A Trip To The Seaside

Start Bay - First Caravan Club Site

Tuesday 21st June and a couple of nights by the seaside was on the menu.  Leaving home at 11.30 we arrived at just after 12.30 after a pretty hairy journey down through the small villages past Kingsbridge, lots of starting and stopping and a meeting with the bus.  

The lady in Reception was very friendly and gave us a map of the site showing the free pitches, we chose a hardstandings that looked bigger than the rest but which was a bit under the trees but had lots of space for sitting in the sunshine.  We soon had the kettle on and everything set up, or so we thought, on the upside it was the most pitch we have had so far, on the downside after about an hour when the water didn't seem to be heating up we discovered the hook up wasn't working.  After some pushing and shoving we decided to seek help from the warden and he soon had it fixed allowing us to go for a walk to Sokeley Farm Shop.  The sun was shining and we had a lovely cream tea on the cafe, there was a very good shop and small garden centre, very well worth a visit.

Back on site we had discovered that Tuesday night was fish and chip night so we ditched the idea of pizza and very good they were too although we did have to wait a long time for theme! We also discovered that the television reception was very poor and the phone signal non existent, must remember to put a length of co-axial cable in the van as there were booster sockets on the hook up post.  

On the first night I took my sleeping pill and it worked a treat and I had a good night for about the first time in Bobbo!!  

The next morning we had bacon and egg and got ready to walk down to Torcross, after some deliberation I decided to wear my walking shoes, bad move as it turned out.  The walk down took about a quarter of an hour and was partly on the busy road, but was not as bad as I expected.  We walked for a while along the Ley and then cross over and walked to the Memorial Car Park on the beach.   We saw swans with their signets and ducks and ducklings as well as other water birds.  We sat on the beach and ate our snack,  by this time my toe was really hurting and by the time we had walked back to Torcross I was hobbling, note to self wear more comfortable shoes next time.  

In the evening, having recovered from our 5.5 mile walk we took a 10 minute stroll to the Church House Inn at Stokenham for a very nice meal.  I had salmon with a spinach and crab sauce and John had the gammon.   We got back to Bobbo and made up the beds as we were very tired with all that exercise!

Next morning was Referendum day so after having breakfast outside in the sunshine we packed up and headed for home, again meeting not one but two double decker buses and had to reverse for one. We got home before lunch after a very pleasant interlude by the sea.

The site was pleasant but quite crowded, probably noisy in the school holidays and would avoid.

Old Age Travellers in Glastonbury

Old Oaks Touring Park

We set off at about 12.00 on the glorious 1st of June, the weather had been good all week and we were keeping our fingers crossed that it would remain that way.  The journey via the M5 was unremarkable and we found the site quite easily despite the printers directions being wrong!  On entering the site we reported to Reception and received a friendly welcome and were directed to our pitch which had its own EWW which was the first time we had experienced this luxury!  This required the short hose which connected directly to the water inlet and fortunately our hose connections were perfect.  We were not sure whether the water would cut off when the tank was full, however, we soon found out that it did not as there was a small flood when it overflowed into the van.  The carpets were wet and had to be lifted and laid outside to dry.  This drama overcome it was time for a cup of tea and a look around our part of the site.  Cue drama number two, I managed to tread in some dog's mess left by a previous tenant of the site on inspection there were several lumps, so it was off to Reception to inform them.  Tony came straight up and cleared it away, he was none too pleased either!  

The facilities block was very new and had everything you could wish for, microwave, indoor washing up sinks with drainers, iron & ironing board, freezer, washing machine/dryer and even a separate machine for washing dogs bedding!  There were separate shower rooms with toilet, shower, basin mirror, seat etc all new and tastefully decorated.  The toilet area had more showers and hand basins with high speed hand dryers and hair dryers. Each basin and sink had its own hand towel.  The hot water was actually hot unlike Heligan, all in all a blueprint for all campsite facilities.

After our cuppa we went for a stroll around the site where we met the Chester the labradoodle (standard poodle/Labrador) he was huge!  The site was beautifully laid out and cared for with lots of hedges and grassy areas.  The site is not cheap and this was reflected in the quality of the caravans 4 x 4's, motorhomes etc.  there were some very impressive set ups and a good choice of 4 x 4's to inspect!

After pizza and some tele we made up the beds and settled down for the night, unfortunately some improvisation was required as I had forgotten to bring my nightie and I also had forgotten the sleeping tablets.  As on our last trip sleep was elusive for me and it was a long night.

The next morning I discovered I had also forgotten one of my tablets, not doing very well up to now! We had a leisurely breakfast of bacon and egg and went for a walk around the fishing lake and woodland walk, very beautifully done and immaculately kept as well as being very environmentally friendly.  After lunch we attempted to walk to the Tor through the fields, it was a very steep climb with spectacular views but it was a hot afternoon and we didn't seem to be making much progress so we made our way back down and had a cup of tea.  Once again sleep was difficult for us both and a cup of tea was brewed at 3.00 a.m.!  I eventually got some sleep about 5.00 and as a consequence it was a slow start, however, we had ordered croissants which were delicious and a real treat.

We were determined to get to the Tor so the next afternoon we took a different route along a proper lane, it was very steep and for a moment I thought I would have to give in, but we kept going and were rewarded by a spectacular view of the Tor at the end of the lane.  We came back the same way and found Gog and Magog, two ancient oak trees with magical powers after which the campsite is named.

We had ordered fish and chips for tea and I went down to collect at 6.30, they weren't spectacular but at least saved me cooking.   At last we both had a good nights sleep and after a leisurely breakfast we packed up and headed for home at about 10.30.  We managed to take a wrong turn and ended up in Wells and had to re-trace our steps but arrived home about 1.00 with no further mishaps.

A good trip we would have liked to explore a little more, but there was no public transport easily available and the minibus service was not very flexible for us.  Also there was no pub within walking distance which was disappointing.  We would stay there again, however, and be a little more prepared.