Zebedee has been to Hurn Lane

The forecast was good for the weekend so we booked two nights at the Hurn Lane Caravan Club Site between Burnham-on-Sea and Brean - a site we've not previously visited.  When choosing our pitch we saw one side of the site is very open with commercial sites around it, but we found a lovely sunny pitch in the middle of the site with a hedge and small brook behind.  

Pitch 28 Hurn Lane

It didn't take too long to set up on site and fit our new winter screen covers, so after a quick lunch we took a walk to the beach.  The lane at the side of the site leads to Berrow Dunes where there are plenty of paths leading to the beach - less than a mile from the site.  After a short walk around the Dunes we walked back to site for showers before the facilities block got too busy.

On Saturday we again walked through the Dunes to the beach and walked to Brean Down.  We had originally hoped to walk over the Down, but decided to keep to easy beach walking and save the Down walk for another visit.  After having our lunch on the beach we headed back to the site.

Edge of Berrow Dunes to Brean Down

On Sunday we had a lazy morning on site before heading back home via Highbridge Caravans as we wanted to look in their accessories shop.  Although we didn't find what we wanted we did see Cali on the forecourt and took a peek inside.  It was interesting that when we saw her we both thought 'Been there, done that, and now enjoying our new campervan' which obviously shows we made the right decision to buy Zeb.

We enjoyed the Hurn Lane site and found it to be quiet at this time of the year, although I can imagine it would be very noisy in the summer as there are so many commercial sites surrounding it.  It's definitely a site for us to use again when we want to walk along the Down.

16-18 September 2020

Zebedee has been to Cornwall

We had planned on visiting Kent for our main holiday this year, but four of the sites we should have visited were closed due to Covid-19 and the fifth has sent us a credit note we can use for a future visit.  Once sites had reopened we decided we didn't want to travel too far at the moment, so rearranged our holiday and booked sites in Cornwall.  We decided to visit four sites, each one for four nights.  This would allow time for us to walk from each site as well as having some time to see how things work in Zeb.  

Our first site was Tregurrian Camping and Caravan Club Site near Newquay - a site we have not previously visited.  The C&CC have a contactless check-in and we were offered a choice of two pitches on the Atlantic View part of the site, which had both hardstanding (which we had booked) and grass pitches - Bay View on the other side of the lane was all grass pitches.  After setting up on site we sat out to enjoy the afternoon sun.

Pitch 20 Tregurrian Site

On our first day we walked from the site to the coast path, walking towards Watergate Bay and then on to Porth Beach.  This was a lovely walk on a glorious sunny day - probably hotter than a lot of days we've had over the summer.

Watergate Bay

The following day we again walked from the site, this time in the other direction towards Mawgan Porth.  This was a shorter walk as we had walked a lot the previous day and my foot was still hurting from an injury the previous week, so we decided to take it a little easier.

Coast Path towards Mawgan Porth

On our final day at Tregurrian there was a thick sea mist so we caught the bus to Newquay.  Although it's not one of our favourite places we had a lovely walk around the harbour and then walked back to Porth Beach to catch the bus back to site.

After four nights we moved to Sennen Cove Camping and Caravan Club Site - another new site for us.  The last time we visited Sennen Cove we stayed at Trevedra Farm which is a C&MC Affilated Site.  We hadn't been too impressed with that site and on leaving the site had stopped at the C&CC site to check the facilities.  We thought the site was well laid out so decided to visit this time.  On arrival we were again given the choice of a couple of hardstanding pitches and chose one in the corner of the site with lovely views across to the coast.

Pitch 6 Sennen Cove

On our first day we walked from the site to the coast path and then to Lands End.  We didn't stay too long around Lands End as there were far too many people about and many weren't observing social distancing.  So, after a quick lunch we headed back to the site.  The following day we stayed on site - the long walk to Lands End had hurt my foot and we also decided to spend the day looking how to use more things in Zeb.

The following day we caught the bus to St Ives as we thought we could have a a potter around the town and an easy walk to Carbis Bay.  We both felt uncomfortable in St Ives as, like Lands End, there was little social distancing although the walk to Carbis Bay was fine.

Carbis Bay

Our third site was Merrose Farm Caravan Club Site at Portscatho, near St Mawes.  We've been to this site on a few previous occasions and like both the site and its location, which we thought would be perfect for the next four nights of our holiday.  The laundry was also open so it was an ideal opportunity to refresh our walking clothes when we arrived on site  The site was almost full but we settled ourselves on the best pitch we could find - unfortunately it seemed to be a short cut for some people on their way to the facilities block.  We both found it rude when people not only walked across our hardstanding pitch, but also peered into the windows as they walked past! 

