May 2, 2014 Camping and Glamping, UK 17 Comments

Beach Hut Living…

Shaldon Beach Hut No.1 - one of my favourite unique places to stay in the UK

This year I’m really trying to make the most of what the UK has to offer. As well as continuing to explore the rest of the world I’m enjoying visiting new places in my own country. (My last trip was a lovely long weekend in Cornwall.) A trip to the tiny seaside town of Shaldon in Devon a few weekends ago was my next UK break, and a very special one at that as it was a surprise trip for my husbands 30^th birthday!

Six months ago I booked ‘Beach Hut number 1’ after watching a programme on Channel 4 called George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces. The series focused on the use of small buildings and spaces including boats, buses and everything in between and followed the progress of turning them into unusual dwellings and holiday homes. The beach huts in Shaldon featured on the programme and stood out for me, as I’m a big fan of all things to do with the sea. I instantly fell in love with it and thought it would be a fantastic place to take Matt to celebrate turning 30. The hardest part was keeping it a secret for so long! I gave Matt three envelopes containing clues about where we were going. He guessed on clue three; so I think I did a pretty good job! We excitedly set off on a sunny Saturday morning and arrived three hours later. Pulling up outside Beach Hut One, sun shining and seagulls soaring high in the sky I knew we were in for a great weekend. As we opened the door we were greeted with a glow of white washed walls and nautical décor. A modern twist to a traditional beach hut this one came with everything including the kitchen sink! A galley kitchen, light and airy living space, a mezzanine level with a cosy bedroom complete with comfy futon mattress and a compact bathroom under the stairs. Bi-folding doors which opened up along the full width of the building onto our own private terrace and under floor heating (I love little touches like these!) completed this small but perfectly formed beach dwelling. The beach hut also had a TV and wi-fi, but I tried to leave the wi-fi alone as I wanted to relax and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. This tiny space is so cleverly thought out and elegantly designed, it’s amazing that so much can fit into such a small area. Overlooking the Teign estuary, Teignmouth and the beach this was definitely the ultimate glamping weekend and we were very excited! With the champagne chilling ready for a birthday cheers we headed out to explore the village. Shaldon is full of West Country charm; it has a few pubs, a bakery, The Yummy Shop, (love this name!) a coffee shop full of local treats, a few great shabby chic style gift shops and some good-looking restaurants. We had dinner at The Ness a lovely hotel and gastro pub with fantastic views overlooking the estuary and Teignmouth. I had steak and ale pie washed down with a large glass of red and finished off with a salted caramel sundae, it was just what I wanted!

The following day we explored the area in more detail, taking the passenger ferry from the beach at Shaldon over to Teignmouth. The journey takes about 5 minutes and cost £1.50 each way! We had some lunch and a stroll along the promenade and then headed back over to Sheldon. Don’t miss Ness Cove; this lovely beach is accessed by a smugglers tunnel, very cool! Also follow the South West Coast Path up to Ness Point; there is a nice view through the trees at the top of the hill looking towards Teignmouth and the rest of the coastline. I loved taking photos and capturing the essence of the lovely English seaside in the sunshine. After this we retired back to our beach hut and chilled out on the terrace. Reading and drinking wine, while watching the changing tide and boats bobbing on the water were the main items on the agenda! We were only there for two nights but it felt like a lot longer, it was such a great place to unwind. Living in England knowing how changeable the weather can be we were very lucky that the sun shone all weekend too. I loved nothing more than opening up the doors onto the terrace first thing in the morning and seeing the golden sunlight shimmering on the water. It felt like I was letting the beach right into the hut and so relaxing to read my book in bed listening to the waves lapping at the shore while admiring the lovely view. Time seemed to slow down, making me appreciate the simple things in life. I love beach hut living!

