Tuesday 27th June 2023
We woke to a wet miserable and horrible looking day, first for a long time, so no need to rush but we did have one objective in mind, find a beach that allowed dogs, off the lead so they can go “mad”!!! We had also been pondering the merits of a “motorhome versus a caravan” so not being a nice day decided to seek out a caravan dealership and have a look at what’s available.
Looking on the internet we found a dealership not too far away so headed out. Arriving at the address given turned out to be a holiday village and campsite; very nice it looked but no sign of caravan sales other than holiday ones so did an about turn and headed into Combe Martin on the off chance the dealership may have been there. Combe Martin was one long street running down a valley to a small cove with a token beach but parking wasn’t available so apart from a ‘photo opportunity, we carried on and headed back to the holiday park, this being the “only” possible place to find what we were looking for!!
This time we had a good look around, driving up the various connecting lanes on site when low and behold, tucked around a corner hidden by beautifully manicured hedges was a caravan and motorhome dealership!!! We spent some time looking at the various layouts in caravans, gathering all the relevant facts etc., and discussed the pros and cons of both with the sales people and arriving at the same conclusion, we are no further advanced so we headed off for coffee. I must say, nothing will be done this year anyway but by the time we had finished our coffee the rain had gone and the clouds were breaking up so time to search for that one beach that has to be about!!!
Yesterday as we were driving from Braunton to Croyde Christine spotted a sign pointing to a beach with a picture of a dog, so we had great hopes🤞🤞🤞. But first; whilst walking to the lighthouse the other day, talking as you do to strangers with dogs, we were recommended by “two” different sets of people of an alternative campsites at “Damage Barton”, this site is set high overlooking the sea, every pitch has a view!! Conclusion, too well organised and regimented for us so pleased “we are where we are”!!
After negotiating more of the narrow Devonshire lanes, we arrived at the entrance to the Saunton beach car park and headed down to the sandy beach. We did double check, dogs were allowed and off the lead😄😄. So once we cleared the busy part around the entrance, Tom-Tom and Rosie went “bizzerk”, tearing up the beach for all they were worth, freedom at last!! It was now time to hit the waters edge, after all isn’t that what Cocker Spaniels like??? Tom-Tom was straight in, no messing but Rosie was slightly more hesitant, most probably due to her shorter legs; they loved it and as we were paddling with them, they showed no respect for our clothes, soaked or what?
Saunton beach is 4-miles long, we probably made just over a mile before turning back which I was pleased about. Solo wouldn’t have worked on the soft sand and I didn’t fancy staying in the car so just gripped my teeth, put my best foot forward and headed off; watching the dogs enjoying themselves so much dampened the pain. This beach, like many others is a haven for wind surfers as well as long board surfers but the other thing about this beach is, it is used by the RAF for training their pilots to land and take off in their C-130K Hercules transport planes!!!!!
We eventually returned to the car with the dogs thoroughly exhausted, wet, and covered in sand but very happy.
En route we stopped at a the Kings Arms, a small “Free-house” pub in the local village (Georgeham) for a quick pint where both dogs immediately collapsed under the table!! Though the pub was empty we liked it and after looking through their menu, booked a table for tomorrow night. Chatting to the landlord (owner) his USP is the food they serve,in his own words, he has “excellent chefs”, we will know tomorrow!!
Back on site for dinner, I was due to bar-b-q tonight as I had the right parts and I was ready to go but it was windy and I couldn’t keep the gas alight so another failure on my part👹👹 and it was down to Christine, again. After an excellent dinner we played a hand of crib but being tired and nothing on TV, bed called.