Tag: seaglass finds uk

Posted in Camp Sites

Durdle Door Holiday Park, West Lulworth, Dorset

Posted on by Sam Bennett

26 – 29 October 2020

We we’re really excited about this one and it didn’t disappointed! Durdle Door is a major Dorset tourist attraction with its beautiful beaches and incredible rock formation with a sea carved arched door.

Getting to the site was easy and short from West Bay which meant we could enjoy our day without spending it travelling. Arriving at 12.30pm, our pitch was one of the best we’ve ever had. Another super pitch, completely level and bordered by a hedge for privacy (great during covid). Within a one minute walk of the pitch was a Nisa convenience shop and The Mon ‘o’ War Restaurant. During Covid take away food was available from the restaurant and although we didn’t experience the offering its a great facility to have.

Having a ‘superpitch’ makes pitching even more fun. Master B and I got involved in this one seeing as the rain had stopped briefly.

After setting up and having a bite to eat, despite the failing light, we couldn’t resist a sneak peek at the Durdle Door. Baring in mind we’re in the middle of a pandemic, we didn’t expect it to be so busy so late in the day .

This was on the way down

It was far too busy for our liking so we grabbed a look at the coast and headed back to the safety of Duggie.

Durdle Door is on the other side!

After a stormy night of high winds and torrential rain we decided to head for Lulworth Cove. From the site you can directly walk up a hill and over to see the cove and continue down the hill in the direction of the village. This isn’t the safest route as it was incredibly steep but there is a coastal path that we intend to use for the return journey.

It’s probably around 20 minutes to half and hour walking from Durdle Door Holiday Park to Lulworth Cove. Once there we discovered that there was a little village with gift shops, restaurants and a fish and chip shop which we managed to resist. Not sure how!

The Cove itself it spectacular so I’ll let the photos tell the story.

Despite being a windy and wet day the beauty of Lulworth Cove shone through and it really is a spectacular site.

There was even some bat excitement for Master B.

Bats Head is near to Durdle Door

As the rain got heavier we headed back to Durdle Door and tackled that steep path we saw on the way into Lulworth Cove.

I’m not sure the photo illustrates how exhausting this path is to climb as I paused to take a photo of the rainbow half way up but it seemed to go on forever. I was really pleased to get to the top but I’d do it again to be able to see Lulworth Cove. We later found out that there’s a flatter route along the road into Lulworth but we’ve never really taken the easy option with anything we do. We’re motorhomers!

Once back at the campsite we took a stroll through the woods to the site entrance just to get a different perspective on the place.

The woodland walk was a lovely end to what was essentially a wet and windy day but with great views and lots of exercise.

On our final full day we donned our masks and walked along the coast path to see the magnificent Durdle Door. It was still amazingly busy and with only two other families wearing masks we trying to be as safe as possible. The walk down to Durdle Door was lovely with some wonderful coastal views. Durdle Door itself is obscured from view almost all the way along the path so when you do see it, it takes your breath away.

And finally, it’s Mr B’s drone photo of the Durdle Door Holiday Park at night.

Durdle Door Holiday Park from the air
Posted in Camp Sites

West Bay Holiday Park, Dorset

Posted on by Sam Bennett

24-26 October 2020

At the start of a week touring the Dorest and East Devon coast was a two night stay in West Bay, Dorset. We knew from the time of setting off from home that we were expecting a storm throughout the week but felt grateful for a change of scenery during the Covid-19 pandemic.

We stayed at West Bay Holiday Park which is in West Bay and situated next to the picturesque harbour. The site itself was well maintained and our ‘super pitch’ made life a bit easier with EHU and water on our (almost) level gravel pitch.

West Bay Holiday Park has all the facilities you need with a Nisa shop, Restaurant, Amusements and entertainment centre although we didn’t use any as we’re trying to be as safe as possible. Being a commercial Parkdean site they have an app to help with ordering food in the restaurant and also take away food. Its always a relief to not have to cook in the motorhome so on our second evening we ordered food to be collected from the restaurant using the app. Some things weren’t available from the menu but we were able to order freshly made pizza and sides. Everything was going incredibly well until in was time to collect the food. Despite booking a time slot for collection, we had to wait an hour for our food so we ate really late. The food was quite nice except the margarita pizza had cheddar on top instead of mozerella which is a huge bugbear with us. What should have been a nice handmade thin crust pizza was a pale greasy mess.

The most desirable attribute of West Bay Holiday Park is its locality to West Bay and its attractions with the harbour directly opposite the entrance to the site.

With a break in the rain and the sun making an appearance the harbour was lit up in an autumnal haze of nautical splendour which made way to some childish frivolity.

