After our recent trip to the alps and a few weekends of christmas preparations (because drinking mulled wine at the christmas market counts, right?!), here’s part two of our UK roadtrip adventure, as promised!
The second night in our tent was marked by a lack of sleep thanks to a lot of noise the wind caused by making the extra rainsheet flap around all night and I had to crawl outside multiple times to fasten it. In the morning, Tom and I packed everything up early and waited for the campsite staff to arrive at the shop so we could buy tokens needed for the electric showers. To cut a long story short: They were super late and my only consolation was the five litre water canister we’d brought. When they finally turned up, I was just rinsing the last bit of conditioner out of my hair in the middle of the parking lot. Yay.
We headed to Lulworth Cove and spent a wonderful morning having breakfast at the Boat Shed Café. It’s the cutest little place, they serve both breakfast and cake as well as sandwiches and snacks and there’s a great little outdoor seating area. The waves come right up to the decking and a few curious ducks were picking up the breadcrumbs underneath our table whilst we were basking in the morning sun.
Once rejuvenated and feeling a bit more awake, we walked all the way from Lulworth Cove to the famous Durdle Door and Man O’ War coves. The weather suddenly changed as it usually does and we ended up having a wet, but great hike along the coast. Durdle Door with it’s spectacular rock arch was amazing to watch, especially as the sea was quite rough here - I just love a good seaside storm!
We eventually got back in the car, put the heating on full blast and dried off on our way to the next campsite. This time we stayed at Brig’s Farm in the tiny village Wooton Fitzpane, not far from Lyme Regis. Thankfully the rain had stopped and the winds had died down a bit, so we set up our tent as the only one in a huge field overlooking the surrounding landscape. Brig’s Farm was one of our favourite sites we stayed at - we loved the back-to-nature vibe and how lovingly the campsite was set up! If only it had been a Friday, when Mew, the campsite owner makes pizzas in his wood-fired oven.
Instead of having pizza, we cooked sausages over a fire which kept on going out as the logs were too damp. It was hard work keeping it going, but the obligatory cider and crisps made up for it (yes, we did eat horrendously unhealthy on this roadtrip)!
The next morning was fabulous - watching the sun come up over the dew-covered hills whilst sipping a cup of tea in front of the tent. Tom and I would have loved to explore Lyme Regis, but there was no time, because Cornwall was calling.
We drove straight to Tintagel - one of my favourite places in the world! Perhaps I love it so much because it was one of the first places I ever visited in the UK or maybe it’s the magic this place holds, perhaps both, who knows? I was so happy to come back here after six long years and even happier to see that not much had changed.
Ironically, it was The Wooton’s Hotel which saved us again - six years prior I broke my toe during a camping trip, this time the sun disappeared halfway through the day as a big storm was moving in and both times I was able to book a room on the spot even in high season. The Wooton’s is the very definition of a cosy country hotel, there’s something comforting about the old fashioned interior that makes it feel incredibly homely.
The sunshine lasted long enough for us to enjoy a Cornish pasty outside King Arthur’s Café opposite our hotel (big recommendation as well as the pasty bakery next to The Wooton’s Inn) and explore the old Post Office, Merlins Cave and part of Tintagel Castle before the winds hit.
Tintagels post office is a traditional, thatched-roof cottage that is over 600 years old and well preserved - the tiny furniture and cute little rooms are worth taking a peek inside! If you visit Merlins Cave make sure to go at low tide! In case you were wondering, it's a fairly large sea cavern which has, over time, formed a tunnel underneath the peninsula on which the castle sits. At low tide you can walk into the cave and listen to the sounds of the sea.
If you’re familiar with the legends of King Arthur, Tintagel is a place you should put on top of your bucket list. It is said that the castle is the birthplace of King Arthur and the old ruins hold a lot of ancient history. The legends give Tintagel a strange mythical feeling and this bustling little village has a funny way of keeping me. I ususally plan on just stopping by, but always stay longer than intended.
Even if you’re not interested in kings, wizards and legends, you should still visit, because the village and surrounding area are incredibly beautiful. In better weather conditions, you can walk the coastal paths for miles, all along the cliffs that tower above the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean, you can exlore beaches and rockpools and unwind from the world.
At the end of the day, we were super glad we’d decided to stay in an actual building for the night as the whole village seemed to go into lockdown mode as the winds picked up to a level where in a tent we would have been blown off a cliff. After warming up, we pulled our hoods deep into our faces and made it to our favourite pub, The Cornishman Inn, where we spent a cosy evening drinking Guinness and filling our bellies with classic, great value and quality British pub food.
If you want to learn more about Tintagel and all the other places we visited on this roadtrip, keep your eyes peeled for part three of our journey and upvote / resteem if you like! :)
Lisa x