We've had more work carried out on the flat and after finishing cleaning and tidying up it's time for another trip - this time we're going to Somerset and North Devon.
On Thursday (2 July) we drove to our first site at Burrowhayes Farm near Porlock, an area we don't know too well. The first pitch we had been allocated wasn't too good so we were moved to another pitch in the middle of the site which was lovely. We were both feeling tired after a busy time before getting away so after setting up we walked into Porlock, had a cup of tea and slice of cake at the Whortleberry Tea Room and then walked back to site. It was a lovely evening - the start of the next heatweave - so we sat outside until late.
Friday was another lovely sunny day and we walked through Horner to Dunkery Beacon - the highest point on Exmoor. Although it was a hot day a lot of the walk was in the woods and then there was a slight breeze near the summit of the Beacon. We walked back to the site via a different path to make is a circular walk and stopped at the Horner Tea Garden for tea and cake. After such a hot day the evening was cool and windy so we didn't sit out for long.
We had another warm start to the day on Saturday and walked down to Porlock and then to Porlock Weir, walking back to Porlock through the Saltmarsh. It was another very sunny day but there was a cool wind from the sea so we returned to site early afternoon.
After two long walks on the previous days we decided to have
an easier day on Sunday. We walked
through Horner Woods, following Granny’s Ride down to the river and then back
to Horner for another visit to the Horner Tea Garden before heading back to the
site. It had been another hot day so we
were glad to get back to site to get the temperature down inside the van.
On Monday (6 July) we stopped in Porlock to pick up some groceries
before driving to Newberry
Valley Park near Combe Martin. After
driving up the infamous Porlock Hill we stopped for a while the Rambler's Rest Tea Room near Lynton for tea and cake, before
driving to the site. We were both glad
to arrive at the site as it had been a very hilly, narrow road. We had a lovely pitch – one of
the biggest we have ever had on a site – and after setting up we walked into Coombe
Martin. We returned to the site mid
afternoon to sit out and then had our evening meal at the picnic bench on our
pitch.
On Tuesday we walked from the site to the coast path and then to Little Hangman where there were lovely views back to Coombe Martin. We continued along the coast path to Great Hangman – the highest point on the South West coast path – although the views weren't as good. We took an inland path through a farm and walked through Coombe Martin to the site. We sat outside in the shade for the rest of the afternoon and evening.
Wednesday was forecast as another hot day. In the morning we walked to Coombe Martin and caught the bus
to Ilfracombe. We had a pot of tea at
the Landmark Theatre before walking the coast path back to Coombe Martin, stopping at Hele beach to eat our lunch. It was a difficult walk as much of the path
was very overgrown and there was little shade so we were glad to return to the
site and seek some shade for the rest of the day.
After our long walks on the previous days we decided to have an easier
day on Thursday We walked into Coombe Martin to
pick up some shopping and had a drink at the Harbour Café before returning to
the site. There’s a large fishing lake
at the bottom of the site so we walked around the lake and then
went to see the alpacas on site before returning to our pitch. We spent the rest of the day catching up with
a few jobs and getting ready to move to our next site.
On Friday (10 July) we drove to Willingcott
Club Campsite - this is a site we've visited many times but we like
the walking in the area. It was another very hot day
and we were glad to arrive on site and found a pitch in our preferred area on
the site. We set up the van with both
the awning and sun blocker before having a short walk along the cycle
track. We returned to site and sat out
until late.
On Saturday we got up early so we could go for a walk before
it got too hot. We walked along the
cycle track to Ilfracombe which was lovely and cool as there are trees on both sides of the track. We had a walk around the town before
returning to the site along the cycle trail.
It was very hot on our return walk as we didn't get much shade from the trees, so we were glad to get back to the site. It became very windy in the afternoon so we removed the sun blocker and wound the awning in. Unfortunately that meant there was no shade outside the van door, so we turned round on the pitch to get some shade inside the van.
Sunday was another hot and windy day and we were both
feeling tired after the long walk the previous day. We walked from the site towards Mortehoe and
then along a few small paths to Woolacombe. The town was very
busy so we walked up to Porthole Café, had an ice cream, and walked back to
Woolacombe along the beach before catching the bus back to site. We sat outside all afternoon, although it was hot there was still a lovely breeze which kept the temperature down.
Monday started a little cooler and we caught an early bus to
Barnstaple. We had breakfast at The Boston Tea Party before doing some shopping in the morning and then having
lunch at The Tarko Lounge. Unfortunately
we weren’t aware there were no direct buses back to Woolacombe in the afternoon, so we caught a bus to Ilfracombe and then another one to Woolacombe. When we got back to site we sat
out all afternoon and into the evening.
Tuesday was another warm day and we walked from the site to
Mortehoe and then to Morte Point before walking the coast path back to Woolacombe,. After having a cold drink at the Drift Café we
caught the bus back to the site and sat out all afternoon. It wasn’t as windy as the previous day but was still very warm.
On Wednesday (15 July) we drove to our final site - Exmoor
House Club Campsite at Dulverton. This is one of our favourite sites
as there are many lovely walks in the area and it's on our way back home from
North Devon. It was very hot when we
arrived and set up, but there was a little bit of wind too, After setting up we walked into Dulverton for
shopping before returning to site. It
was a very hot evening and we sat outside as it was cooler than being in the
van.
Thursday was another very hot day and the previous day we
had found that our sunblocker shade didn’t stop the sun from getting into the
van door. Another pitch with some shade became available so we swapped pitches before heading out for a
walk. We walked along the river which
was lovely as it was shaded by trees for most of the walk. We stopped at Castle Bridge to eat our lunch and then returned to site early
afternoon to start and cool the van as it was 41.8 degrees on our return. We sat outside reading under the awning light
until late when the van had finally cooled down for us to go to bed.
On Friday we had a shorter walk along the river path to
Marsh Bridge before walking back into Dulverton to pick up some shopping. We had lunch when we returned to the site and
sat in the shade in the afternoon as it was too hot to go for a walk.
Saturday was another hot day so we walked along the river to Castle Bridge again. Although we had done the same walk a couple of days earlier, it was an easy walk and was cool walking through the trees. We returned to the site early afternoon and sat out until late.
On Sunday it was time to return home. We enjoyed the trip, although we didn't do as much walking as planned as it was far too hot. Our favourite site was Burrowhayes Farm and we plan on returning next year as there is so much more walking we can do from the site.
2-19 July 2026
