A weekend in North Devon

*We were the guests of Woolacombe Holiday Parks.


A few weeks ago, Matthew and I hopped in the car and headed out of London for a weekend break.  We headed straight to North Devon, a beautiful county in the southwest of England.  It was a quiet weekend of leisurely drives and stunning scenery.

The northern coast of Devon is known for it's natural beauty, rugged cliffs and coves, expansive beaches, and Exmoor National Park.  We visited the seaside resort of Woolacombe with it's sandy, three mile beach that has been named "Best British Beach."  In the summer, this area is packed with families, surfers, holidaymakers.  I was surprised to still see so many people even in October.

 

We spent a lot of time just driving along coastal roads, stopping along the way to take in the dramatic scenery.  I just can't get enough of it.  We stopped in the twin villages of Lynmouth and Lynton for lunch and a stroll.  

I was in a little shop and picked up a book.  It's called Pigs in Clover about a couple that gave up their London life and moved to Devon to live off the land.  The sign said that it was written by a local gentleman named Simon Dawson.  The shopkeeper asked me if I was going to buy the book and I responded with a yes.  "Oh, well, Simon is in the shop just across the way.  You should go say hello to him and he will be happy to sign it for you."   And that is exactly what we did.  He signed my book and we had a very pleasant chat.  I read the book all the way home and loved it.  Very funny and interesting.  

I love getting getting out of London and driving around England.  I cranked up the seat warmer (best invention ever) and put on some music.  We drove through Combe Martin and stopped just long enough for a few photos with the iPhone.  Then spent an hour or so exploring Ilfracombe. 

We were invited to stay at a popular family holiday park on the North Devon Coast in a caravan for the weekend.  Actually, I would call it a trailer or mobile home.  When Jess was young we had a little camper trailer and we had so much fun in that thing.   This one was much bigger than the little camper we used to have.  It was nice to settle into one for the weekend.  It was very clean and cozy.

I've never stayed in a holiday park before but they are pretty popular in the UK.  Woolacombe Bay had everything you need right on site, a pub, restaurant, spa, store, indoor pool, and much more.  I kept thinking that it would be the perfect place to bring your extended families during the summer.  It must be a blast for kids. 

It was the perfect little getaway for us.  These little breaks from London are invaluable.  I love the city but it can get a bit heavy at times.  It's good to get out into the beautiful country and take a breath.  

Have you ever experienced a UK Holiday Park?  What did you think?

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  *We were the guests of the Woolacombe Holiday Parks for the purposes of review. 
Accommodation for our stay was complimentary.  All photos, writing and opinions are my own.
As always, I promise to be open, honest and transparent with my readers.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Plymouth, Polperro and Penzance

After my family pulled me kicking and screaming from Dartmoor,
we headed South into Cornwall to explore the coastline.  

Our first stop was Plymouth (as in, Plymouth where the Mayflower started it's famous journey).

And Plymouth is actually in Devon just on the border of Cornwall. 

We were scheduled for a tour at the Plymouth Gin distillery, but we were late and missed it.  TE was pretty pissed disappointed, but it just means we'll have to go back.  

They tried to blame it on my lollygagging, but I say it was just the crazy narrow English roads.  

There was a pirate festival down by the harbor which was some consolation.  

 

 

After hanging out with the pirates for a bit, we hopped back into the car and made our way West via ferry.

Our next stop was Polperro which was... yep, you guessed it... Magical!  

It is the most charming, little fishing village ever.  I definitely have to go back.  

Instead of taking us to the carpark above the town, our GPS (satnav) actually took us in the back way

and we ended up driving down through the center of the town.

 If you've ever been to Polperro, you have an idea of how crazy this was. 

You should have seen the looks we got from pedestrians as they tried to get out of our way.

Sugar Bear was napping and we woke her up as we were 

squeezing through a six foot opening at about a 75 degree angle.  

The problem might have been that TE changed the language setting of the GPS to German.

(No, he doesn't speak German.)

 It was crazy... but fun!

Once we found the carpark, we went back into the little town the proper way... on foot.

It was the most picturesque little place.  

The tide was out, so the fish smell was a little much, but the views made up for it.

It also meant that we got to explore a little cave down on the beach

that would be underwater during high tide.  

 "I'll take two fish & chips and a crab sandwich, Mate"

I might have pretended I was a pirate while I was in the cave.  You would have, too. 

 

Check out that golf cart squeezing through.

The village dates back to the 13th Century, so city planning was probably not a big priority.

What a great place! It would be perfect for a quiet, lazy weekend in a B&B.  

After an ice cream cone and making TE pinkie swear that he would bring me back someday,

we left Polperro and headed to Penzance (as in Pirates of the Penzance.)

It was late when we got there and we were pretty tired.  We had a nice dinner and turned in early. 

We didn't really spend much time exploring, but it looks like it has a lot to offer. 

We stayed at The Glencree House which was awesome. I would highly recommend it. 

(Can you believe this was only our 2nd night of this road trip?)

We saw some of the most amazing sights on our little road trip,

but this was still the best part. 

Spending time with my daughter.

Guess where we were off to the next day?

Here's a little hint...

Oh. Em. Gee.  Does that not take your breath away?  Magic, I tell you.  

xoxo

Selena