Devon Camping 2019 Day 2 - Croyd Beach Body Boarding & Middlesborough Hill

For our first night in the tent I am not sure any of us got much sleep. Joshua found his camp bed uncomfortable as he is a big lad now and on top of that it was very stormy, wet and windy meaning I was constantly on edge and getting up to check the tent was holding out OK. Touch wood the tent was absolutely fine and the bed Joshua's bed was a quick fix swapping his camp bed with Holly's new inflatable bed.

Anyway for Day 2 we had a double beach day with a nice walk after lunch up to the top of Middlesborough Hill to take in the stunning views. Croyd beach was literally just opposite the road from our camp site so there was no hastle of loading cars and looking for parking spaces, we simply walked over carrying whatever we needed for the day.

When yo counsider a few years back Brandon absolutely hated sea water, on holiday we couldn't keep him out of the sea! He absolutely loved body boarding or simply just jumping in to oncoming waves. Holly didn't venture in to the sea in the morning and stayed with Tina building sand castles, but when we went back to the beach in the afternoon the sun was out and Holly had her first try at body boarding.

In the evening the kids very quickly settled in to a routine of hitting the penny machines to collect tickets in the arcades and then in to the entertainment bar for the mini disco and show.

Joshua and Brandon with their wet suits on and ready to go body boarding. 

Holly stayed on the beach in the morning to build sand castles.

As you can see the boys had some pretty good waves to play with. But the beach was very safe with life guards on duty.

The view from on top of Middlesborough Hill looking down at our camp site.

At the top of Middlesborough Hill looking down on Croyd beach.

Devon certainly isn't flat!

Looking in the opposite direction to Baggy Point.

Stunning scenery with the rolling waves down on Croyd beach.

Holly following the hiking trail foot marks.

Tina and the kiddies at the top of Middlesborough Hill.

In the afternoon the sun was out and Holly was brave enough to try body boarding for the first time.

She started in the shallows kicking herself out in to the smaller waves.

And then soon picked up the concept of body boarding very quickly.

Action shot as a happy Holly catches a wave.

Back out to sea for another surf.

I didn't get many pictures of the boys as they were out pretty far and I had to stay in the shallower water to look after Holly.

Brandon at the end of a wave that just rode him in to the shore.

Brandon and Joshua body boarding.

When we had enough of the sea me and Brandon went off exploring the sand dunes behind Croyd beach.

Can you spot a Brandon.

Looking over the dunes back at Croyd beach as the sun starts to drop.

Brandon heading back from his dune exploration.

Later in the evening it was time for camp fire smores.

We used a little gas burner to toast the marshmallows.

Holly chose to just eat the chocolate biscuits.

One smore done, one being kicked.

Josh is a bit of a pro with smores from all his Beavers, Cubs and Scouts. 

Even Tina joined in.

In the evening the kids all smashed the 2p slot machines to collect tickets.

And as you can see they were pretty successful.

Devon Camping 2019 Day 1 - Stone Henge

As we went to Euro Disney earlier in the year (which was quite expensive to say the least) we decided to have a camping holiday in the UK for our summer holiday as opposed to going abroad. So we booked a Park Dean campsite in Croyd, Devon as none of us had been to North Devon before and we fancied something different from Cornwall. 

It was a pretty long journey and the car was absolutely rammed even with a roof box meaning that none of us had much space (next time we are either getting the tow bar fitted for the trailer or taking 2 cars for sure). To break the journey up we stopped at Stone Henge which is as near as dammit half way. Amazingly I am 47 years old and had never visited Stone Henge. Tina had only been once as a young kid and our three had obviously never been.

It was blowing a gale across the fields surrounding Stone Henge and we ended up dashing back to the car for our coats. As we are English Heritage members we got in to Stone Henge for free and were also entitled to free audio guides which the kids absolutely loved (especially Brandon). The audio guides gave so much more information about this landmark which you never would have got from just walking around. In total we spent about 2 hours at Stone Henge before squishing back in to the car for the second half of the journey.

The last 6 miles in to Croyd were certainly an experience with meandering single lane country roads which went up and down steep valleys and had absolutely no space for traffic passing in the opposite direction!!! Unfortunately by the time we got to Croyd the strong gusting winds from Stone Henge had not died away and if anything were stronger as we were so close to the coast. As we pulled up to our pitch we noted several other tents which had been destroyed by the weather and simply abandoned by the owners (didn't bode well for 10 days camping!).

Holly seeked shelter in the car whilst me, Tina and the boys tried putting the tent up, but it soon became apparent that we had absolutely no chance of getting the tent up on our own in these winds. Fortunately a family of 4 had just set-up on the pitch next to us and came over to help get our monster tent up. The extra 4 hands made light work and soon enough we were up and running.

As we were so close to the beach we took a wander down to get our bearings and then went for a well earnt dinner at the on-site Italian restaurant. Me, Brandon and Tina all ordered carbonara which was pretty rank, but Joshua hit the jackpot with his pizza which was big enough to feed the whole family!

A very wet and windy Stone Henge as we stopped off enroute to Devon. 