Around the harbour there’s a good mix of shops and cafes with something for everyone.

West Bay also has two fabulous beaches, West Bay Beach and Bridport Beach. When we visited it was incredibly windy so we weren’t able to do much else but stand and enjoy the view.

Posted in Camp Sites

Cai Bach Country Club – New Quay, Wales

Posted on by Sam Bennett

25 – 27 Sept 2020

Cai Bach Country Club has everything you need in a touring site. Its beautiful for a start and the facilities are second to none! The owners are informative and friendly. It’s ideally located next to Cai Bach Beach which is a short and lovely stroll out of the site and down the path to the beach.

Obviously being the end of September, the temperature was quite cool but it didn’t detract from the beauty of the place. It seemed a shame to only be there for the weekend but we were certain we would return, hopefully in the summer.

From Cai Bach you can walk along the beach to New Quay town. There’s a stream to overcome where we took our shoes and socks off and waded across but there is an alternative route to avoid it. Also towards New Quay you can get cut off by the tide so you would need to time this right by checking the tide times.

I’d say it was a really nice half hour walk the New Quay harbour but I wasn’t really paying attention to the time especially being in such tranquil surroundings, it was very relaxing. When we got to the town our first stop was food! I can thoroughly recommend The Lime Crab for fish and chips, it was absolutely delicious. With covid measures in place, everything was managed perfectly and we managed to get a table outside with a view of the harbour.

After our fish and chips we went a stroll down to the harbour and sat in the autumn sun.

It was surprising to see such a vast sandy beach at the harbour and even though it was busy everyone was respectful of social distancing rules. After a rest we decided to walk back to the site along the coastal path (mainly because the tide was in!).

When we reached the stream that heads down to the sea, instead of wading through it, we headed up along the path towards a stunning little church, Saint Ina’s Church Llanina. We met the church warden there who was such a friendly lady and told us a bit about the history of the church.

St Ina’s Church

From there it was only a short walk back to the site.

That just leaves me with Mr B’s drone photos of the site and Cai Bach Beach.

  • Cai Bach Country Club
  • Cai Bach Beach
  • Cai Bach Beach
Posted in Camp Sites

Whitegates Camping – Little Haven, Pembrokeshire

Posted on by Sam Bennett

3 – 5 September 2020

Upon arrival at Whitegates it was clear that this was a small, select, site with only 6 pitches. I was forewarned that levelling blocks would be needed as the site as is situated on a sloping field. What we weren’t prepared for was a soggy ground after a week of non stop rain! Our motorhome was a bit too heavy to manoeuvre and much to the site owners credit, Laura, she was instantly at our rescue and relocated us to the top of the site on level ground.

It was a bit of a blessing because from that top location we had the most amazing views! Also on the first night, a Thursday, we had the site to ourselves.

Mr B photographed me, photographing Duggie (because you can’t have enough photos of your motorhome!)

The view of the sea from the site is lovely and an added bonus of staying at Whitegates. We were fortunate enough to meet the owners who shared the history of the site with us. It was originally owned by an eccentric uncle who lived in a house further on from the field. The shower block was built to house his ostriches! So the site has always stayed within the family and is now run by Laura, who’s such a warm, friendly and helpful person.

Whitegates is the closest touring and camping site to Little Haven beach and just a short stroll down the hill, you will find the village with pubs and a few shops, just enough to remain an exclusive destination. The beach is vast when the tide is out and if timed correctly you can walk to Broad Haven on the sand.

Little Haven Beach is the very first beach where Master B and I started beach combing and it’s a great beach for it!

You can also walk along the road to Broad Haven, it takes roughly 15 minutes, up hill to start with and then down again towards the end. The fish and chips are worth the walk!

I mentioned that Little Haven beach is a short stroll down the road but its also worth mentioning that it’s also a short stroll UP!

It’s certainly a short sharp workout which is great for working off those fish and chips but not so great when you’ve had a pint at the Castle Inn……it’s a good job there’s a toilet near the entrance to the site! Speaking of the toilet/shower block, it doesn’t look much from the outside but it’s beautiful inside. It has an eclectic mix of furniture making everything look arty and stylish and it’s also spotlessly clean.

That just leaves me to show you one more sunset which was on our first night and taken from within the van.

You’ll find this site at www.littlehavencamping.co.uk and it comes highly recommended for location, facilities and friendliness of owners. Also, the owners told us that they were closing the site during winter to work on levelling up the pitches so it will be even better next time we visit.

Posted in Camp Sites

Meadow Farm – Tenby

Posted on by Sam Bennett

31 Aug – 3 Sept 2020

As you can see from the image above, the view from Meadow Farm is breathtaking. Having said that, the photo doesn’t do it justice!

