Lucy Caille | Fri, Oct 16th, 2020
Hello to all our regular followers (yes, I know it’s been a while since we last inspired you with a trip of the month but it’s been a rollercoaster of a summer!) and of course, a big welcome to all our new subscribers! If you are dreaming of a GlamperRV adventure or planning your getaway then I hope to inspire you.
I was reminded recently by the faithful Facebook that it has been 5 years since we launched our business with just one GlamperRV and a gut feel that what we were creating would be prove popular. Thank you all for your fabulous support, reviews and kind messages over this time – it all helps drive us to develop and strive for perfection. This summer we have been the focus of much media attention, one of the few advantages of the pandemic was that travel journalists were unable to fly and instead focused on the domestic tourism market. Whatever the reason, it was fabulous to be splashed across the travel pages, well and truly positioning us as the go to place for luxury motorhomes. Thank you to all involved. (I couldn’t help but provide you with a few links below!)
Next summer looks to be busier than ever as all our 2020 customers, unable to take their trip during lockdown or whose festivals were cancelled, already re-booked for 2021 so there has never been a stronger message of book now to avoid disappointment!
Whilst considering the location of my next trip it occurred to me that having forgone our girly ski weekend earlier in the year (and possibly next), a weekend trip to Devon under the pretense of visiting my Godson at Plymouth Uni was an obvious choice. With most of my female friends sharing my passion for the outdoors, good food and wine the search was on for a mix of locations and activities. My research very quickly showed that more than a weekend was required!
Our trip started off in East Devon with a late lunch at the River Cottage Restaurant in Axminster (plenty of parking in the Lyme Street car park, even overnight for those who wish to stay) before moving onto Berry Barton camping in Branscombe. This is a 300 acre dairy farm where you can watch the cows come in for milking, collect fallen peacock tail feathers and visit the donkey sanctuary. It is also a short walk to the beach and the village of Branscombe. We could easily have spent a couple of days here but our schedule allowed for a brisk morning walk and then it was off down the coast to Totnes.
It’s not that we have had a yearning for visiting Totnes (although it was a surprising delight as we found out on our afternoon meander) but we had heard about a restaurant, Gather Totnes that was rated highly in the Michelin guide and needed to be sampled. We booked into the Steamer Quay Club Site – a little large for a perfect site, in my opinion, but brilliantly practical for exploring the town and of course walking home after dinner, which did not disappoint!
We were eager for a visit to Salcombe having holidayed there as children and heard great reviews by customers who stayed at Ilton Farm Campsite (it’s within walking distance of Salcombe and also has a free shuttle bus) but unfortunately our schedule just did not allow and onto Plymouth we headed for lunch with Godson Charlie. With uni students in the spotlight for rising Covid cases we decided that an open air visit was most appropriate so parked up by Jennycliffe beach where there are fantastic cliff top walks.
From Plymouth we travelled North towards Croyde for a spot of winter surfing (yes, thick wetsuits were essential!) however no visit to Devon would be complete without some wild camping on Dartmoor and a hike up one of the many Tors. Download the Park4night app on your phone and you will find a wide range of stunning wild camping spots on Dartmoor. Luckily conditions were calm for our visit but most parking spots are fairly exposed so watch out if a storm is coming in!
Our final stop was another great tip from a customer – Combas Farm which nestles in a secluded valley just a 10 minute walk from Croyde down a farm track. This was to be our home for a couple of nights whilst we indulged in a surfing course courtesy of Surf South West. They say that the water is warmest in the autumn having been heated by the summer sun however we were pleased to have the loan of thick winter wet suits and welcomed the heated indoor changing rooms après surf. To compensate for the energy consumed in our daytime activities we treated ourselves to a taxi into Ilfracombe and dinner at the Antidote – another highly acclaimed eatery.
My research for this trip showed a plethora of amazing looking places to stay and activities to do. Devon certainly has it all be it for a long weekend or a couple of weeks. I look forward to hearing how you adapt this idea for your own trip.
