Ferry Meadows, Peterborough.
For our first ever camping trip in our campervan, we chose to stay at Ferry Meadow campsite in Peterborough. We have visited the park at Ferry Meadows many times before and love it there and this was the nearest campsite we could find to Peterborough city centre. The weekend had been planned for months as we were meeting up with friends and going to see Tim Peake’s Soyuz capsule at the Cathedral.
The campsite is a Camping and Motorhome club site, of which we are not members, so we encurred an additional non-members charge of £12. It still only cost us £34 for two adults, one night.
We arrived at midday and checked in at reception. We then had to go and find an available pitch. Even in October, the site was quite busy with only a few pitches available. If going in summer, I’d recommend booking plenty in advance!
The site is quite large and on two sides of the main road. The facilities were really good… Large toilet block with plenty of toilet, sink and shower cubicles. Very clean. Dishwashing facilities are indoors and there plenty of bins etc. All main facilities are in the centre of the site. They even have a fish and chip can arrive three times a week.
I was worried about noise on site at nighttime, as I am a very light sleeper, but it was very quiet. No ear plugs needed.
Would recommend and will happily stay there again when in Peterborough.
Hayfield- Peak District
Hayfield is a Caravan and Motorhome site- situated right in the middle of the Peak District, near Kinder. A small site- with one side dedicated to motorhomes and the other side for tent campers. The size makes it cosy and every plot is within a short walking distance to the facilities block.
The campsite is just outside the village of Hayfield- which is stunning and it is only about a 10 minute walk into the village centre, down a riverside path which runs alongside the campsite. The village has a couple of lovely pubs and village shop etc and large playground.
Being in the Peaks, this is clearly perfect if you enjoy walking. The Pennine way can be picked up from just outside the campsite or in the village. Kinder plateau is nearby, as is Kinder reservoir and a variety of easy- difficult walks. Next to the campsite you have Famine mountain which again is a lovely walk.
Pencelli Castle, Brecon Beacons, Wales
This is an absolutely stunning site. It’s split into two sections, one for caravans and motorhomes and one for tent campers. Obviously we were in the motorhome section.
We arrived and were given an allocated plot, which makes a change. From what we could see, all hardstanding plots had their own hedge and grassy bit, making it lovely and private.
The village of Pencelli is tiny and the site is a two minute walk from the canal.. and a waterside pub! It’s a 5 mile (ish) walk along the canal to Brecon, which takes in amazing countryside, rivers and aqueducts. Or, you can walk the other way along the canal to more pubs apparently.
While in the Brecons, Stew decided that he of course needed to visit the local whiskey distillery in Penderyn. We booked online two days before and got there early. Interesting tour and of course sampling! We also had to take a drive to the Red Kite Feeding station…. £4 per person to watch my favourite birds swooping for an hour. There were literally hundreds of them (and a few opportunistic crows and a buzzard!).
Cirencester
Having left Wales, we headed into the Cotswolds. The idea was to use our campsite in Cirencester as a base for exploring the area and doing lots of walking.
The town of Cirencester blew us away. It is stunning. Every street is postcard pretty. So much so that we didnt explore the Cotswolds at all…. we just mooched around the city for a few days!
The campsite is right on the edge of Cirencester Park- which is privately owned. It is open to the public daily but all gates are locked before 8am and after 5pm. It is huge and again very beautiful- worth a day or two to walk around. It is a 15 minute walk from the campsite into the town centre, whether through the park or along the road. The is a great walk we did (found on Google) which takes in the Roman amphitheatre and other noteworthy sights. The museum in town is also worth a visit- as are alot of the pubs!
The campsite itself is only for motorhomes- no tents. The showers are the best yet- no push button for 30 seconds worth of one temperature water- these have a tap and stay on for as long as you want! Wood- fired pizza stall on site on a Thursday night if you dont fancy cooking- although no suitable for gluten free people due to lack of cross contamination control!
St Neots Camping and Caravanning
We fancied a quick weekend away at the start of the summer holidays- because we hadn’t been away in Colin for a good 6 weeks due to me having surgery. St Neots is not far from us so great for a cheeky weekend away, starting after work on a Friday night.
The campsite is lovely- lots of pitches available for campers, motorhomes, tents- everyone welcome. It sits right on the edge of the River Ouse, with the river path alongside. The path one way takes you along to a big Tesco- about a mile away (or a Riverside pub!) and the path the other way takes you straight into St Neots town centre. Both worth a walk! There are two shower etc blocks. The one nearest to the river path is code protected to stop members of the public wandering in. Cleaned daily and inspected regularly.
Putt’s Corner, Nr Ottery St Mary, East Devon
Quiet site with a pub up the road… Nice 2 minute woodland walk to get there. The Hare and Hounds normally does a carvery but due to covid restrictions it is currently serving plates roast dinners. Gluten free available!
First full day here we decided to walk to Ottery St Mary as it’s only 3 miles away, so a 6 mile round trip. What we didn’t realise was that the bridleways are down a steep hill and when you walk down a steep hill you’ve got to walk up it again. My Fitbit detected 77 flights of stairs! We even stumbled across a Grand Designs cob house just outside Ottery St Mary.
Not far down the road is Beer…. The village, not drink. The quarry caves are worth a visit if you like a bit of history. The coast path looks amazing although we didn’t walk it as it was scorching and we wanted to find some shade.
The town of Seaton is lovely too and we’d recommend the old tramway which takes you through the wetlands. We parked Colin at Colyton and got the tram into Seaton and had a mooch around Seaton. This is probably the best way to do it as there’s not much to see or so in Colyton.