Pitch 64 Merrose Farm

On our first day we walked from the site to the coast path and then to Nare's Head.  The views were stunning and we found a lovely bench for lunch on Nare's Head, but in hindsight I shouldn't have walked as far as again my foot hurt by the time we arrived back on site.

Coast Path towards Nare's Head

The following day we took the bus from outside the site to St Just in Roseland, where we stopped for a cup of tea at Miss V's Tea Room before walking along the side of the creek to St Mawes.  We have walked this path previously so we knew it would be an easier walk for me.  It started to rain as we arrived in St Mawes so we caught the bus back to site.  On our final day we caught the bus to Truro for another easy day with a riverside walk and a pot of tea at Charlotte's Tea House - this is a lovely old fashioned tea room although it was rather strange seeing the young girls wearing masks with their uniforms!

Our final site was Treamble Valley Caravan Club Site near Perranporth - another new site for us.  This is a long, narrow site in a valley with no mobile phone signal and a very patchy wifi signal - sheer bliss!  By the time we arrived it was raining hard so we were glad there was a hardstanding pitch still available and we quickly set up.

Pitch 88 Treamble Valley

Overnight we had a bad storm with very strong winds and torrential rain - we were so thankful we weren't in Cali with a pop-up roof.  By the morning it had stopped raining, although it was a lot cooler, which was perfect for walking.  A public footpath runs through the centre of the site with several footpaths leading off it, so there's plenty of walking in the area.  Unfortunately the site staff were unable to hand out copies of the walks but they had put a laminated copy in the laundry which we photographed before heading off.  On the first day we walked from the site to Holywell Bay for our lunch and then a pot of tea at Gulls Rock Bar & Coffee House.   

The following day we walked from the site in the opposite direction to Perranporth, which was very busy so after eating our lunch we walked back to the site.  On our final day we headed towards St Pirran Old Church in Penhale Sands, then to Perranporth and returned to the site through the golf course.

Perran Sands

After sixteen nights away it was time to head home.  We loved our holiday in Zeb and at no time have either of us said we wished we still had Cali.  When we had the storms at our final site it was good not to have to wonder if the roof would be okay in the high winds and not to think about packing away with a wet canvas that would need to be dried at home.  With the Covid-19 restrictions on site it was good to have our own facilities, although we did shower on site as the one in Zeb is tiny.  The bed was so comfy and we both slept well - it also helped that all the sites were very quiet at night (except for our first night at Tregurrian when a RyanAir jet landed at nearby Newquay airport!).  

Our favourite sites were Tregurrian and Treamble Valley and we're going to visit them both again next year.  Both of these sites had plenty of walks from the sites and we also liked the layout and relaxed feel of the sites.  Sennen Cove was a lovely site, albeit very windy as it's on the cliff, but walking from the site is more limited.  Although Merrose Farm was too busy for us this year, we do like the site but feel we've done most of the walks in the local area.

12-28 September 2020

Cali is for sale

We were looking at Highbridge Caravans website and see they now have Cali advertised for sale - we hope she will go to a good home where she will be well looked after!

11 September 2020

Zebedee has been to Sidmouth

As we weren't able to load Zeb last night, we finished this morning before heading about 15 miles from home to stay at Putt's Corner Caravan Club Site.  We had visited this site with our caravan over twenty years ago before we moved to Devon, but it was our first time with a campervan.  We just wanted an overnight stay to see if we needed to buy anything before heading to Cornwall next weekend for our holiday.

There was plenty of choice of pitches when we arrived and we chose one not too from the facilities block.  Although we have a shower in Zeb we don't plan on using it, firstly because it's tiny and secondly we would need to ensure it was completely dry to avoid damp problems.  It's far easier to use the showers on site.  

Pitch 2 Putt's Corner

We spent time on Saturday afternoon making sure we knew how to use the heater, both for water and room temperature, as well as the gas hob and fridge.  After a long day we settled down for a quick tea of bread and cheese - with a celebratory bottle of wine too! 

It was lovely to have the fixed bed and not to have to change the van from day to night mode and then back again in the morning.  The bed was also very comfy and we slept well.  It poured with rain overnight and it was good not to have to think about returning home with a wet canvas roof and needing fine weather to dry it.

Sunday morning was spent looking where were were going to store things for our main holiday and enjoying being in our new campervan.  We had a short walk around the site as we feel we will return to the site again, especially on weekends where Steve can't take any time off for us to travel further afield.  

