seaham.jpg

JOURNAL

Cornwall - Part 1

We’ve been saying for a while now that we should do a road trip to Cornwall, but the length of the drive always put us off. But after the Kielder/midgie incident we realised that our July trip to Scotland might be a really terrible idea, so last minute we decided to change direction and do the big one. This is the joy of camping in the van…. plans can be changed so easily. There’s always a campsite or a nice spot you can park up, pretty much anywhere you go.

To split up the drive we booked a spot at Manor Farm Caravan Park and it just happened to be exactly what we needed after a solid day of driving (and getting stuck in 2 hours of stand still traffic). It’s a working farm with a semi formal area for tents and campervans, with plenty of animals wandering about to say hi to. There were alpacas and llamas on fields either side of us, a little dog that kept jumping in our van and a shetland pony called Bumper that was a saint and wanted to share our barbecue with us.

We felt so relaxed here that we slept with the boot fully open, looking out to the alpaca field.

 

We spent the first couple of days dotting from coastal town to coastal town with no real plan. I prefer doing this, it’s how we’ve found some of our favourite places, and the thing with Cornwall is that every single place you stop is amazing and you’ll probably never be disappointed. Even on countryside roads, we’d stumble upon antiques shops and cafes. The only downside is that everybody else seems to have the same idea and everywhere is heaving! People everywhere. By day 3 it got a little overwhelming for me and I craved peace and quiet, but luckily we had another campsite booked that ended up being one of my favourite ones yet. More on that in my next post.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Amy Spires
Valley Cottage

Valley Cottage, an abandoned house on a roadside somewhere in Cornwall. It was one of those moments where you spot it in a blur out the window and then have to spend 15 minutes finding somewhere to turn around. A lady walked past as I was photographing it and confirmed that it was empty and that it was ‘very pretty’ (she gets it). Unfortunately, for the life of me, I can’t remember where we were so I haven’t been able to find anything out about it. Valley Cottage remains a mystery.

Amy Spires
The First Van Trip

You’re probably familiar with my really terrible Airbnb luck. Well all that is over now, as we’ve converted our Citroen Berlingo into a mini camper and it’s the best idea I’ve ever had. We initially swapped the car for the Berlingo as we needed extra space to transport things to Tynemouth Market (see Coal House Goods here) but after we took out the back seats I realised the space was massive and we could 100% sleep in it.

There’s a simple platform bed structure with a backrest that folds up and then back down (tall husband needs to stretch) and storage underneath. Internal roof bars hold lights and some S hooks for extra hanging storage, and we’re going to invest in a roofbox for longer journeys. The mattress is a full double so plenty of room for both of us and a fat little dog.

We spent a few days just pottering around the Lake District and seeing where we ended up. We set off in the morning and would find a nice spot to pull up and cook breakfast. One night we were looking for a spot to sleep and ended up following signs to a National Trust campsite that ended up being one of the nicest I’ve ever been to. It was right on the shore of Windermere so you could spend the evening tiring the dog out before heading back for a barbecue by the stream.

Last year all our free time was taken up by moving house and then working on the new house, so I feel like this year we’ll make the most of all the time we’re not at work and just head out in the van. Even if it’s just one night. It’s nice to wake up to a different view.

Amy Spires