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

Cali 2 is in Somerset

We've had an email from the dealer to say that Cali2 has arrived at the dealership in Somerset - which was a lot quicker than we expected.  He has checked the specification and all is just as we ordered - he also sent us a couple of photos.

We're really pleased with the way she looks (the actual colour is probably part way between the two photos).  The dealer now has to arrange for some work to be done, mainly fitting the alarm and the paint treatment, but all will be completed in plenty of time for us to collect her in a few weeks' time.

29 July 2020

Cali 2 - Another Update

We had hoped our new campervan would be in the UK at the end of this month but our dealer has just let us know that although she has been built, she is still in Germany.  They are arranging transportation, which doesn't happen quickly, so we have arranged collection/handover for midday on Friday 4 September.

We had planned on two weeks in Cornwall at the beginning of September, but are going to rearrange this for a couple of weeks later so we can have a weekend nearer home before we head off for two weeks holiday.

23 July 2020

Cali has been to Start Bay

We were away again at the weekend in Cali staying at Start Bay Caravan Club Site at Stokenham.  We previously stayed at this site in 2017 when we had an awful sloping pitch as we arrived late.  This time we made sure we arrived earlier to get a better pitch - Steve finished work at 12.00 and were were on our way ten minutes later!

There was a choice of about a dozen pitches when we arrived and we found a lovely hardstanding at the back of the site, furthest away from the road.  As the weather was glorious on Friday afternoon we decided to enjoy the sun and had a lazy afternoon on site.

Pitch 39 Start Bay

We woke on Saturday morning to thick drizzle so didn't rush off for our walk.  The sky cleared about 10.00am so we headed for the coast path and walked to Start Point for lunch and then walked back to Torpoint for a stroll around Slapton Ley.  By the afternoon it was very hot so we headed back to the site to have showers before the facilities got too busy (this site only allowed three people at any time in the toilet block).

Start Point towards Slapton

After a lovely afternoon and evening we had a torrential downpour overnight which woke us both.  The heavy rain had stopped by Sunday morning but there was still a thick drizzle so we stayed in Cali for the morning before heading home by lunchtime.

This site is in a lovely area and although it's not one of our favourite sites (when full it does feel rather cramped) we will go back again to do more walking in the area.

17-19 July 2020

Cali has been to Woolacombe

At long last we've been away in Cali!  Restrictions were lifted last weekend so we went to Willingcott Caravan and Motorhome Club Site at Woolacombe on Friday for two nights.  The C&MC have worked hard to get their sites ready for opening, but we were still a little apprehensive. 

Reception is closed so check in was at the door which had a plastic screen at the top.  The toilet block was open but only five people were allowed in at any time.  We were issued with wrist bands to hang on hooks outside the door - if the five hooks were full then it was time to queue.  Only one dish washing sink was open and no sinks in the laundry - just the washing machines.   The children's play area was closed and there were signs at all the service points regarding social distancing.  The staff did two deep cleans and four surface cleans in the facilities block each day, as well as spraying outside handrails and taps several times during the day.  The site was also very quiet, despite it being almost full, as people kept to their pitches and no visitors were allowed onto site.  The weather was fabulous, we felt safe and secure, so had a brilliant weekend.

After arriving on Friday we sat outside Cali and read our books.  We've missed going away in Cali and just wanted to enjoy sitting outside and doing nothing!

Pitch 96 Willingcott

On Saturday we walked along the Tarka Trail (the back gate on site opens straight onto the trail) into Ilfracombe.  It was an easy walk into the town which was much quieter than we expected.  We then walked along the coast path to Beacon Point for some lovely views back towards Ilfracombe.

Beacon Point towards Ilfracombe

After taking some photos of the view we headed back to Ilfracombe for lunch in a small cove with views to the harbour.  As the day was getting hotter, we headed back along the Tarka Trail to the site and and spent the rest of the afternoon sitting outside Cali.

We had a leisurely start to the day on Sunday, reading our books outside Cali and taking a potter around the site.  We then headed back home late morning to get Cali ready for next weekend's trip.

The first time we visited this site with Cali was in May 2017 when we said it would be a great for overnight stops, but not a site to visit for longer as there was so little walking from the site.  We obviously hadn't looked at the maps properly as there are so many paths nearby, it's easy to walk to the coast path and the Downs as well as a regular bus service nearby.  Three years of Cali has certainly changed the way we look at sites and our walking.

10-12 July 2020  

Cali 2 - Update

We've had an email from the dealer to say that as Germany was one of the first countries to relax their restrictions, building of our new campervan has progressed and we now have an anticipated delivery date of late July.  Once she arrives at the dealer there are a few things for them to do before we can collect so we're expecting collection sometime in August, which is better than we were anticipating.

Sites are hoping to open in early July, albeit with many restrictions.  We've decided not to go away for two weeks in July as we want to see how we feel about visiting sites.  We've booked several weekends over July and August, all in Devon.  If we feel comfortable with the way sites are operating we plan a fortnight in Cornwall in September or October - hopefully in our new campervan!

26 April 2020