February: Bridport

This was our first overnight stayaway with Wilby in 2020.  The weather was wet and the sky grey...with patches of blue sometimes seen.  However, as the main point of the outing was to blow the cobwebs away, and to test the van and all its working gadgets after its winter driveway park-up the weather wasn't a concern.  In fact Wilby had just passed its MOT without any issue...aside from an advisory of a small amount of rust in left hand wheel arch.  Not a big deal.

The site we'd chosen to stay at overnight was 'Ernies Plot' just outside Bridport.  This was a small inexpensive dog-friendly site, housing just five motorhomes, rightly chosen for its positive reviews.  Upon our arrival we received a welcome visit from the site owner, who brought us this basket of treats:

In addition to our basket of treats the site offered free-range eggs and other goodies for sale.  The chickens could be seen running free in the field opposite our camping spot.

Our short stayaway was mainly spent wandering around local shops in the nearby towns, so the weather conditions went largely unnoticed. 

September: Skysea

This weekend trip was to a beautiful site, in fact the nicest site we've stayed at to date.

Despite it being late in the season the grass was a glorious clear green, and the sea and sky a clear blue.  The site itself is positioned directly beside the beach...which was vast and beautiful.  The site offers ready access to useful amenities, and to both coastal and woodland walks.

September: Freshwater

Having been overly busy time at home recently we finally got away!  Freshwater beach near Bridport was lovely...

There's a small sandy dog (Roxy) hidden in this picture!

 And the locals were friendly too!

May: Pembrey

This time we headed to Pembrey Country Park.  In fact we'd visited this site last year and had ticked the box to return.  It's a lovely area to browse, with nearby beach and cycle tracks to Burry Port etc.
The weather appeared a little undecided when we were leaving home, but by the time we reached Kidwelly (near our destination) the sun was shining...and we even saw a garden centre that had two giraffes outside!

A curious little face welcomes us to the camping site...

Pembrey beach....miles and miles of clear sand....and not a soul in sight...

One man and his dog...a brisk walk through the forest at Pembrey.

As a chatty aside...awhile ago we bought two electric bikes...which were intended to make life easier when away with Wilby.  Most of the camping sites we visit have cycle tracks and as the majority are situated in scencic areas it's certainly good to get around on two wheels...with Roxy riding in a carrier basket on the back of Alan's bike.

It does have to be said however, that Chris's road sense is somewhat lacking at the best of times!  When taking to the open road on this occasion Alan was cycling on the left hand side of the road, and Chris on the opposite side.  Alan therefore explained that it was necessary to cycle on the left side of the road...due to the potential of on-coming traffic.  Chris's response to this was "There's no cars on this side, only me.  You are already on your side, so if I come across we would crash!"

This wasn't the only misunderstanding...

Alan had decided, rightly, that it was probably best for him to cycle behind Chris, and to cycle slightly wide, so as to protect her should a car approach from behind. However...at some point Chris realised that she was cycling behind him...and when he, approaching a corner, slowed down, she took the opportunity to overtake...and...there was this lorry...!  We hope that the driver fully recovers from his shock...we'll otherwise be sending flowers.

Finally...happily riding along the open road...Chris saw a fork ahead and asked Alan which turning to take.  Alan replied "Just follow the road"....which made perfect sense to him, and will no doubt be fully understood by most drivers...but...to Chris is made absolutely no sense whatsoever...so she stopped abruptly and, as usual, wobbled sideways whilst screaming loudly enough to raise a railway sleeper!  Alan, wondering what the sudden scream was for prepared to dial for an ambulance!

Ogmore beach...a beautiful beach area near Cardiff...visited on the way home.
Note: Chris does not cycle ride along cliff top paths...

April: The New Forest

This time we headed for the New Forest...near Tip Toe and Sway...

The Setthorns site, which we've visited before, is pretty basic, although they enable electric hook-up there are no toilets or showers on the site...and no play areas or club houses and so forth, which suits us just fine.  Wilby has all the mod cons on board, of course, so we didn't exactly rough it.

The beauty of the area is apparent upon arrival.  This was the immediate view:

We took a bird table with us so....

Nuthatch

Blue Tit

Finch of some sort...

Robin

A Tit of some sort...

Plus a woodpecker….

 Then during a walk through the woods...we saw two deer little critters.....

Setthorns is set in a simply beautiful area...perfect for walking and cycling (we took our electric bikes)…and there are small towns nearby too so it's fine if, like us, you forget to take something that's needed : )

Note:
Sadly upon returning home we learned that my sons much loved and thoroughly enjoyed mountain bike had been stolen from his home...in fact it had been taken from within his 'secure' metal and padlocked cycle storage shed. 

Further...we soon discovered that our friendly and curious home-loving ten year old cat Dylan was missing.  To date local on-line sites and neighbourhood searches (plus the 'chip' company notified Dylan as being missing to all vets and rescue centres within a 30 mile radius of our home) has failed to find him.  

March: Hayling Island

This weekend trip was to Fishery Creek Hayling Island.  Hayling Island is just off the south coast but, although it is a true island, it is reached by road.

The weather had been windy and rain splattered for most of the week prior to our departure, so we were pleased to wake to a dry day and to be able to drive off with a clear-view windscreen!  The trip to Hayling was uneventful and we were pleased to arrive at our destination at around lunch time. 
The site appeared reasonably attractive...but were delighted to be parked in a prime position that offered a clear view of the tidal creek, and with a pretty swan lake beside us too!

From base camp we were able to walk along beside the water in two directions...one path leading to the sea front, where a small train ran back'n'forth to a funfair (which was somewhat dilapidated).

Link: Hayling seaside railway (found on YouTube)

We sat on the beach and enjoyed delicious fish'n'chips at the Coast Guard Café (recommended)

On our second day we took a drive around Hayling. There were lots of small boats, small yachts, water sports...stuff like that aplenty.

We were also delighted to find a shell beach!  Just beside the ferry crossing...

March: Devon

Having spent the past few months busily doing other stuff, this long-weekend we finally took to the road with Wilby!

This time we chose to break from our usual policy of escaping from the maddening crowds...mainly because the weather forecast was uncertain and we didn't want to be stuck in the moho with nowt to do!  The River Dart Country Park appeared to meet our requirements...maybe...possibly...perhaps!

It felt really good to get on the road again and to be sitting in what feels a bit like a tour bus!  The roads were fairly clear so the journey was just fine and we arrived at our destination before lunch time.  I can't say that I was impressed by the site...in fact I thought it was rubbish...and being on top of the hill above Dawlish Warren meant that we had to walk down a steep hill to get to the beach, and were then faced with an uphill walk afterwards.  In fact we caught a bus back!

By the second day we'd learned that Wilby could in fact be taken down to the Dawlish Warren car park...and from there we could walk along the sea front beside the railway line and beautiful red sandstone rock face to Dawlish.  This was much better! 

The black swans at Dawlish