The approach to Meadow Farm is down a short single track so it’s not the best if you’re a little nervous about driving such a big vehicle around but luckily, no one came the other way and we entered the site without a hitch. Once in the gates there’s quite a steep ascent up to the top of the field where the checkin office is situated. We were shown to our pitch and levelled up without any problems.

Fellow campers were telling us that because of all the rain over past week, the field had been waterlogged and it made pitching difficult. Once we saw that view though, it was all worth it!

The site is located a short walk further up the hill from North Beach. You can be in Tenby town is 10 minutes where you will find every kind of shop and restaurant you could wish for. We’ve been holidaying it Tenby up to three times per year for the last 12 years so it feels like home to us but it’s our first time as motorhomers. On our first day we walked into town to buy a bodyboard but every shop was completely sold out except for Salt Rock who’s body boards were quite expensive but we invested anyway.

The second day we spent on North beach.

It was a lovely day, the sun was shining and the water was warm. A perfect day for body boarding and reading on the beach. Tenby has four beautiful beaches, all with something unique to offer, North Beach, South Beach, Castle Beach and Harbour Beach. We planned to spend time on every one.

That evening we had a spectacular red moon which must have attracted more bats than usual because The Blue Bat was out for hours with his bat detector.

Then the rain came and on the third day and it rained all day. We normally read or play games but we wanted to explore a part of Tenby that we’d never been to before so we put on our waterproofs and headed off on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path turning left out of Meadow Farm.

The first thing we encountered along the path was a cool public garden ‘Allen’s View’ which had some really beautiful sculptures of birds dotted around. You do actually get a great view of the sea from a bench situated in the far corner.

I found this information on the visit Tenby Website:

‘Allens View’s story starts, not surprisingly with Miss Jessie Allen who retired from a college in Cheltenham in the 1930’s and made her home in Clovers on the hillcrest. Born in Tenby in 1885 on her return her involved herself in the social life of the town. Being a keen gardener she made many improvements on Clovers extensive plot. She wanted to share the wonderful views with the town so she gifted a south-facing triangle of land adjoining Clovers to The Friends of Tenby.  An adjoining second area was first gifted to her landscape gardener Peter Hainsworth, who passed it to the Friends in1974. This parcel contained many more trees and the fine northern view to Monkstone Point.  The Friends later became Tenby Civic Society, who continued to maintain the site.’

Tenby’s Secret Garden

We continued along the coastal path.

At the point where you see a house in front of you, we turned right towards the sea instead of continuing along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path and we found the most amazing secluded beach.

It turns out we had stumbled upon the beautiful Waterwynch Bay. We were the only people on the beach which is a first for us. Despite the rain we were mesmerised by the unspoilt beauty of the place, it was quite spectacular!

We even did some beach combing before the tide came in.

When we returned to Duggie we were worn out and wet but so happy that we found a very special place. It was our last evening in Tenby and even though it was still raining, Mr B got his bike and cycled down to Fecci’s Fish and Chip shop for the best fish and chips in Wales.

The perfect end to a perfect holiday in Tenby. I thought I’d leave you with one of Mr B’s drone photographs of Tenby looking from Northcliffe.

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Posted in Motorhome Chat

Personalising Duggie

Posted on by Sam Bennett

One of the pleasures of owning a motorhome is having a creative licence to personalise and customise your prized possession in any way you choose.

In an earlier blog post I showed you how I when mad replacing curtains with Duggie’s family crest on them in addition to cushions and bunting. Now I create something as and when the mood takes me. Recently, I customised these glasses again with Duggie emblem.

They are plain and simple pint sized glasses from Ikea that I etched with Duggie’s emblem. To do this I used a Cricut machine to cut out the emblem from vinyl then once fixed to the glass I used armour etch to etch out the parts that didn’t contain vinyl. Ta Da! Personalised glasses!

Posted in Camp Sites

Porthmadog – Black Rock Sands Touring and Camping Park

Posted on by Sam Bennett

Black Rock Sands Touring and Camping Park is a lovely spacious site with all the facilities you could need. In the morning we spotted a coffee and breakfast van at the entrance and although we didn’t use it we thought it was great to have the option of not cooking. In the evening a travelling bar was on site serving drinks and again a fantastic resource allowing an more relaxed atmosphere.

As we’re in a pandemic people were sticking to their own groups and so we’re we however, it was nice to be visited by next doors Border Terrier throughout the evenings.