April 11, 2014 Surfing, UK Post a Comment

Surfing, cider and bacon sarnies in the UK…

Now that spring is on its way in the UK the days are getting longer and the sun is starting to shine, which means that it’s time to come out of hibernation and head to the coast. I for one cannot wait to pack up my surfboard and wetsuit in the campervan and embrace the chilly British waters. This time of year is perfect for hitting the surf especially as the days are getting brighter and right now the beaches aren’t so crowded. This can mean only one thing: you have those waves all to yourself! Plus with all the crazy weather the UK has been experiencing there has been some great swell pushing in. So much so that during the storms in February top surfers from all over the world headed to the UK to catch some monster waves on the Cornish coast.

Being able to surf in just a bikini in warmer climates is great, nothing can beat it and I am lucky that I get my fix by surfing in Barbados every couple of months. But there’s something I love about warming up in a campervan with a post surf hot chocolate and bacon butty on a crisp spring morning in England. My top tip for warming up after a chilly surf is to wrap a hot water bottle in your towel; perfect after you’ve peeled off your cold wetsuit! Throw on your hoody, jeans and uggs and hey presto you can start to feel your toes again.

Make sure you’ve got the right gear for colder waters; a winter wetsuit, booties, gloves and hood should keep you nice and toasty in the water. My wetsuit is a 5mm and came with a hood, my gloves are 3mm and my boots are 6.5mm, they keep my feet so warm and the split toe design means there are really comfortable and easy to surf in.

If you have never surfed before, I thoroughly recommend giving it a try. It is a great way to keep fit and have fun at the same time. It may take a while to get the hang of it and can involve a lot of falling in and getting rolled around in the waves, but this is all part of the fun and is confidence building! It is also a great way to make new friends. After you’ve had a few lessons hire or buy your own board and just keep practising. It’s addictive!

Some of my favourite surfing beaches in the UK are:

Putsborough – This beach in Devon is a real treat! There are fab views of the water from the car park making it perfect for checking the surf and for picnics. There is a small campsite here too and you can hire surfboards and wetsuits if you don’t have your own. The nearby village of Georgeham has a lovely pub called the Kings Arms, it’s a good place to stop for a pint or two after a surf. You can also walk along the beach to Woolacombe from Putsborough. Which leads me onto my next beach…

Woolacombe – Great beach for beginners and long boarders. There are plenty of surf schools in the area, so do a web search before you go. If the surfs not so great the small town is a nice place to grab a pasty and do some shopping. SaltRock, and a few other surf shops will keep you busy on a flat day along with some nice arty and jewellery shops. Failing that, the Red Barn is a great stop for a cider.

Saunton Sands – Six miles down the road from Woolacombe this beautiful beach has around three miles of uninterrupted shoreline so you can spread out. Surf wise if the conditions are right there can be lots of nice long, clean sets; perfect for beginners. There is a good surf school and hire shop on the beach too.

Fistral – Cornwall’s answer to Byron Bay, this beach is split in to North and South. Fistral is world famous for its surf and holds lots of big surf competitions and festivals such as Boardmasters and the English National Surfing Championships. North Fistral has mostly right hand breaks and is usually slightly bigger than South. Fistral Beach Surf School is found right on the beach and provides lessons and board rental.

Rhossili – This beautiful beach in Wales has recently been awarded the number one spot on the TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Awards 2014 – top 25 UK beaches. I can understand why this 5km stretch of beach was voted as one of the best, it really shows off Britain’s beauty and its consistent beach breaks make it a great place to surf.

Closer to home I am pretty spoilt with some half decent beaches to surf at; these include the Witterings, Highcliffe and Bournemouth. East Wittering, West Wittering and Bracklesham Bay are all nearby one another, if the surfs no good at one you can head to one of the others. There are two great surf shops in East Wittering: Shore and Witterings Surf Shop. Drift In coffee shop is part of Witterings Surf Shop and is a nice place to head to after a surf or beach walk. Both Shore and Witterings surf shop provide board, wetsuit hire and lessons.

I am so lucky to live near the sea but I definitely do not make the most of it! My plan this summer is to surf closer to home and use these lovely beaches nearby, aswell as the odd trip to Barbados for some bikini surfing!

