Chugging along in the bright green wonder that is Noddy Windsor for 5 days brought us the adventure of a lifetime! Arriving on the first day, we were introduced to Noddy and all his accoutrements and workings. Our first challenge was to navigate the van out and down the incredibly steep hill that leads up to O’Connor’s campers….little did we know, that this would prove to be our least challenging feat. Our first stop was Ilfracombe, where we stayed in the Newberry Park campsite. The site was around the corner from a quaint little bay with fairy lights dotted around the town, so at night it looked magical! We then trundled on down towards Penzance, a much longer drive than we anticipated. We stopped along the way at Tintagel, home to the place of King Arthur’s castle and Merlin’s cave. The spot down by the water was epic, with huge waves crashing, and then to enter Merlin’s dark cave added even more wonderment. We arrived in Penzance at our second campsite, Lower Treave, a great little campsite. We visited Land’s End that evening, a lovely and lively spot. Our plan the next day was to visit the Minack Theatre and wander around Penzance. However, during the night, the rain came down, and continued with winds and fog throughout the day. Just a little disappointing, but we didn’t mind as Noddy kept us out of the bad weather. Our third stop was Bay View Farm Campsite, which was located at the very end of a road in East Looe. It took a bit of hairy navigating down steep and narrow roads, but eventually we found our way there. The campsite apparently had a beautiful view out over the bay…however, all we could see when we looked out the windows was thick, dense fog. So we happily spent our evening sheltered in Noddy! The next morning, the fog luckily lifted and we got to see the amazing view out over the bay! We then headed towards our fourth and …*sniff*… final stop in Torquay, at Byslades campsite. We had made a reservation at the Michelin star restaurant, The New Angel. The restaurant was in Dartmouth, which is about 10 miles away from our campsite, so we decided to spend the day down there. On the way, we tried to stop off at the coast along Torquay and Paignton. Parking, however, was a little bit of a struggle. After going into a carpark the wrong way, and having to make a three point turn on a narrow little hill to go in the right way, we realised that we were 6cm too high for the carpark! So had to reverse back up the hill!! There was also some extreme hill starts up severely steep hills! Poor Noddy….but he kept on giving! We saw some of the beaches in Paignton, and then headed straight for Dartmouth across the ferry. The town was packed as the Regatta was on! There was a great atmosphere, and the town was really well run with a great park and ride service to and from the centre. So we got to leave Noddy in safe hands for the day and explore the sights. We went back up to him at the end of the afternoon to change for our restaurant reservation. It was funny to be getting out of a 43 year old camper van to go to a Michelin star fancy restaurant! Great food though, and great staff…highly recommended if you feel like splashing out a bit for some excellent food! We had to hand Noddy back the next morning 🙁 We drove back up the hill to O’Connors, and parked him up one last time. The experience was unbelievable! It was great craic to drive around in Noddy through some treachorous conditions and through some dubious roadways. It sometimes took the two of us to reverse him, or to start on a hill, but every minute was worth it. It was also such a great feeling seeing other campervans along the way, who always flash of beep their horns! Thanks so much O’Connors Campers, we will be back again!! Cheers, Gill and Dave 🙂
