Trip to the west country

Oh dear lor.... Porlock Hill. Stuff of nightmares. A lot of drivers act like they've never seen a steep hill before when they get to that.

 

I prefer it as well, TBH. We once found holiday let in March in Carbis Bay, amazingly. And it was fantastic. Very early Spring so the 'tingle' was in the air. And the roads were mostly clear and the beaches empty. Weather wasn't great but what the hey. Good enough for a few long walks.

 

Porlock Hill brings back shudders of horror ! When I was about 6-7 years old my Dad had an old automatic Jaguar . Of all the places for the gearbox to fail??...you guessed it , halfway up Porlock Hill ; ended up having to reverse DOWN the hill as no forward gear worked .
Pleasant memories

 

My preferred route to Cornwall has always been the A39 through West Somerset, North Devon and into North Cornwall. I only drove my old motorhome up Porlock Hill once, but down many times, plus through many of Exmoor's tiny lanes and across extremely narrow bridges - often involving measuring their width before progressing.

Only ever drove the boring fast route via Exeter/Saltash if in a hurry.

 

I have been up and down Porlock Hill in a coach several times. I once got stuck coming off a bend on the way up. A car on the way down didn't stop for me to clear the bend properly. I had no traction at that angle so I had to roll back down the hill and have another go. Second time round I made it cleanly. I have a painting of Porlock on my living room wall. It would be nice if my wife could see it for herself.

G.

 

It's not the hill that's the problem. It's the bends in the middle. Anyone can drive up a steep hill that's straight. Stay in 1st gear (or 2nd if you are feeling braver) and drive up slowly. There are several similar hills around the country. Sutton Bank in Yorkshire is one. The road up from Robin hood Bay is similar. The road up to Alton Towers can be pretty scary too. To name not 3. The lake district is full of them.

I never used to have a problem (see Porlock reference in my previous post) until the day I got stuck on a series of hairpin bends in Scotland. The difference here was that these roads weren't wide enough for coaches. Having committed myself I had no choice but to complete the course. It was scary as hell.

About a year later I was with a coach in Robin Hoods Bay. I couldn't bring myself to drive up the steep hill. Thankfully the other driver was able to drive for me. I quit driving coaches after that. I have never faced a steep hill since.

G.

 

Used to work at a plant nursery about 2-minutes away from Sutton Bank nr. Thirsk ; have seen many an incident on that in the 1980's as something large got stuck halfway up .
I think the road has been widened since making it a bit easier ; still bl**dy steep though !

 

I'm now looking at the cheaper (£9.50/£38 for 4 nights) breaks dates for a cheap trip to the South West later this year.



Considerations are:

Suitable fishing tides

Proximity/timing to RSPB sites

Timing for astrophotography.

Timing for Exmoor Deer Rut

 

Sun Holiday Codes 2019 with Holidays from £9.50 - All Tokens HERE

 

I'm getting there. Thanks to @Scrungee I have booked a 3 night stay in a caravan park in St Ives. It didn't cost me £9.50. It cost me £20.50 per person. As there is only 2 of us we had to pay for 4. I was particular over dates as I have already booked the time off work. I can't grumble at £90. That's at least £100 off the listed price.

I have also booked 3 nights in a hotel on the edge of Dartmoor. I paid full price for this one. It overlooks the river and I'm hoping it location and surroundings will make it worth the money.

It turns out that the Eden Project is almost exactly half way between the 2 resorts. That will make it an ideal visit on the transfer day.

All I need to do now is to book a 2 night stay somewhere in Somerset and I'm done.

I'm assuming everything will still be open in September. I'm not too bothered if it isn't. As long as we can stop for refreshment now and then, we will be quite happy.

G.

 

You'll be fine in September. Still a lot of tourists about so everything is open.

 

All sorted. 1 night in Weston Super Mare added to the itinerary.

From home to Bath is approx 4 hours. If I get organised I can leave early in the morning, have a break midway, and get there around lunch time. We then only need 1 overnight stop before moving on to Cornwall the following day.

Job done. We have from now until September to save up.



G.

 

As you pay for a min of 4 people, I always put the party size as 4 and make up additional people as this normally ensures you get a bigger caravan than if only for 2. We always take own linen and don't pay extra for entertainment passes.

I'm trying a new venue this year, one right on the edge of Poole Harbour, and I've booked 2 trips, first in March the week that Brownsea Island opens, and another in September when the prices go back to their lowest of 4 x £9.50 again, and it's quieter.

Mine were £75.80 for 4 nights, £38 (4 x £9.50) + £2.80 booking fee + £35 'service charge'. At only £18.95 per night, that's cheaper than single B&B.