February 23, 2014 UK 6 Comments

Port Isaac, the ultimate Cornish retreat…

Beautiful views of Port Isaac from White House Cottage. This is one of my favourites in my blog on unique places to stay in the UK

There has been so many storms and flooding in Britain lately I was worried that it might affect our winter break away. The drive down to Cornwall was quite unpleasant with a lot of water on the roads, trees down and very high winds. But once we arrived the weather was glorious. We only had one day of rain, which lent itself well to lounging by our log burner and scoffing afternoon tea! Staying in the quaint fishing village of Port Isaac found on the North Cornish coast it was the perfect escape from everyday life. With no phone signal in most areas of the village you have no choice but to relax and forget about all your daily worries. (I cheated slightly when I started this blog as the cottage I was staying in had wi-fi, but I did limit my daily usage!)

If you stay down in the village a lot of cottages don’t have parking. The roads in the village are also extremely narrow and can be a bit nerve-racking to drive along especially if you meet another car! The closest place to park is the car park at the top of the hill. A ten-minute stroll will take you down into the village centre. Pasty shops, cafes serving cream teas, the Golden Lion pub, a few restaurants, (The Moat is my favourite) and some lovely shabby chic shops await. Exploring the village doesn’t take long follow the narrow streets as they wind past quaint white washed cottages. Look out for Squeeze – ee -Belly Alley, as the name describes it is a very narrow walkway built-in between the cottages. How very Cornish! The harbour is good for an adventure when the tide is out, rock pools and caves appear and you can climb up onto the harbour wall. For a scrummy dinner after all that activity head to the fishmongers right on the Platt.

For such a small village with a population of only about 700 people, Port Isaac is quite famous. Home to the TV series ‘Doc Martin’ many tourists are attracted to this quaint part of the UK. On that note one of the reasons why I prefer visiting in the winter months is that there is hardly anyone around, compared to the summertime. ‘Keeping Mum’ starring Maggie Smith and Rowan Atkinson was also filmed in the community. The sea shanty group Fisherman’s Friends have all lived and worked in Port Isaac, many are fishermen, and members of the lifeboat and coastguard. They can be heard performing to huge crowds on the Platt every Friday night throughout the summer. I would love to see them live, their powerful a cappella tones send shivers up my spine!

I love heading down to the south-west of the UK for surfing in the summer but there’s nothing like braving the elements and staying in a cosy cottage, log burner roaring, watching the winter swell roll in through the harbour. Staying with our friends at White House Cottage this is exactly what we did. Situated on Roscarrock Hill with magnificent three doors down from Doc Martin’s surgery and a stones throw from the village centre, harbour and the South West Coast Path at the top of Roscarrock hill. There is a great viewpoint at the top by the way; from here you can look back down to Port Isaac and the surrounding rugged coastline, it is breathtaking and great for photos. Don’t try walking up the hill with a hangover though, believe me it’s not fun! The cottage itself had uninterrupted views across the harbour and village. In fact you could see the beautiful view from every room, including the bathroom. The novelty of brushing your teeth while watching the gulls soaring, waves crashing and fisherman in the harbour never got boring! I loved lying in bed with the window open in the morning listening to the waves rolling softly into the harbour, utter bliss! White House cottage also came with not one but two gardens. One in front of the building and an upper garden, almost like a secret garden, set higher up above the cottage. It was the perfect place to have the view all to yourself.

While House Cottage, Port Isaac, top left corner

Blogging by the log burner in Whie House Cottage, Port Isaac

The nearby fishing village of Padstow is well worth a visit. Colourful fishing boats are lined up in the harbour and the cobbled streets are filled with gift shops and pasty stops. There is a lovely walk along the beach; you can also jump on a passenger ferry just over the water to Rock. Padstow is home to the National Lobster Hatchery which I would thoroughly recommend visiting. This charitable organisation focuses on marine conservation. The work and aim of the hatchery is to protect and support local fishing communities by rearing and releasing these beautiful crustaceans into the wild. The lobster population has declined over the years due to over fishing and poor survival rates. An interesting fact that I learnt via the hatchery website is that a female lobster can hold up to 20,000 eggs, with only one of those expected to survive in the wild! The hatchery has lots of information and you can see the laboratories and baby lobsters at different stages before release.

