I promised to write about our Christmas adventure in Buddy the Sunshine Van and I’m FINALLY getting around to it. Sorry it’s a bit late but I hope you enjoy taking a virtual trip to the coast with us!

Over the last few years, The Beard and I have chosen to spend Christmas Day at home in Cambridge, with the cats and it’s always brilliant! Full of food, drink, films and the odd walk to make room for the cheeseboard and port later in the day. This year though, we decided to take Buddy and run off somewhere, something I’ve been itching to do since we got him

Having a moment with my metal twin at Cotswolds Camping Holycombe

We decided to head off towards Devon on Christmas Eve Eve and broke up the epic drive with a stop off in the Cotswolds, at the same lovely campsite we stopped at last NYE. We parked up, collected some logs, lit a fire, cracked open the snacks and supped Baileys Hot Chocolate - holiday mode was fully activated!

On Christmas Eve we had a nice relaxed morning before we continued down to Devon. We hadn’t actually pre-planned on staying anywhere in particular, which felt a bit risky but that’s the beauty of having a campervan - you’ve always got somewhere to sleep if things go tits up!

Christmas Eve started with pyjama time and plenty of brews ☕️

Although we hadn’t booked a campsite we had decided to head to Croyde, somewhere I thought we hadn’t been before… until we arrived and our 2016 Summer camping weekend came flooding back to me! (what a numpty!) We found a lovely campsite in the village, right by The Thatch, a pub that my good friend, Nick had recommended to me - specifically for their nachos!

The nachos at The Thatch did not disappoint… and there were so many good doggos!

So we spent Christmas Eve pootling about Croyde Bay, taking in the fresh sea air, drinking beer and enjoying the best Nachos ever, before heading back to Buddy for more snacks and films.

We woke up on Christmas morning and thankfully Santa had found us in Buddy! I was absolutely thrilled to find he’d left me the perfect present too. I’d packed my swimsuit ready for a Christmas Day dip in the sea and waking up to find a Dry Robe ‘under the tree’ got me even more excited for a swim!

We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect morning weather wise. The sun was shining bright and I ran full pelt at the sea in my Santa hat, safe in the knowledge that I could cosy up in my Dry Robe afterwards…

Whenever I see the sea I want to be in it. Turns out, when I have a @dryrobe I’ll run full pelt towards it...

After my morning swim (I couldn’t convince The Beard to join me), we walked back to the Campsite for a hot shower and breakfast. Will made us Eggs Royale and we sat in the doorway of Buddy, enjoying the sunshine and bird song. It was quite a different Christmas Morning to what we’re used to but perfect in every way!

After breakfast we went for a walk around Baggy Point, which was stunning. This coastline never fails to take my breath away and although we didn’t spot any seals, enjoying the scenery and taking in the sounds of the sea was just the ticket!

Lungs full of sea air, we headed back to Croyde for a cheeky Christmas Day beverage before hopping back in Buddy and driving up the coast to Putsborough Beach, where we decided to spend the night and try to cook Christmas Dinner in the van!

Merry Everything and Happy Always from The #AnorakTwatsonTour 💛

It was a beautiful evening and after a stroll along Putsborough Sands, we started to prepare our festive feast whilst overlooking the sea and enjoying our Way Out Westie nightlight.

Feeling cosy with our @way_outwestie night light ✨

It was by no means a grand feast but we had Turkey (chicken), roast potatoes (fried ‘tata tots), brussel sprouts (with bacon!), Pigs without blankets, carrots, broccoli and lashings of gravy! We managed to coordinate and cook everything in 2 pans - something I was quite proud of as I wasn’t sure how it would all come together…but it did come together and it was GLORIOUS!

The following morning was a SUPER lazy one, spent listening to the rain bouncing off the roof of the van, watching the tv adaptation of ‘A Christmas Carol’ again (because I kept falling asleep after Christmas dinner!) and drinking all the tea.

While we were sat overlooking Putsborough, we enjoyed a classic Boxing Day lunch of leftovers, cheese and pickles. We also took out the road map and started to think about where we could head to next.

Boxing Day = a day of napping and listening to the rain, with brews and snacks a plenty 🙌🏻

Lots of people had recommended Woolacombe to us in the past and we had several great food & drink recommendations from our friends Joe & Sam (Bearded Outdoors), which would be perfect rainy day solutions. So it was quite easily and quickly decided…. Woolacombe was our next stop!

