A TALE OF TWO SITES
One of the things I love about the caravan and motor home club is the variety of sites. All offering their own uniqueness, as well as the high standards and friendly staff we all take for granted.
In August his year we ventured to Cornwall and then Devon, we were originally planning on visiting sites in Spain and France this year but due to the current situation with covid and my partner being pregnant we decided to stay in the UK.
To be honest we were not to disheartened as we knew we would still be guaranteed a great holiday, especially as this year we were heading away in a new Bailey Phoenix 650 caravan armed with a new Cadac Carri Chef, BBQ’s for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also staying in the UK would give us the opportunity to spend time with friends.
Our first stop was the Godvery club site in Hayle (St Ives bay). We arrived fairly early due to the fact that we had an unusually traffic free drive. Our pitch was not ready, so we parked up and headed out for a walk down to Gwithian beach, a short 10-minute walk across the Towens. Normally I am all for the military assault on the unpack, but a walk was the perfect way to stretch the legs and freshen the mind after the journey. As we crossed over the sand dunes, we were greeted by the beautiful site of Gwithian beach and instantly knew we would be in for a fantastic 4 days.
And boy were we right. The 4 days consisted of trips to the beach with the body boards, plenty of good walks across the sand dunes and lots of evening BBQ’s. We didn’t go sight-seeing as much as we would normally like too, due to trying to adhere to all the social distancing rules and respecting the local communities. We did venture into St Ives one morning for a walk around though, a place I have not visited since I was a young child, and yes because its Cornwall, it rained. But you cannot expect to holiday in Devon or Cornwall without the occasional downpour.
For Gemma this was a slightly less sporty holiday than usual due to being 5 months pregnant, but I feel she quite enjoyed the peace and quiet sitting in the caravan while I took the boys off to the beach. Well I say took the boys, I have to be honest, its me that can’t wait to get into the water, the boys are my excuse to run there.
Sadly, in the blink of an eye our time at Godvery was over, but we will 100% be back, a great site in a fantastic location, although hopefully when we visit next time the world will have returned to normality and we will have the opportunity to visit more of the stunning towns and scenery.
The next stop on our journey was Fosfelle Country house, a CL site near Bideford, Devon. This was something very different, but still a great site. With only a hand full of pitches and one shower and one toilet the site is very small, although set within a large field, accompanied by an old coach and Double decker bus both converted into accommodation, AL packers and a rather vocal donkey. There was also a bar and small games area.
For the next 4 nights we spent time catching up with our next-door neighbours who we had arranged to meet at this site. Once the caravan and awning were set up no time was wasted in getting down to Westward ho beach for more body boarding, sandy sandwiches and beach cricket and football. We spent the next 3 days visiting the beach. The vastness of the beaches in Devon and Cornwall allowed us to make sure we were able to socially distance and as our neighbours had a dog we were at the quitter end of the beach, to be honest with 5 children between us it was probably the best place for us anyway.
The weather on the first day was glorious although the next morning we were introduced to a proper Devon downpour and thunderstorm of biblical proportion. To be honest even the locals claimed that was a big one. Luckily by midday the rain had ceased and the entire contents of the awning, including the carpet was out to dry while we headed off to the beach, for yes you guessed it, more body boarding, but I guess a holiday to Devon and Cornwall would not be complete without one flood in the awning!!
We really enjoyed staying on Fosfelle, I know the small CL sites are not everyone’s cup of tea, but they are all unique and for us it was the perfect place to enjoy a few nights with friends even the donkey joined in the conversations.
From Fosfelle we headed to Croyde bay to spend time with our other neighbours and their 3 children. 7 days of beach, BBQ’s and sitting around the firepit while the children played awaited us. This is what I believe caravan holidays give as opposed to a package holiday, the sense of freedom. I have many happy childhood memories of our annual holidays in our trailer tent.
It is fair to say it has been a strange year to go away, but the sites we visited went over and above to make you feel safe and secure, and the beauty of the caravan is the ability to be self-sufficient.