While in Cornwall there are a few must dos on the food and drink front. First and foremost you must have a pasty. This very traditional Cornish delight is a savoury pastry typically filled with beef, potato, suede and onion, seasoned with salt and pepper and crimped on the edge to hold it all together. There are some tasty alternatives such as steak and Stilton and you can even get sweet pasties. Be careful if you are eating your pasty in a seaside town such as Padstow though as the cheeky seagulls have become wise to tourists and will dive bomb you for your lunch, keep that pasty protected! A cream tea is another west country treat, scones accompanied with jam, cream and a pot of tea. There is much debate around which way you should put the jam and cream on the scone. Jam before cream is apparently the Cornish way, cream before jam is the Devon way. I prefer spreading the jam first and then putting the cream on top. Our favourite Cornish beverages include, Rattler, cloudy cyder and Doom Bar, an ale brewed in the small village of Rock close to Port Isaac. Back in Port Isaac The Golden Lion is the perfect place to warm up with a local beverage; the tiny public house is the centre of village life, has a lovely open fire and a friendly atmosphere.

It always amazes how time passes so quickly when you are on holiday, our days centred on lovely walks, food, drink, afternoon naps and cups of tea by the log burner. Port Isaac is my ultimate Cornish retreat and I can’t wait to visit again soon…

January 7, 2014 Australia, Camping and Glamping 2 Comments

On the road to Mission Beach in northeastern Australia, a lot of signs appeared indicating that cassowaries lived in the area. I really wanted to see one of these curious creatures but being so timid I knew it might be highly unlikely. Still, I kept my eyes peeled and waited eagerly in anticipation on the drive through the Queensland rainforest just in case I spotted one appearing out of the jungle. Further into the journey more signs popped up stating that there had been a recent sighting in the area, this made me even more excited! The cassowary is a flightless bird, although timid and rarely spotted they can be potentially dangerous. Found in northeastern Australia they can grow up to 1.8 metres in height, have brightly coloured heads with a casque on top and large clawed feet. The only one I saw was at the West Pennant Hills Koala Park in Sydney, I would have loved to have spotted one in the wild. Arriving at my campsite in Mission Beach for the night I explored the beautiful sweeping shoreline, paddled in the warm water and watched the sunset; always on the look out for this rarely seen bird. Retiring to the campsite for dinner and a beer I did a bit of research and discovered that cassowaries had been sighted on the beach at Etty Bay about 40 minutes drive from Mission Beach. So the next day I decided to get up early and move further up the coast. Etty Bay, reached by a small winding road is a beautiful secluded beach surrounded by lush tropical rainforest. With nothing but a small campsite and a café on the foreshore it proved to be a peaceful, idyllic spot for breakfast. I am glad I visited, but there was not a cassowary in sight! I did come across some information on the beach indicating what to do if you come face to face with a cassowary though. The main tip was to get something solid between you and this very large bird, such as a tree! The illustrations on the sign made me laugh; although I was not so sure after reading it how excited I still was about coming across this potentially dangerous prehistoric looking creature. It was time for me to move on to the next stop on my road trip, which was Cairns. Even though I didn’t spot a cassowary I have a lot of respect for this endangered bird; and don’t forget if you ever spot one yourself, find a tree!

For more information on cassowaries take a look at the Cassowary Recovery Team website. It has a lot of information on where to potentially see them, reporting a sighting and what to do if you come across an injured one.

