Cornwall and North Devon: Spring Motorhome Tour- Part Three

The craggy and often precipitous Cornish Coastline was everything we had hoped for, with no shortage of breathtaking landscapes to admire. Battered by the relentless wind and high waves of the Atlantic Ocean, North Cornwall is arguably the county’s most dramatic coastline.

In Part Three of our Spring motorhome tour, we begin with our stay at a campsite near Newquay, where we have been eagerly awaiting a very special guest; our daughter Chloe who would be joining us for a few days of exploring North Cornwall. This trip would be a first in a motorhome for her and we were a little bit worried whether she would enjoy motorhome traveling at all.

In this third and final blog post, we will be visiting some of the most loved places in North Cornwall, as well as a couple of fascinating places just across the border into North Devon, before returning back home to Dorset. We were looking forward to exploring the county’s northern shores and then for the final part of our journey, we were also looking forward to crossing into North Devon where we wanted to visit a couple of places that we have visited briefly a few years ago as well as spending some time with very old friends whom we had not seen for a while.  

Chloe arrived on a very wet and windy day and parked her car next to “Big Bill” (our motorhome) at the campsite we were staying at by Newquay. Having her car was great for exploring the region together since our usual mode of transport “Little Bill” (our scooter) would not accommodate 3 people. 

We also drove back to St. Ives and St. Michael’s Mount making a return trip to these places with her, even though we had already been there in the previous week (read Part Two here). Leaving Newquay the following day we headed for Padstow with a stop and lunch at Bedruthan Steps.

Bedruthan Steps

A stunning clifftop walk took us to see a collection of granite outcrops that have been carved out by the relentless power of the Atlantic Ocean’s wind and pounding waves. The small cove beach is usually accessed by a steep staircase (hence the name), but it has been currently closed due to recent landslides and erosion. A sunny day at last, although we did need our warm jackets. 

The car park and Cafe are owned by the National Trust, so we used our new membership to park there for free and then later also had lunch at the lovely cafe with an outdoor seating area and beautiful sea views. The food was yummy and very reasonably priced. 

Padstow

Not far from Newquay, sitting on the west side of the Camel Estuary it is a place made famous by the celebrity chef Rick Stein, who owns several food restaurants, bistro, and cafes in town. Across the Camel Estuary, from Padstow is the exclusive enclave of Rock, one of Cornwall’s priciest postcodes. The famous British poet Sir John Betjeman used to holiday here between the 1930s and 1960s. During our visit to this area, we paid our respects to the grave of the famous poet at charming St. Enodoc Church. 

Our campsite (Padstow Holiday Village) was really nice, clean and friendly with good facilities and just within walking distance from the town, through a farmland path. Here are some of the things we got up to in this area:

Meeting “The Hungry Travellers” – One of the nicest things about this travel blog is the interactions with other like-minded people and that occasionally one might even be able to meet up somewhere in the world. Since I follow their excellent travel blog, I knew Phil and Michaela were staying at their cottage in Padstow. Therefore I was not completely surprised when I spotted them having a drink at the Old Ship Hotel, a place they have mentioned on their blog. Somehow I had a hunch that they could be there. I recognized them immediately and (relief!) they recognized me, so we ended up chatting for a while, exchanging phone numbers and arranging to meet up for dinner a couple of days later. 

Needless to say that we thoroughly enjoyed having dinner with them (organized by Michaela) at the “Old Custom House” in Padstow. Hopefully, we will get to meet up again in the future. 

Hike from Padstow to Polzeath – One glorious sunny day we hiked from Padstow to Polzeath (11 miles/17 km from our campsite and back) with a stop to visit Enodoc Church (recommended by Phil and Michaela) and also a stop for lunch.

We caught an early ferry boat from Padstow’s harbor to Rock, just across the Camel Estuary. 

From the harbor, we walked westbound towards Polzeath, following the coastal path over the dunes and also along the beach to Daymer Bay with a visit to the charming St. Enodoc Church situated just East of Daymer Bay, this small church was during the 18th century almost buried in the sand dunes. The famous British poet Sir John Betjeman referred to the church in some of his poems and he has been buried here on the right side as you enter the church grounds. Sir John was passionate about Victorian Architecture and apparently, he was very involved in the project to save the London St. Pancras railway station from demolition. 

We then continued towards Trebetherick Point, where the wreckage of ship vessels that sunk on the Doom Bar (a sandbar at the mouth of the Camel Estuary) are still scattered along the seabed. According to Wikipedia, the largest ship-wrecked on the Doom Bar was called Antoinette with a cargo of coal destined for Brazil, it sank on New Year’s day 1895. The ship’s crew were rescued by lifeboats from Padstow and Port Isaac. Unfortunately, deaths have occurred on this sandbar as recently as May 2020. 

