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Taran Ramshaw 4/30/14 Taran Ramshaw 4/30/14

Crantock Camping: Cornwall Mini-Break

Armed with snacks, good music and happy faces, we made the 5 hour drive down to Crantock Cornwall one gloomy Thursday evening, arriving at midnight to a chilly campsite.

This was us just about to set-off for a short Easter break to our favourite place in the U.K., Cornwall.

Armed with snacks, good music and happy faces, we made the 5 hour drive down there on Thursday evening, arriving at midnight to a chilly campsite. We have spoke often about Crantock and how stunning a place it is, and so we decided to spend our brief time off work down there, camping in our new 6 berth tent, at Quarryfield's campsite (£7 per person per night, good facilities, shop, bar/restaurant, right near the beach so saving on parking). Our friends Nic and Sean also came along and made the weekend awesome.

Friday and Saturday were filled with glorious sunshine and so we made our way down to the sands, so Taran could test out his newly spray-painted surfboard; he designed and painted it himself. Looks pretty sweet if I do say so myself! Despite his wet-suit his hands pretty much froze, hence why I stayed cosy on the beach in our beach tent!

As you can see Crantock is one dreamy beach! I really recommend it for a bit of surfing or just a relaxing afternoon; you can dip your feet in if you dare, as a river also flows along one side of the beach, perfect for crabbing and exploring rock-pools.

After Taran froze his little hands off in the sea, we set about playing some badminton, but the wind had other ideas, it was a pretty hilarious failure of a game. We then chilled out some more, then Taran and i went to explore the sand-dunes, and i got sand in unspeakable places whilst doing so. After a sunny few hours on the beach, we then made our way back to the campsite and got some grub in from the local supermarket! Friday was such a relaxed day, really peaceful and summery!

Saturday brought more sunshine and we knew we had to make the most of it, as Sunday's weather forecast was dire! So as I said earlier, there is a River, called the River Gannel, which runs down onto Crantock beach. Well the river actually drains completely during the day, which allowed us to walk right up it, and make our way toward Newquay on foot. Quite a trek, uphill in parts, but it was really an exhilarating walk if a tad breezy. We visited Newquay's bustling centre, stopping off for a traditional cornish pastie and then a cider overlooking the beach.

We really recommend The Fort Inn, just up from the main shopping street, for awesome views of the beach over lunch and a pint; i can't speak for the food, but the place was very busy and it looked good, and I'd say it is worth a visit for the views alone. We then treated ourselves to some locally made fudge, and I bought some jewellery and a scarf from our local favourite shop, Razzamatazz. Great little store full of eclectic, spiritual and psychedelic goodies.

Saturday evening was spent huddled round a fire, sipping beer and cider, munching on yummy snacks, and was just the epitome of chill time. Sunday, as predicted, was wet and windy, and we spent much of it huddled in our respective tents, reading, watching the crazy weather, which turned out fairly relaxing in itself. We did venture out however to the local bar/restaurant situated just outside of Crantock Village, called The Bowgie Inn.

Our meal was really nice, plentiful portions and friendly service; we all felt stuffed after our huge roast dinners! Then we had yummy dessert, because of course humans have two stomachs, one for the main and one for afters, course... We then relaxed on the sofas and caught some football. The central theme here is definitely the word 'relax'; I felt so downright laid-back the whole weekend, with no technological distractions and no real connection to the stresses of work or home.

Monday was a sad day, because we had to go home. But we made the long drive a bit more interesting but going via the countryside, and passing through South Devon, and visiting Dartmoor National Park.

The park covers a large area approx 368 square miles, and contains 241 square miles of granite surface, the largest expanse of it Britain. Aside from its obvious grandeur and geological splendour, it's just pretty cool to see. Sheep roam free, whilst prisoners stayed locked up in the infamous Dartmoor prison, and the views for miles are just breathtaking.

We arrived home exhausted around tea- time and the post-holiday blues immediately set in. I think we will forever associate Crantock with having lots of fun on the gorgeous beach, taking in the stunning views and sunsets, and then being fabulously lazy and chilled. We literally cannot wait to return, which we will be doing for 9 days in June, when hopefully it will have hotted up enough for both of us to brave the sea for some more awesome surf!