Minehead Caravan and Motorhome Club site is one of the smallest we have encountered on our travels, maybe just slightly larger than Meadow Farm. And it’s one of the most basic, being an acre or so of land just off the main road. From there, it’s just a two minute walk to a couple of takeaways and a Co-Op.
The pitches are on two levels, surrounded by dense trees that shielded us from the colder autumn wind.
For the last 18 months, Carnon Downs, in central Cornwall, had been my favourite caravan site. I think it now comes second to Longleat, which is unique among the sites we’d stayed at. ‘I’ll definitely come here to Longleat again. Definitely.’ Robby told me, as we were driving back from a takeaway in Wiltshire.
Again, we were lucky with the weather, arriving just in time to make the most of three sunny and very warm days.
Tenby is Robby’s favourite destination, and he’s determined to spend a few days there at least once a year. Of course, we booked a pitch at Meadow Farm again. As far as we know, it’s the only site within a short walk of the town, and it overlooks the coast. Like pretty much all the coastal sites we visited, it’s on high ground and exposed to the worst of bad weather.
Being on the high ground on the north Devon coast, the Damage Barton caravan site was exposed to the cold blustery wind when we arrived there. It would be the ideal place to stay in July or August, I’d imagine. Damage Barton is actually the name of the nearby farm and surrounding fields. The region is called Mortehoe. And what a job it was getting there, with Mortehoe Station Road being so narrow, and with vehicles coming and going from the other holiday parks being situated along it!
It seemed like only yesterday that we left the Base Camp in the depot after the final trip of 2020. Robby brought it out again for a visit to Bracelands Campsite, which is located in a giant clearing in the Forest of Dean. Unfortunately I could only join him for two nights, since it was Mothers’ Day weekend, but it was worth the journey. It was only an hour’s drive along the M4 then an A road, so we could potentially return there for a day out.
This was probably our final trip with Base Camp Bertha until next year. Robby and I have just returned from Brighton, and I think it was the best trip we’ve had in the last couple of months.
Things didn’t go smoothly to begin with. Cutting a long story short, I learned that it’s possible to jump start a Ford Cougar using Missy, my precious Renault Clio. Hypothetically it’s possible to do the same with the battery in the Base Camp, as it has a higher rating than the typical car battery.
Originally we intended to return to Meadows Farm, as we fancied another stay at Tenby, but the pitches were fully booked. Instead we reserved a place at Trevayne Farm. I’m not sure which site I prefer: Meadows Farm has a very nice view of the coast, and it’s the only site within a few minutes’ walk from the centre of Tenby. Trevayne Farm has pretty much its own beach that would be very quiet in the summer, being accessible only through the Coastal Path or the farm, and the facilities are slightly better.
We learned of Bargoed Farm when we met the owners in Dorset a few months ago. Being just a few miles from Aberaeron and a few other locations of interests along the coast of west Wales, we thought it’s worth spending a few days here. Andy and Tony joined us for this one, and were staying in their Tab on the neighbouring pitch.
As the name suggests, Bargoed Farm is an actual functioning farm, with barns and fields and a few animals here and there - our pitch was visited a few times by two cats and a group of chickens.
Our stay in Brighton just happened to coincide with a heatwave that, it was reported in the Corporate Media, would bring record-breaking temperatures in the region. When I was much younger, this kind of weather was typical throughout July and August, and it seems a rarity in comparison these days.
I didn’t expect the temperature to be a lot more than 30 degrees centigrade in Brighton, but we came prepared anyway, bringing plenty of water and the Chillmax Air unit we bought at Asda last year for about £30.
Though we rarely visit all the places of interest I have marked on the GPS when we’re off somewhere, we do get around. We used Wilksworth Caravan Park as our base, and it was as good as any: It’s within walking distance of Wimborne town centre, the staff are very friendly, the facilities are well maintained and there is a handy shop at the reception. I couldn’t see any pitches that were actually full-serviced, but none of them were more than a few metres from a water and drainage point.