The coastal path took us along the clifftop overlooking lovely small coves, golden sandy beaches, and panoramic views all around. Eventually, we arrived at our final destination of Polzeath and after the long walk, we were very hungry and glad to find a lovely place to eat our lunch.

The Cracking Crab restaurant was great, offering delicious food and gorgeous views over to Polzeath Beach. We sat on their outdoor picnic tables enjoying the sunniest and warmest day we had during Chloe’s stay with us. Afterward, we returned to Padstow taking the ferry boat from Rock across the Camel Estuary, and decided to finish our day of exploring with a “Cornish cream tea” at a lovely little place called Cherry Trees by Padstow Quay. 

A “cream tea” is served in the afternoon and usually consists of a variety of scones, clotted cream and jam, and sometimes butter, although there are regional variations. It is on offer in many tea houses/cafes in cities and towns across the country, but arguably Devon and Cornwall have a reputation for being the home of cream tea and serving the best in England. My advice is don’t leave Cornwall or Devon without trying a cream tea, we had quite a few during our one-month stay. 

We thoroughly enjoyed Padstow, but it was time to move on and also time to say goodbye to our lovely Chloe, who had to return home to Brighton. We were really pleased to see how much she enjoyed and adapted so well to motorhome traveling. 

Our next destination is Tintagel, but with a stop at Port Isaac for a few hours of exploration around there.

Port Isaac

Another quintessential Cornish fishing town with a medieval harbor, which is still being used today as a working fishing harbor. Utterly charming it is surrounded by stone cottages and quaint cobbled alleyways. This sleepy little village was made famous by the hit tv series Doc Martin and was given the fictional name of Portwenn. This town can get very busy with the program’s many fans visiting all the film locations around the village. It was fairly quiet during our visit, but starting to fill up when we left in the afternoon.

 

Leaving “Big Bill” at a large car park at the top of the village, we walked downhill towards the harbor and then upwards along a small path next to the harbor, to get a great view from the highest point above the town. 

We finished our exploring with a traditional “fish and chips” at a really nice little restaurant in town. Another “must-do” food experience in Cornwall. 

Fully refueled and with dinner also purchased at Port Isaac’s harbor (a dressed crab) we tackled the steeply uphill walk back to Big Bill and continued our journey towards Tintagel. 

Tintagel

The mythical stories of Camelot, Merlin, and the Knights of the Round Table have given a romantic spin to the history of this town (supposedly to be the place of Arthur’s birth). Tintagel Castle has been for many years linked to the legend of King Arthur and having read the fantasy novel “The Mists of Avalon” back in the early eighties, I fell under the spell of all the mythical stories and characters of the Arthurian legend. I particularly loved that the author Marion Zimmer Bradley relates the legend of King Arthur from the perspective of the female characters and the women that were supposed to have influenced King Arthur. 

So I have wanted to visit Tintagel for a very long time.

Our stay was at a lovely, friendly campsite just a short walking distance from the town center and from Tintagel Castle itself. We had booked to visit the castle ruins online for the second day of our stay, but keen to have a look around sooner rather than later we walked over towards the castle, soon after our arrival. From the village, there was a steep hill towards the headland with the castle ruins scattered out on top. See the map below giving an aerial shot of Tintagel Castle. 

The scenery is utterly beautiful and we took our time exploring the top of the cliffs with the views over to the castle ruins and the recently built footbridge that links to Tintagel Island. We were so glad to have been able to do that on a sunny day since overnight the weather changed dramatically and the gale force winds meant that they had to close the site. It would have been too dangerous to cross the footbridge onto the headland.

We were both gutted not to be able to visit the castle, but we still made the most of being able to walk into the small cove beach at the foot of the headland (only visible during low tide) and visit inside Merlin’s Cave. The large cave beneath the island is known as Merlin’s Cave and it is possible to walk through it to the other side of the headland. To cheer ourselves up we stopped to stock up on freshly made scones and a tub of clotted cream at the local bakery before returning home to Big Bill. There was very heavy rain for the rest of the day.

We left Tintagel the following morning heading for North Devon, but with a brief stop to visit beautiful St. Nectan’s Glen not far from Tintagel.

St. Nectan’s Glen

Legendarily associated with King Arthur, this 60 ft waterfall is supposedly frequented by pixies. After parking at the very small car park by the main road (B3263), we followed a path on the opposite side of the road,  through the lush green woodland, listening to the sounds of the forest and the icy-cold waters of the river. 

