After spending a night at the campsite next to where we store the van, it was back down the A303 again for another re-arranged weekend and this time with two fellow motorhome owning couples and former colleagues of Bob.  After a really hot spell the weather forecast was not so good and we set off in torrential rain but luckily it brightened up as we got further from home.  The early start also paid off and although it was slow in places, we kept moving all the way.

Our destination was Damage Barton Campsite near Woolacombe.  Not our usual type of campsite (seaside during school holidays) but a great location and somewhere our friends knew well.  The site is close to the South West Coastal path so the days would be spent walking and the then the evenings reminiscing over a beer or two!

Damage BartonHaving all arrived around the same time it was off to Lee to stretch the legs, trying to avoid the rain but that wasn’t overly successful.  It definitely got the legs going though, as did all the walks this weekend, as the coastal path is known for its ups and downs!  At least with the motorhome we are able to come home to central heating and a hot shower.  Got our first complaint that night from the miserable couple opposite who complained we were making too much noise – it was 10.30 on a Saturday night and all we were doing was talking!

Up the following day for a walk across the headland to Woolacombe Bay and a pasty on the beach for lunch!  The sun had come out and it was a glorious day with the rain only resuming when we were just five minutes away from the van on our way back.  Luckily only a shower this time so BBQs were out that night resulting in complaint number two!  This time it was only 6.30 and our conversation was again the target of our neighbour’s grumbling despite all the children running around and other people being outside their vans.  Some people just like to moan!  What was funny though is when he came over to ask “which one of you is the ex-cop?”.  We didn’t have the heart to tell them that only one out of the six of us wasn’t but as our number plate includes “999” you would have thought that he might have had some clue as to who one was!

The final day’s walking was out to the Bull Point Lighthouse and then to Morte Point along the rugged coastline.  We had forgotten how spectacular the area is.

The weather returned to that forecasted that evening with the wind getting up and the rain coming back in again – just as June was queueing at the fish and chip van which visits the site every Monday.  Timing wasn’t so good as everyone seemed to have gone for their dinners at the same time but on the upside, we knew that it was freshly cooked!

Despite out initial reservations it was a great campsite and although far larger than we’d usually go for, it was well spaced and overall, pretty quiet.  It’s affiliated to both the CCC and MCC so has to keep to certain standards and to thrown in the COVID need for social distancing and cleanliness, it was doing a really good job!

This was originally scheduled for May but luckily, we were able to rearrange for this weekend and by this time more of the COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted.

Bob had arranged this weekend as a surprise so June had no idea where they were going other than in a westerly direction!  Turned out to be Combe Saint Nicholas near Chard in Somerset and the accommodation was “The Pod”.

Another weekend with nothing much planned and as it was the weather was so good all we did do was enjoy the weather and the beautiful surroundings.  The only disturbance to the peace and quiet came when Bob decided to play with his drone and had to rescue it from the field behind us which was reached by walking through a stream and some trees.  He says it was the wind that took it away and nothing to do with his flying skills…..

The Pod was completely self-contained with everything we needed for the weekend plus a jacuzzi on the deck (all included in the price).  All we had for company were the ducks, Flopsy and Gizmo the sheep and George, the automatic lawn mower that came out of its house a few times a day!

It was a perfect weekend finished off with sitting in the jacuzzi on Saturday night with a glass of good red wine doing a bit of stargazing.

How excited are we?  Lockdown restrictions are being eased so we’re off for the first proper long weekend of the year having cancelled too many previously planned trips.  And our choice destination?  We’re going a whole 23 miles from home to Hill Farm Campsite near Wendover.  This was a new place for us as we had received no replies from our usual local hideaways but given all the uncertainty and requirements to be COVID safe it wasn’t surprising.  Turned out to be a good choice and probably now our preferred local campsite!

The plan for the weekend was some walking, some relaxing and spending some time trying to bed the new van in.  With no travel since a quick weekend visit to Preston in January to have air suspension fitted on the rear, we haven’t had much of a chance to get things organised as it’s going to take a while for everything to find its home.

And that’s exactly what we did do!  Wendover Woods is Forestry England land which has received significant investment in recent years and now boasts a huge café with a large outside area overlooking the countryside.  Of course this was the perfect excuse for a #clewleysstopforcoffee!  Apart from the café, there are plenty of well signed walking trails for all ages and abilities (the Woods contain the highest point in the Chilterns at 876ft so potential for lots having to walk uphill!), a bridle path around the edge and a couple of areas designated for off road biking.  The campsite is adjacent to the woods with easy access across a field.

As well as walking within the Woods, we also took a longer walk to Coombe Hill where there is a memorial to the Boer War.  This area was once part of the Chequers Estate (the UK PM’s country retreat) and from the top there are stunning views across The Vale of Aylesbury and Buckinghamshire.  Coombe Hill is in the northern Chilterns and forms part of the Ridgeway National Trail which starts near by at Ivinghoe Beacon and runs south west for 87 miles to Overton Hill near Avebury in Wiltshire.

This walk involved dropping down from the highest point in the Woods, crossing through the gap in the Chilterns in which Wendover sits and then climbing up to the monument and of course reversing it to come back – a total of over 1200ft in ascent.  The coffee and cake on the way back at Rumsey’s Chocolaterie was certainly deserved! Wendover is, indecently, Bob’s maternal home and his mums family can be traced as living there since the 1700s.

Back to the campsite.  It is a small, well maintained, family run Camping and Caravan Club CS for five motorhomes/caravans and then a separate field for tents.  There are three individual shower/toilet rooms, all immaculately clean, and washing up facilities. The lack of light pollution means that it is also well positioned for watching the night sky and we were lucky enough to catch Comet Neowise as it passed over.  We really enjoyed staying and will be going back (already booked for September).