Amazingly I am nearly half a century old and have never seen this famous British landmark.

A selfie which went wrong as Holly is hiding under her hood.

So we found another visitor to take a family picture for us.

The direction of view to catch the sunset.

Brandon was like a sponge absorbing facts from the audio guide.

Amazing to think they found over 65 bodies underneath Stone Henge.

Me trying some clever photography which didn't quite work.

To this date they have no idea how the lintels were positioned on top.

Me and the kiddies at Stone Henge.

This building might have been a bit stronger than our tent given the high winds. Holly bought the little sheep teddy as a souvenir.

Trying to move one of the sarsen stones - epic fail. Puts it in to perspective how the hell someone did this 5,000 years ago with no cranes, lorries etc.

The sarsen stones are huge and were somehow transported from as far as Wales.

Finally arrive at Croyd and the easy part was getting our ground sheet down.

Holly had the right idea keeping warm in the car.

Slowly we started getting the poles in, the weather looks good but it was really windy.

Brandon helping trying to hold the tent down and stop it blowing away.

Me and Tina fed through all the steel poles ready to try and elevate the tent.

Luckily some very friendly campers came and helped out otherwise we would have had no chance of getting the tent up on our own.

A race to get the guidelines in before the tent blows away or collapses down.

And in no time at all we are set-up and ready to enjoy the holiday.

After pitching the tent we realised we had set it up facing the wrong direction. Whilst we had a lovely view of the sea, it meant the coastal winds were blowing directly in to our porch area. Too late to change it once it was up though.

We were staying in a camp site called Ruda which is part of the Park Dean chain.

Before going to dinner we took a nice stroll out to explore the nearby Croyd beach.

The tide was well and truly out showing a very expansive beach.

There were lots of little pools of sea water which the kids enjoyed dipping their feet in too.

Another rain cloud is approaching so time to head off and get some dinner.

Joshua and Brandon exploring Croyd beach.

Anyone seen Holly's feet?

The Croyd beach certainly got our seal of approval and over the course of the next 9 days the kids spent many an hour body boarding on this very beach.

Some unusual and very linear rock formations at the end of the beach.

Joshua hit the jackpot in the Italian restaurant, check out the size of that pizza!

Joshua Riding No Handed

I promised myself that this year I was going to get Holly riding a bike without stabilisers and so far I am failing dismally on that task having not tried once. The summer is rapidly sweeping past and we are way past the longest day meaning the nights are already drawing in – so I better get my skates on with that one.

Joshua however has taught himself to ride his mountain bike no handed and is pretty good at it now and can ride no handed for a good 30 seconds plus. I reckons the next trick he is going to learn is to do a wheelie. He reminds me so much of myself and my cycling exploits on my old Grifter bike when I was younger.

Showing off riding his bike no handed back from boxing last night.

Summer Holiday Updates

The first two weeks of the summer holidays have been fairly quiet so far. The kids have had a few trips to the cinema to watch the new “Lion King” and “Hobbs and Shaw”, Holly has been to her “Crafty Katie’s” and then today both the boys went karting. During the first 2 weeks of the holiday building work has now commenced on our extension meaning we have wanted to have someone in the house just to overlook progress etc. This weekend we are off to Devon to go camping for 9 days so really we are just trying to save as much money for that rather than spend too much during the early part of the holiday. This Friday all 3 kiddies are booked in for an activity day at Stubbers which gives us time to load the car and pack all ready to head off early Saturday morning.

Earlier this week I cut Brandon’s hair ready for holiday and without blowing my own trumpet I think I’ve done a bloody good job. Over the years I am slowly getting better and this is probably one of the best cuts I have done. Joshua’s hair is fine as his was done a couple of weeks ago to tidy it up for his Year 6 leavers meal. Holly always wants her hair cut but she has lovely long blond locks and just needs a little trim at some stage. Tina often plays around with different hairstyles for Holly putting it in a plait, a bun or more recently a triple plait which looks pretty good.

Holly seems to be having a growth spurt this week and is eating everything in sight. On Monday I did her a very decorative plate of food for lunch comprising of cucumber, boiled eggs and slices of cheese. She polished that off and then saw that Joshua had cheese and beans on toast and wanted one of those as well. I reluctantly done it and she polished that off and a cup cake and Barney afterwards!!!!

Boys night out for an action flik, watching the new Hobbs and Shaw.

A triple scoop ice cream sundae to stop them getting hungry during the movie.

The boys loved the film and are both big fans of the Rock and the "fast and the Furious" films.

Holly and the boys also saw the new Lion King, Holly and Brandon liked it, but Joshua wasn't impressed.

Brandon's new hair cut ready for holiday, courtesy of yours truly.

Nicely trimmed around the ears.

Back edges looking sharp.

And he still has his long top and fringe which he didn't want me to cut.

Holly's hair is now long enough to triple plait.

Super healthy lunch for Holly, a big plate of boiled eggs, cheese and cucumber.

Holly gives her seal of approval to some chocolate cup cakes she made with Mummy.

And in return Tina asked for anything in her sandwich for lunch, so me and Brandon obliged and made her an "anything" sandwich.