Beautiful Croyde Bay

So - having crossed Exmoor, newly repaired wing mirror still attached, we approached our next destination. Being self-catering though, we needed to stop off for some supplies, so in the newly acquired sunshine, google maps led us to Tesco at Ilfracombe. And what a momentous occasion this turned out to be. As finally my beloved Eastmans and I were reunited!

Alive and well in Devon.

Yes, indeed, it appeared that since leaving me so cruelly without warning earlier in the Spring, my beloved Eastmans had been living a well deserved retirement on the shelves of Tesco in Ilfracombe. It was to be but a brief reunion, just two packets, but I am glad we had the chance to say goodbye. She was very understanding too, and understood about my new relationship with the 15 pack multipacks of Wotsits from Iceland. Well a man has needs...and they were there for me when she wasn't.

So - eventually after winding around lots of little roads with passing places, we arrived at Ruda Caravan Park at beautiful Croyde Bay. In complete contrast to our arrival at Butlins, we arrived in glorious sunshine with not a cloud in the sky. The natural ampitheatre of the area - surrounded by hills and with the sun shining off the sea seemed to enhance the natural light to an extent that it was incredibly bright - quite enthralling in fact. The heat from the sun was in stark contrast to the cold air temperatures that could still be felt - the temperature never rose above 14c the whole time we were there and was frequently around the 9 or 10 mark, but the sheer power of the sun approaching its solstice cutting through this cold air was an exhilirating experience - the kind of weather that makes you feel glad to be alive, just from the sheer joy of being in it.

I don't think we saw a cloud for about the first 3 days we were there. There had clearly been a lot of rain recently though, as when we pulled up next to our caravan on the grass, the going was very heavy.

So out with the cases and into the caravan -and once again I was struck by how much easier this is than all the airport hassle on and off conveyers, customs, courtesy buses etc etc. None of that here - open the boot - open the carvan door 3 metres away - take cases in - sorted.

So what of the caravan? Well this was our first such holiday and I must admit on first seeing it, I thought it looked very small from the outside. Yet the designers had worked wonders with the interior - it truly was a Tardis in every sense of the word. Apart from being able to travel through space and time, they must still be working on that.

Every inch of space was cleverly utilised - shelves, cupboards, the design of the doors - slim and light similar to the doors you get on aeroplane toilets. This small box was a full functioning two bedroom home, which felt quite spacious inside. And it was spotless throughout, modern, comfortable, all plumbed in (no chemical toilets here) and I felt quite at home.

So what do to onsite - go and have a look around. Well this place was much quieter than Butlins - it has a shop, an  arcade, a pool, restaurant and show bar. But that was all that we needed really. On the first night, off we went to the restaurant, and was pleasantly surprised by the menu - very similar to a Harvester, but with reasonable prices and the quality was excellent. As I was rather hungry, I ordered a mixed grill and it was excellent.

Shame about the peas, that space could have been talen
up with some more meat!

Just the thing for a hungry traveller. And with a soft play area and ball pool next door there was plenty to keep the kids busy so it was possible to eat the meal in relative comfort i.e. without a lot of moaning, screaming and complaining. 

There was a slide leading down into the ball pool and fearless Jamie was up and down the steps and sliding in like there was no tomorrow. Unfortunately Ollie remains a little reticent when it comes to this sort of thing - it's too big and scary. But not for a one year old it seems!

As if that wasn't enough entertainment, various characters in costume appeared on occasion in the restaurant to entertain the children, here is Jamie meeting Sid The Seagull.

This seagull was nice - it did not poo on anyone.

After dinner it was time to attend the children's disco. The boys absolutely loved this, bombing about on the dancefloor. And as always seems to be the case with Ollie, it was not long before he was attracting female attention - I just don't know how he does it. This little girl (Zoe) was following him around like a lovesick puppy, they were dancing together, holding hands, she was picking him up and I even saw a little sneaky kiss when they thought the parents were not looking.

Young Love

So that's a brief overview - next time we talk about the beach and the pool - and we've still got Sheep Racing to come - for which I am hoping to post a video. Not sure when this will get done, I shall try and multi-task along with cooking dinner but if not, I'm working tonight so you may have to wait until tomorrow.

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Jason xx