Not too bad a journey and we were not too held up on the motorway heading South from Bristol. Pleasantly surprised by the site which included a sea view. We had booked a hard standing pitch, which was on gravel with a piece of grass on the side. First impressions were good. The toilets were clean , showers hot and family bathrooms available. Washing up facilities were under cover and more than adequate. There was also a motor home service area. WI-fi could be bought at a price, £1 an hour, £4 for 24 hours or £15 a week. Expensive we thought, we managed without!
We decided to try out the facilities and have a meal in the camp restaurant. Just as well we went early as it was pretty full. We both had a lovely locally sourced steak washed down with a bottle of red, at £44 we were expecting a little more panache than a plastic pack of tomato ketchup and mustard thrown onto the plate with the steak. On mentioning this to the staff we were told it was a camp site eatery not a restaurant, they were busy and with 200 covers what more could we expect! We left a tad disappointed, although the food had been good! Shame really, someone needed a lesson in customer service!
The following morning we were up bright and early and decided to go for a ramble. It was around a mile and a half to Bude but we decided to take a slight detour on the recommendation of the staff in reception. Following relatively narrow country lanes we walked out of the site towards Northcott Mouth. We passed a few places where camper vans were parked up, passing St Olaf's Church and through Poughill. It was a lovely morning and the road was relatively quiet. We decided that we probably could have made the drive in April even though the road was very narrow in places and cars just managed to squeeze passed us. It was very hilly and we were pleased we had not brought bikes!
Northcott Mouth is a National Trust site with a car park at the entrance with honest box. There were a number of vans parked up which looked like they had been there all night, though no facilities and no toilets we could see. The beach was not that busy but there were a few surfers in the water, hardy souls and loads of dog walkers.
We decided to walk along the coast path to Bude which turned out to be a lovely walk!
In the distance we spotted what looked like satellite dishes on the cliffs. Perhaps they were listening out for aliens!
We later discovered that these dishes are part of the array at GCHQ Bude. There are 21 satellite antennas which span the full range of communication frequencies. It is staffed by GCHQ ( Government Communications Headquarters) , the British signals intelligence service and the United States NSA ( National Security Agency) What they actually do is classified, so perhaps they are listening for aliens!! The site was formerly RAF Cleave, a World War 2 airfield used by Fighter Command.
Northcott Mouth is an interesting spot. At low tide a shipwreck of the SS Belem can be seen. The ship ran aground in 1917 and 33 men were rescued. The SS Belem was a steam powered cargo ship originally built in Germany in 1890. the visible remains include the propeller shaft and boilers.
We followed the coast path along the top of the cliffs to Crooklets Beach.
Bude was buzzing but not as busy as we thought. There was room in the car parks and motor homes were in evidence. We walked into town taking in the view of Summerleaze beach and the salt water swimming pool en route.
The salt water swimming pool at Bude was interesting. In the 1930's a number of people were killed bathing off the coast at Bude, so the Sea Pool was created. The local newspaper stated it was now possible to " proclaim worldwide that there was absolutely safe bathing at Bude....In all probability precious lives will be saved." In 2010 Cornwall Council ceased to fund the pool , it is now maintained by a local charity "Friends of Bude Sea Pool"
We wandered passed the bathing huts which appeared to be well used by the locals! The poshest and newer ones were by the swimming pool.
Following a well deserved lunch at The Urchin in Bude, we trudged back up hill through Ploughill, collapsing into the bar at The Preston Gate Inn before wending our way back to Wooda. The last bit of the walk was uphill!!
Sunday dawned with a fine drizzle and as we were both shattered by the previous days exertions and the 7 mile walk we spent the day doing as little as possible. Apart, from the merry barking of two little dogs ( which went on for around 4 hours ), who had been locked up for the day in the next but one motor home, it was uneventful. The camp site staff were not that interested in the racket the poor doggies were making. We felt sorry for the dogs!! I think the staff needed to read there own rules about animals being left in caravans on site for the day and apply them!!
We tried the take away, for pizzas that evening. Very nice! There was a good menu here and not expensive.
Would we go back? Well, we enjoyed the area and there are loads more places to explore in a lovely part of the country. The beaches are beautiful and not too busy. The camp site is well appointed and well kept but pricey, although it is the nearest site to Bude, unless you are wilding! Maybe, we'll try it one more time!
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