The site is situated between Black Rock Sands beach and jagged cliff with 360 degrees of stunning views. It’s a short stroll from the site across the sand dunes to the beach and what a stunning beach it is! It stretches for miles it seems, with a view of Cricceith Castle in the background.

On day two we had friends join us for a BBQ. They should have been married but their wedding was postponed due to coronavirus so in an attempt to cheer them up we made them some T-Shirts saying ‘Almost Wife’ and ‘Almost Husband’ #weddingpostponed and it seemed to do the trick.

As the sun started to fade we lit a chimanea that we’d hired from the wardens with plenty of logs to keep it burning.

Suddenly at 11pm the site fell silent and we were the only ones left outside. Out of respect for our fellow campers we said a very quiet goodbye and headed of to bed feeling both happy and exhausted.

What a fantastic site in a great location with really helpful friendly wardens. We will definitely be back!

Posted in Camp Sites

Leadstone Camping – Dawlish Warren

Posted on by Sam Bennett

29 Jul – 1 Aug 2020

The site was really easy to find. We picked up some shopping in Dawlish and made our way from there along the main road. Check in was safe and efficient and seemed very well run.

The site is situated between Dawlish and Dawlish Warren. Dawlish is famous for its Black Swans and it houses a wide variety of water birds. It is also a lovely town with plenty of shops and beautiful stream that flows in the middle down to the sea.

These photos were taken by the youngster in our group.

Dawlish Warren is short walk from the Site and is the seaside part of the area. It has a lovely beach and all the usual seaside shops and restaurants. We didn’t stay in the beach area as it was so incredibly busy despite being in a pandemic but at least we were able to admire from afar.

Leadstone Camping itself was a highly maintained site, probably one of the neatest and cleanest we’ve been to. Next door to the site is a lovely farm shop (Fungi Forest), it sells amazing produce and offers breakfast and lunch in a lovely setting. We visited there twice, once for breakfast and again for ice creams/sorbet which was welcomed after so much heat.

Posted in Camp Sites

Widemouth Bay

Posted on by Sam Bennett

27 – 29 July 2020

Widemouth Bay Caravan Park is John Fowler site so there is a restaurant/pub on site, a shop and some entertainment facilities. As we’re in a pandemic we didn’t use any of them so I can’t comment.

The site was easy to find and pitching was simple. We had to fill up the tank before pitching as the tap was further than our hose would reach and grey waste disposal was close to the shower block.

After a quick set up and a very short relax the rain once again came pouring down. At this point we’d had three days of rain on and off and it was starting to grate on us a little. Theres only so many games of battleships you can play!

After spending the afternoon reading and making a curry for dinner, the rain stopped, the sun came out and we we were able to see the sea for the first time and the site looked a whole lot more pleasant.

By night fall we were able to enjoy this beautiful sunset.

Day two in Widemouth Bay came with two reasons to celebrate.

  1. The rain had well and truly gone and the sun was out to party.
  2. We had a birthday boy in our midst.

Normally, once pitched, we never move but this was a special day and drove down to Widemouth Bay Beach with everything we could possibly need on board (because of covid) and spent the day at the beach.

We had a special birthday lunch with a beautiful sea view.

Then it was back to the site for a Birthday BBQ and nice chilled evening watching a film with a Birthday beer!

All in all this was a nice site. I’d say it’s much more suitable for families with young children. Our on board child is past the age of playing out with friends but there were lots of children running around the site having fun.

The area of Widemouth Bay is beautiful with stunning seascapes and nice golden sandy beaches.

Posted in Camp Sites

Brean – Channel View Caravan park

Posted on by Sam Bennett

25 – 27 July 2020

Our first full week away and our first stop is Channel View Caravan Park in Brean. Check in was Covid safe and the wardens were both helpful and friendly. We were met with two days of rain Our pitch backed onto a farm with field full of cows (so cute!).

I can’t comment on the facilities as we didn’t use them due to being as covid safe as possible and using our own self contained facilities.

On day two during a sunny spell we ventured out and climbed up to Bream Down which had fantastic views of Weston Super Mare and beyond. Unfortunately the rain came with a vengeance so we had to run back to the van but not before getting absolutely soaked!

We waited for a break in the rain to go a walk to the beach which is a short stroll over the road and saw and endless seascape with a rocky coast line carved with intriguing caverns.

We took advantage of the shelter the caverns provided and did a spot of beachcombing. We discovered that this is a brilliant beach for seaglass finds and our haul grew very quickly.

Despite the rain we had a great time at Channel View Caravan Park. It’s ideal for days on the beach and getting some exercise on Brean Down. It has something for everyone of all ages. Within a one mile walk there are shops, pubs, takeaways etc so its a site you can pitch up and stay put.