For more ideas on what to do in Australia check out my other posts:

Planning a road trip on the east coast of Australia

Cool campsites on the east coast of Australia

Looking out for cassowaries in Queensland, Australia

January 2, 2014 Australia 3 Comments

Five things to do in Sydney…

Updated in March 2025

If you are spending time on the east coast of Australia then you must visit Sydney. Seeing the Opera House and Harbour Bridge in person is amazing. But not just that, there so many sights and experiences to be had in this beautiful part of the world. Staying with friends it was great to be shown around this iconic city by locals and thanks to their recommendations here are my top five things to do in Sydney:

1. A Friday night in Sydney…

Arriving on a Friday night I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than with drinks at the Opera Bar. Situated right by the Opera House the outdoor seating has the most fabulous views of Sydney Harbour. What a way to spend our first evening; sparkling wine in hand, gazing at the wondrous view. After drinks we had a stroll around the outside of the Opera House, I still couldn’t quite believe I was there! Next a short walk around Circular Quay bought us to an area of the city called The Rocks for dinner. Liv and Jamie chose The Glenmore; if you are ever in Sydney I would really recommend this place for a meal or just a drink at the rooftop bar. It was buzzing and the views of the Opera House and harbour in the distance are beautiful.

2. Meet the Australian wildlife…

Apart from seeing Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge another big tick off of my Australia to do list was to see the native animals. A visit to the Koala Park in West Pennant Hills was just the job. The park was fairly small but this was a plus point as it wasn’t very busy. The stars of the park are of course the koalas and with regular talks you can meet and get up close to these sleepy creatures. The park also has a gated off area with kangaroos inside, here you can wander around and hand feed them. Little did I know at this point in my trip that I would be seeing kangaroos all the way up the east coast. Being from the UK this was such a novelty and the excitement of seeing them especially in the wild never actually wore off!

A koala at Koala Park, West Pennant Hills, Sydney

Feeding a Kangeroo at West Pennant Hills Koala Park, Sydney

3. Bondi to Coogee on foot…

While in Sydney I really wanted to visit the famous Bondi Beach. A great way to explore this lovely coastline is by walking from Bondi to Coogee. Before the walk we stopped for brunch at Bondi Massive Café, a funky little coffee shop in the town centre. I had the very tasty Avocado Smash: feta, tomatoes, avocado and mint salad on sourdough. The Aussies certainly do make good healthy food. All fuelled up it was time to go. The 6km walk follows the coastline and takes you right past Tamarama, Bronte and Clovelly beaches, so you can stop for a swim or a snorkel on the way. I loved that the walk was dotted with water fountains and toilets. It was a hot day so being able to refill my water bottle was perfect. It is a fairly easy walk, although there are a few steps in places. I got star struck at seeing some of the lifeguards who feature in the TV show Bondi Rescue patrolling the beaches! Once at Coogee you can either get a bus, taxi or walk back again…we chose a taxi!

Views on the Bondi to Coogee walk, Australia

4. Fish and chips…

An evening visit to Manly for fish, chips, ice cream and a stroll along the beach sounds like something quite British; but it was far from it. The climate for one is obviously a lot warmer and two, don’t get me wrong, I love good old traditional British fish and chips but Mongers in Manly (there is also one in Byron Bay and Bondi) gave traditional fish and chips a great modern twist. I had flathead with chips washed down with a local 4 Pines beer. Afterwards we had a stroll along the pine tree-lined beachfront with an ice cream and watched surfers catching waves as the sunset. A walk along the quirky side streets with a bit of window-shopping finished the evening off nicely.

5. Sydney Harbour tall ships cruise…

One of my best trips was a tall ships cruise on Sydney Harbour. Setting sail early evening meant that we cruised out past the Opera House just as the sun was setting. The views of the bridge and harbour from the water are incredible. After powering out, we slowly drifted back under sail and watched as the sunset and the twinkling lights of the city began to illuminate the night sky.I got pretty emotional at the sight of the Opera House as the sun went down and the stars came out, it was such a beautiful sight. We paid extra for an all-inclusive bar, which was fantastic. This was topped off with some delicious finger food of oysters, prawns, sushi, duck wraps and many other exciting trays that did a circuit around the boat. A musician singing and playing a guitar set the tone perfectly. It was such a special evening to share with my husband and friends who we had not seen for about a year and a half and is a memory I will treasure for a long time. I thoroughly recommend this trip, seeing Sydney Harbour from the water gives such a different view of the city; I loved it!