Because mum hadn’t been able to come to Portugal with Trudi and I because of the heat it didn’t seem fair that she would miss out on a summer holiday away, so I booked a static caravan at Ladram Bay. Ladram is a family holiday park between between Exmouth and Sidmouth on the South Devon coast, with static caravans, lodges and touring sites. We had never been there before but I had heard good things about it
I was surprised that I was able to book for a weekend in August with such little notice, and was even offered a 10% discount. When we arrived we were offered an upgrade to a lodge with a hot tub, but this would have cost extra and I felt it was unnecessary – as it turned out this was a good decision as our caravan on position B1 was within level walking distance, and very near, to most facilities, whereas the lodges were much higher up and would have been difficult for mum to walk up and down the hill
After battling the horrendous traffic around Exeter we found the site easily. Our 8 berth caravan was perfect, with a balcony looking over the bay (albeit set back from the falling cliffs!). Mum took the double with separate bathroom at the end of the corridor, which gave her some privacy. I had one of the twin rooms, whilst Annie and boyfriend Lee had the other. George was coming on the Saturday night only, and was happy to sleep on the sofa
The sun played nicely all weekend, particularly on the Friday afternoon and Saturday. We enjoyed sitting on the balcony after our lunch at the restaurant on site, and Harry loved the walk along the cliff path
After a fish and chip supper from the takeaway on site when Annie and Lee arrived, we tried out the evening entertainment in the bar area. We had missed the bingo because we had been talking so much, and the random games played by the entertainment staff to get the crowd going were a little odd, but the Tina tribute act was pretty good. The best bit was seeing Annie and Lee relax together and being silly together – they look great as a couple, very well suited. Lee had surprised us earlier by drinking from a can and getting stung in the mouth by a wasp, but making no fuss at all as he spat it out!
In the morning I caught the sunset walking Harry out on the coast path again, going a bit further this time, as far as Brandy Head
Annie had booked a pottery painting session for the 4 of us for the Saturday morning and we all enjoyed quietly sitting around painting our chosen models, Not hard to guess which one was Annie’s
The afternoon soon disappeared playing games and eating, and drinking a rather large glass of sherry!
George came up after he finished work on the Saturday and it was lovely to have all the family together
That evening’s entertainment culminated in a performance by an Oasis tribute band, and it gave George the opportunity to enjoy seeing Annie and Lee together – clapping and cheering!
Sunday was a bit cloudier but I still enjoyed walking Harry along the coast path, in the opposite direction this time towards Sidmouth. The site had a dog exercise and activity area, which was tiny, and Harry had no clue what he was supposed to do – he enjoyed scavenging the sweets left behind under a hedge though…
The site has its own beach, and I was excited to hire the kayaks. Annie and Lee took a double, whilst George and I had singles. Mum stayed just long enough to get some photos before making her way back up the slipway to the caravan
Annie felt the waves were making her feel a bit sick and wasn’t keen to go very far. After our experience in the Scillies George and I were much more comfortable with the conditions. We headed first west around one headland, and then back east around the other. The cliffs are notorious for subsidence in the area and I could see how close Harry would have got to the edge when he was chasing rabbits into the undergrowth – I am sure he wouldn’t have survived the fall if he had lost his footing.
To the east we were able to see the caves in the cliffs and kayak around the stacks in the sea, avoiding the lone swimmer who had ventured out too.
It was a really lovely weekend with the family altogether, getting to know Lee. It didn’t really matter where we were, although we particularly enjoyed the pottery painting and the kayaking. For mum it was quite full on, but she definitely loved having us all around. The site is close enough to consider staying more regularly, or perhaps something similar elsewhere which is easy to get to – being with family is the important thing