blackness. I blog and Charlie watches Jurassic Park. He fell asleep again - one day he's going to finish that bloody film!