5-6 September 2020

Goodbye Cali and Hello Zebedee

We were both sad to say 'Goodbye' to Cali as she's been fabulous over the last three and a half years - in fact we both felt rather emotional when we left her. We've travelled 18,339 miles, stayed in her for 184 nights as well as many day trips and visits to family and friends.  We hope she will be go to someone who will enjoy her as much as we have enjoyed our travels.

As we say goodbye to Cali it's time to say 'Hello' to Zebedee, so named as the registration is ZBD.  After our handover at Highbridge Caravans, it was time to travel home and load all our stuff - as well as giving guided tours to our neighbours.

We're going to finish loading tomorrow morning before going to Sidmouth for an overnight stay to try everything.

4 September 2020

Cali has been to Swanage

For our final weekend away in Cali we went to Haycraft Caravan Club Site at Harman's Cross near Swanage.  This is one of our favourite weekend sites, but it's quite hard to find vacancies at a weekend as it's only a small site and gets booked quickly.  

We arrived mid-afternoon after Steve finished work and were surprised to find we had a choice of pitches - we chose pitch 20 which is at the end of the pitches on the lower level.  It was a very hot afternoon so we were glad there were some clouds whilst we sat outside for the afternoon.

Pitch 20 Haycraft

On Saturday we decided to do one of our favourite walks from the site.  We walked through Langton Matravers and Worth Matravers to the coast path at East Man before walking along the coast path to Durlston Country Park.

Durlston towards East Man

From Durlston we walked into into Swanage before catching a bus back towards the site.  We usually catch the steam train, but the station nearest to the site is closed due to Covid-19, so we used the bus instead.  It was one of the hottest days of the year and, at times, the walk was quite challenging so when we got back to the site we sat in the shade for the evening.

Sunday morning was another hot day and we stayed on site before packing up late morning. We normally stop somewhere on the way home, but as everywhere was so busy we decided to head home instead.

This is a lovely site and felt very relaxed, even though there were strict Covid-19 restrictions around access to the facilities block. 

A fabulous sunny weekend for our last holiday in Cali.

7-9 August 2020

Cali has been back to Woolacombe

We decided to go back to Willingcott Caravan Club Site in Woolacombe for my birthday weekend.  We arrived just after midday to find the C&MC had changed the arrival times at all their sites to 1.00pm to allow for extra cleaning between departures and arrivals.  As we hadn't been told of the change (it had only happened a couple of days earlier) the site staff let us on a bit earlier once they had got everything ready.

The site was almost full (the same as on our previous visit three weeks ago) but what a change we noticed with the attitude of campers.  I'm not sure if this is because there were a lot more families or if it was because a lot of the campers weren't local, but there was scant regard for Covid-19 regulations.  As far as possible we gave everyone a wide berth over the weekend.

We found ourselves a lovely sunny pitch and sat out to enjoy the hottest day of the year, only to find the sea mist rolled in and we had a cold damp afternoon and evening - unlike the rest of the country!

Pitch 107 Willingcott

We had torrential rain overnight on Friday and then a drizzly start to the day on Saturday.  We walked from the site along the lanes to Mortehoe and Bull Point.  It was still very cloudy but the sun was trying to break through.  As we walked along the coast path to Ilfracombe the sun came out and we had a very hot walk back to the site along the old railway track. 

Bull Point towards Ilfracombe

Saturday evening stayed sunny which was perfect for sitting out to eat our fish and chips - my birthday meal!

On Sunday we walked from the site again, this time we headed in the other direction.  We started off along a muddy bridleway towards Georgeham and then to Croyde.  Once we had left the bridleway we walked along the road which was slow going as it's very narrow and we had to keep stopping as vehicles passed us.  After sitting on Croyde beach for our lunch we walked towards Baggy Point just as the sky started to turn black and Lundy island disappeared.  We decided to take shelter instead of heading on to Baggy Point - a wise move as we had another torrential downpour.  After the rain had stopped we walked around Baggy Point before heading back along the coast path to Woolacombe and returning to the site by walking along the edge of the Downs.

Baggy Point towards Croyde

We had yet another downpour during Sunday night, but Monday was fine so the roof dried quickly for us to pack away.  We left mid morning to return home as Monday was my birthday and we decided to spend some time sitting on the balcony at home with a G&T (a present from my nephew and his family).

We do like this site but decided that in the future we will avoid staying there over the summer.

31 July-3 August 2020