There was hardly anyone there when we visited, there was a charge of £5.95 to visit the falls and it was necessary to wade through shallow water (we managed to balance ourselves over the stepping stones provided…with great difficulty in my case).  Sadly, we didn’t meet any pixies so we moved on to our next destination, the Devon town of Bude. 

Bude

Our campsite near Bude, called Willow Valley was really nice with excellent facilities, but unfortunately, the weather was not great with heavy rain on arrival day. A window of opportunity to explore came the next day when the forecast was for a dry morning. So we jumped on Little Bill (our scooter) and rode over to Summerleaze Beach in Bude for a stroll and brunch at a local cafe.

The River Neet flows across the beach towards the sea, protected as it is by a large breakwater, and during low tide countless small rock pools are exposed. After brunch, we rode Little Bill along the top of the cliff, but it was quite challenging with very strong winds and light rain therefore we scooted back to Big Bill for the rest of the afternoon. Leaving Cornwall for Devon early the next day we headed for Hartland, just North of Bude and the final stop of our Spring motorhome tour.

Hartland 

Staying at a very friendly working farm and campsite called the Stoke Barton Campsite, we almost had a whole field to ourselves. 

It was a stunning location for our final stay and just a short walk across bucolic farmland to the spectacular cliffs at Hartland Quays, a former harbor located on the Atlantic coast of Devon. The harbor dates back to the 16th century until a storm led to the complete destruction of the pier head and in 1887 the whole pier collapsed. Heavy goods such as lime, slate, and coal were shipped in from the Bristol Channel and local produce such as barley and oats would have been shipped out.  With the arrival of the railway in Bideford, maintenance of the pier declined.

The incredible contorted rock layers showcase the extraordinary power of nature and geological events that would have shaped this area over 300 million years ago. There are striking patterns that can be seen on the cliff face and along the foreshore.

The strangely shaped rocks are sandstones and mudstones that were laid down millions of years ago. Several ships have been wrecked around these wild Atlantic waters. 

The Heartland Quays has been a film location for a number of tv series and films, they have just recently been filming the BBC series Malory Towers here at the Quays and at nearby Hartland Abbey.

We stopped for lunch at the Wreckers Retreat bar and restaurant for a taste of their local fish and chips accompanied by a locally brewed beer and walked back to Big Bill later in the afternoon, retracing our steps via the pastoral farmland scenery. 

Waking the next day to a glorious sunny morning we rode Little Bill to charming Clovelly and then to Hartland Abbey.

Clovelly

This ancient fishing village is exquisitely charming and unique. There is an entrance fee to visit the village, with parking and museum visits included, but we were very naughty and rode Little Bill all the way down to the little harbor and parked discreetly at the side of a hotel car park (to be honest not really allowed). We stopped for coffee and breakfast at the harbor with great views of the utterly charming village. 

The village is privately owned by the Hamlyn family since 1738 and the current owner is John Rous, who inherited it in 1983. Many of the buildings have been architecturally listed by Historic England.

There is a steep pedestrian-only cobbled main street and since no vehicles are allowed all deliveries are made by a pulled-down sleigh from the upper car park. Cinque Terre eat your heart out, we absolutely loved this place, but it can get very busy during the high season months of July and August. I suggest arriving very early for your visit, park at the main car park at the very top of the village and walk the steep way down… totally worth it. After our visit, we rode Little Bill to Hartland Abbey.

Hartland Abbey 

Hartland Abbey was of the Augustinian Order and was built in 1157. After the dissolution in 1539, King Henry VII gave the Abbey to William Abbot, his Sergeant of the Wine Cellar at Hampton Court. This former Abbey is now the current home of the Stucley family.

The Abbey and gardens are often used as film locations for tv series and films. Blackpool Mill cottage on the Estate was used as Mrs. Dashwood’s home in the 2008 BBC series  Sense and Sensibility. 

We spent quite some time exploring the Abbey gardens, including a walk to the seaside where the Blackpool Mill cottage is found. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and afternoon tea at this stunning property. We rode Little Bill back to the campsite later in the afternoon to have our showers and get ready for some special visitors.

Our friends Sonia and John live here in North Devon, not far from Harland and meeting up with them was the perfect ending to our Spring Motorhome trip. Ending our first motorhome tour of 2021 on a high note, we left North Devon early the next day heading for home. I hope you have enjoyed exploring Cornwall and a little bit of Devon vicariously with us. For the near future, we will be busy enjoying the summer months closer to home, spending time with friends and family but we will not be traveling until September when we are hoping to travel internationally, but that is all dependent on how things progress with the Covid-19 vaccinations and rules.