Lorna Doone Country

Scenic Sites

One of the advantages of a van conversion is that we can be more adventurous with our choice of campsites. Two sites we have used this year fall into this category. April found us negotiating a very narrow lane off the A39 at County Gate, squeezing over a humpbacked bridge, traversing a ford, in order to reach the Doone Valley campsite on the edge of Exmoor at Malmesmead. The site is situated in flat fields alongside the river. On our first night our only neighbour was a tent pitched one hundred yards away. The facilities include toilets and hot showers but no electric hook-up. The owner calls round in the evenings to collect the £10 per night fee. Unusually camp fires are permitted. The site is probably best avoided during summer W/Es and school holidays. Lovely walks through the surrounding hills and the famous Doone Valley begin from site. The church made famous by R Balckmore’s book Lorna Doone is a short walk along the river at Oare.

Part of our trip to the Lake District in May included five nights at the C&CC site at Eskdale. The approach road from Gosforth is not recommended for nervous drivers as it is single track in places. The reward is a very well managed level site in a beautiful location. The well stocked on-site shop and full facilities (including a drying room) cater for all your needs. There are walks from site to suit all levels of fitness from a gentle stroll to one of three local pubs, four mile gentle river walks or for the really energetic a hike up Scafell Pike. On leaving the site we followed a route which offered wonderful views across Birker Fell down to Duddon Bridge. This is not the route recommended in the C&CC book but was easily accessible for an IH campervan. If you are a bird watcher as well as a walker then this site is definitely for you.

Thanks again to Mary Sutton for another gem from the archive.