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We left TJF behind to chill at the camper while me, TBF and TJS went for a walk along the coast. We wanted to take a trip to Lundy but the only available sailing was this, our last day and it was only a short stop on the island. By way of compensation we saw the island ferry sailing by as we walked down to the coast path

Lee Bay (not the same one as we visited the day before) is the first spot we came to

Next was the rollercoaster of steep ups and downs that characterises coastal walking

It was a slightly overcast day but warm and still with dramatic coastal views to distant horizons

Jagged cliffs and rocky bays were the order of the day

Turning south at the Bull Point lighthouse

Perhaps a trip to Lundy should have been the order of the day. It was bathed in sunshine most of the day

We were heading for Morte Point in the distance but as lunchtime was approaching and we’d left TJF to her own devices we called a halt at a bench overlooking Rockham Bay and beach before heading back

A view across to a now almost deserted North Morte Farm campsite

The sun came out as we walked across the heathland back to Mortehoe and the campsite.

It’s a lovely place to stroll especially as the summer crowds had now largely gone

After lunch at the camper we headed back to Woolacombe Beach for some more surfing

The sun came out and it was exceptionally warm but the waves were nothing like as good as they had been a couple of days earlier

I still had plenty of fun in the kayak. A few photos taken from the boat

And our little weekend was over. Rather than waste a day packing up and driving home we had a rushed pack down and tea and headed home late to miss the traffic

Another superb sunset to finish off a splendid long weekend away

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Short little post from a day out on our North Devon weekend.

A grey day prompted a day out so we headed for Westward Ho! (only place name in the UK with an exclamation mark) and where I spent many happy family holidays as a kid

Safe to say its changed a lot since then. We visited around 10 years ago and it seemed very run down and sad. Since then they seem have improved things a great deal. Many of the very old chalets seems to have been renovated and the general area looks much happier and welcoming (it looked like an army barracks before). The only blight is that the planning department have allowed developers to build two huge apartment blocks right on the seafront. They obscure the view for many and as you’d expect all the money was spent on the interiors and the front. The rear which is what most people see is just an ugly wall of concrete. Really beggars belief that someone looked at the plans and thought that was fine. Makes you suspicious as the motivations of the people that approve such things!

Anyway we took a stroll along the seafront and around the seawater pool in the rocks which was still pleasant

We had a very nice lunch in a Thai restaurant and then took a wander on to the beach. We were hoping to do some body boarding and surfing but the waves looked a bit feeble

Afterwards we wanted a walk on the coast so headed to the dramatic headland at Hartland.

Right on cue just as we stepped from the car it started to drizzle. We went out anyway and enjoyed the briefest of wanders onto the top of the headland with views out over the rocks to the island of Lundy

The cliffs and views were spectacular but it was damp grey and dreary so we headed back to the campsite

The weather seemed to brighten on the way back so we detoured to the beach at Putsborough at the south end of Woolacombe beach

On a whim me and TBF went body boarding and surf kayaking for an hour and even though the waves were a bit small it was actually pretty good fun and finished off the day nicely

As an added treat the sun came out and gave us some nice late evening light while we got changed

We were pretty late back to the campsite but we’d eaten at lunchtime so a late sandwich saw us through. All in all a good day out

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After a short couple of weeks back at work I needed another holiday. As it was TBFs birthday we took a long weekend in North Devon in the camper.

We stayed at the very fine Damage Barton camping site near Morthoe and Woolacombe. Great views across the north coast and Bristol Channel to south Wales and superb facilities will make this a regular spot for future trips. We hadn’t visited this area since the kids were small so I was looking forward to a revisit

The first morning was gloriously sunny and after a morning doing the shopping and replacing the pop up tent that TJS uses we went out for a walk after lunch

It clouded over while we were out which was a shame but the weather was still warm and dry. We wandered through the campsite at North Morte Farm where we used to stay. Its a superb spot as the camping area has great views and feels a bit like wild camping as the fields are tucked into the heathland. The downside is that there are not many flat spots and they don’t take bookings so its pot luck whether you find a suitable spot, more important when you have a trailer tent. As it turned out the site was mostly empty and we would have had a pick of places to set up but there you go. The site has direct access down to Rockham Beach

We spent many happy hours down here when the kids were small as it has a perfect combination of safe swimming, sand and rock pools to explore. At the end of the Bank Holiday week we were surprised to find it pretty much deserted

We had a nice pither about, poked about in the rock pools and sat on the rocks to chill out

Access is by a very steep set of 100 steps that have only recently been repaired after storm damage

Much as I’df have liked to explore further TJF had had enough of walking (she’s not a great fan) so we headed back to the site for a BBQ

Even though it was cloudy it was still warm enough to sit outside and enjoy the views while eating

The cloud cover gave us a pretty good sunset, one of the real benefits of camping on the west coast

A nice start to what turned out to be a pretty decent long weekend away