Rock n Roll Camping

For years Alan and I have planned that once our girls went to uni, we would hire a campervan and travel around Devon and Cornwall, Ireland, Spain and wheverever else the open road took us. Last week, we finally got round to living that dream. We drove to Okehampton to collect our yellow VW Campervan for a taster week, crammed all our stuff and two dogs inside and set off to meet our friends Sue and John, who were waiting for us at the eco friendly campsite. It had a fantastic wooden toilet block with a corrugated iron roof plus an awesome homemade fire pit. We walked to the local pub and ate fish and chips washed down with prosecco to celebrate making our campervan trip real -- Sue was relieved her van made it up the steep windy roads to our starting point.

The first morning I was greeted by our old dog, Margot, biting my ankle as I got down off the rock n roll bed. The night before I had tried sleeping on the upper deck in the pop-up area but was scared I would fall to my death or at least break a leg or two, so moved down to the bottom bunk and snuggled on down with the dogs. We all enjoyed coffee and biscuits while we sat on camping chairs and soaked up the sun's rays on our faces - one of the best bits of camping in my opinion. We packed away our things and headed to Slapton beach to let our dogs run on the shingle and dip their paws in the sea, before finding a pub overlooking the water and devouring crab and prawn sandwiches. Next stop was Salcombe for some retail therapy including rose gin and taking in the beautiful harbour views. We spent our second night at a hilly campsite overlooking rich red ploughed fields, sheep and lambs. After sampling G&Ts, a twilight walk lead us to the local pub where we ate a hearty meal and then got a cab for 4 adults and 4 dogs back to the site as Margot couldn't handle the long walk back. We built a fire and sat around gazing up at the stars and chatting until the winds whipped up and we had to go to bed to get warm. During the night, I convinced myself that my retina had become detached due to a carbon monoxide light flashing from inside the van. However, I was too tired from the strenuous eating my husband and myself endured so decided to ignore the epileptic motions and roll over to my left side with uncertainty.

The wind woke us up and as we had no coins for the shower, plus it was too cold to undress, we became The Great Unwashed. After cups of tea in camping chairs and a dog walk around the field, we made our way to Bantham Beach which was absolutely spectacular with a stunning view of Burgh Island and its Art Deco hotel, cut off by the tide. We ate lunch in the beach cafe and then stumbled upon a cute campsite overlooking the island up the hillside. The weather was sunny and the sunset was glorious. A two mile walk through brambly hedge country lanes with pink marshmallow clouds ahead took us to the pub where I had an equisite meal of plaice with roasted mediteraean vegetables. We required another cab home to cater for Margot's weary legs and our hazy heads. During the night, my middle aged bladder forced me to tiptoe under the clear skies to the toilet block. What would, at home, be a creaky and uncomfortable trip to the toilet turned into a spiritual journey under the stars.

Lola (our puppy) awoke us with her barking as she had managed to lift the curtains of the van with her nose and was spying on our friend's dogs through the window. Alan trapezed down from his top bunk (very impressive) and let our dogs out to join them, while I trotted off to treat myself to a shower - or so I thought. Once I was undressed with my coins at the ready, I noticed that the shower head was missing and so, no shower for me. It probably was a blessing as the shower tray was full of dead spiders. I made do with a 'strict' wash, as my sister called them on Brownie camp; a spray of dry shampoo and I was good to go. And so the cycle continued -- coffee, biscuits, sun and chat. It was less boring than it sounds, I promise. We walked through cabbage fields down towards the sea and across to Burgh Island. The tide was out and we ate lunch looking out at the beach in the blustery sunshine. We returned up the steep slopes to the campsite where we basked some more and waited for the kettle to boil, while researching the next campsite-to-be, although, were tempted to stay put. It was pitch dark before we reached our next stop and what a sight to behold when we turned on the light switch to reveal a line up of clean toilets and showers plus an immulate laundry room. The smell of disinfectant was heaven to our nostrils. Sue and I were as excited as when we had stayed together in a fancy hotel in Las Vegas a few years ago. We got cabs to and from the pub that night for our last evening together and, shockingly, decided to have another drink under the stars when we got back.

We drove onto Tavistock in the morning for a farewell breakfast and mooch around the pannier market before saying our goodbyes. Sue and John were travelling on to meet friends in St Agnes and we were heading for Fowey, where I've always longed to visit. I was not dissappointed and we were lucky the sun was shining as we walked towards the little cove and onto the harbour, through cobbled streets lined with pastel coloured houses. We had dinner overlooking boats bobbing on the water and metalic blue storm clouds in the distance with trees lit up with the last colour of the day. I've always loved St Ives and it felt like a quiet version of it - perfect for me at my age. We drove on to Mevagissy and walked the dogs to the harbour in torrential rain for a night cap but by the time we got there, all the pubs were closed. We had found an overnight camping spot in carpark but as we couldn't have a drink and weren't that tired, decided to head back towards Okehampton where we were going to be dropping our van off the night after next. We drove until 1am where we discovered a safe haven near to Dartmoor and we parked up to do a bit of 'wild camping' and have a 'nature wee' as no facitlities for miles.

The next morning we awoke to breathtaking views across Dartmoor. The dogs loved running free through the raw scenery and lapped fresh water from the streams. After a bracing walk, we climbed back in the van and made our way to Topsham for lunch on the harbour after a mooch around the antique emporium. Following lunch, we discovered the high street and in particular a lovely clothes boutique, where the owner loved Airedale Terriers and welcomed ours into her shop. An informative lady at the pet shop, where Lola was fitted with an amazing non-pull harness, told us of a campsite a mile up the hill, which we checked into. It was my kind of place with home painted wooded signs, a ramshackle shower block in an old agricultural building, overgrown vegetable patch and a field of long grass the dogs could run around in. We made a little fire, drank beer and ate crisps before snuggling down for the last night of our adventure. As soon as I got home, I took a long soak in a nice, hot bath to rid me of the 'wet dog' smell and dreamt about our next trip.

We hired 'I Am Spartacus' VW yellow campervan from O'Connor Campers

https://oconnorscampers.co.uk/