It was absolutely p*ssing down with rain as we arrived and parked up by Barricane Beach but that didn’t stop us walking the full length of the esplanade, rock hopping and playing on the beach before heading into town to dry off in Meraki, a great little coffee shop.

From Meraki, we trundled a little further down the road in the pouring rain and decided to call into the rather splendid looking Woolacombe Bay Hotel (to see if they’d let two drowned rats in more than anything!) Thankfully they did and it was hard to resist their Irish Coffees…

Warming up at the Woolacombe Bay Hotel ☘️☕️👌🏻

It was starting to get dark and as it was still pouring with rain, we decided to call into another place that had been recommended to us - The Red Barn. I’ll be honest, the rest of Boxing Day is a bit hazy because we spent the rest of evening in here drinking beer, having a bash on the quiz machines, drinking beer, playing pool and drinking more beer until we ordered a pizza to go and splashed our way back to Buddy… it was still raining but we were definitely still smiling!

The next morning we washed off the beers from the night before with a quick dip in the sea at Barricane Beach. It’s such a lovely little cove and quite secluded - I even managed to convince someone else to join me this time…

It was chuffing freezing but the perfect way to wake up before we set off for our next destination along the coast - Lee Bay. Cue Tenacious D…

“Lee, Lee, Lee, Lee. Lee Lee Lee, Lee Lee, Lee Lee Lee Lee. We're talking fucking Lee.”

Lee is a teeny tiny village on a most stunning, rugged part of the coastline between Woolacombe and Ilfracombe. We took a walk down to the beach and around Sandy Cove which delivered some excellent caves to explore and rocks to hop around before heading up lots of steps to take in more views from the clifftops.

As it started to get dark we left Buddy parked up and took a short walk around to the only village pub, The Grampus Inn. It was everything you could want and more from a small village pub! Roaring fire, wing back chairs, board games, excellent doggos, refreshing cider and CHEESY CHIPS!

It was another rather rainy, soggy day but we couldn’t have been happier taking in another new part of the coast and warming up in a local pub before heading back to Buddy for a chorizo stew cooking session!

The next morning we were up early and we headed back to Croyde where we’d arrange to hire a couple of surf boards. I have surfed (or tried to) since I was about 18 and I’m still as crap as the day I first touched a board but I LOVE IT! I love the sea, I love swimming, I love everything about being in water and even though I always feel thoroughly beat up after doing it, I’ll never say no to a surf.

Still learning. Still suck. Still love it.

Seeing as we were back in Croyde that evening, we decided it would be rude not to pop back to The Thatch for more nachos, more doggos and … you guessed it… more beers - it was still Christmas after all!

Back once again... with our best behaviour 🍻

We enjoyed a sunset stroll along the beach that evening and a HOT SHOWER back at our campsite - which felt like absolute luxury after we’d been parked up in spots without showers for the past 3 nights.

The next day we had decided to make the most of the boards before we had to take them back at lunch time and popped along to Putsborough Sands again. Buddy seemed to be right at home by the sea and it was nice to be able to enjoy our bacon butties and brews by the beach, surrounded by surfboards and wetsuits.

After we dropped the boards off we had time for one more quick walk and brew up at Baggy Point before we had to start our journey home again. It felt like we packed quite a lot in to our mini festive adventure but it also included a lot of leisurely mornings and chilled out time too.

The whole trip had a perfect mixture of all the things we love and although it didn’t feel super Christmassy, it felt like a much needed and much appreciated holiday after the madness December often brings.

Over the 7 days we were away we embraced and enjoyed living in Buddy and exploring North Devon. It wasn’t a long time but it’s the longest we’ve actually managed to get away for in the van and definitely the most organised we’ve felt... remembering not to pack as if we’re in a tent and actually using Buddy’s storage was a revelation!

Buddy still has no heating so the long drives were quite chilly, space was ‘toight’, drying things was tricky and we only showered twice (my god were they magnificent!) but I wouldn’t have changed a damn thing about our trip... except maybe convincing the cats to join us!

Hopefully you enjoyed the virtual trip to Devon as I relived our Campervan Christmas?! Here’s hoping I can share many more with you in the shiny New Year!

☀️

Campervan Christmas

hello JANUARY

hello DECEMBER

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