Flybe / July 2019

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Inspiration
46 / Flight Time / JUNE 2019
With the van set up ready for the
evening, it was easier to explore the local
area by foot. Stoke Fleming was a stroll
away, so we wandered down, got a glimpse
of the coast and checked out Radius 7, a
stylish wine bar, and The Green Dragon, a
characterful pub where we toasted our first
evening of van life.
DAY 2: BLACKPOOL SANDS –
SALCOMBE – DARTMOOR – TAVISTOCK
In the morning we stopped off at nearby
Blackpool Sands, one of my favourite beaches
in Devon, where we lay on the pebble beach,
feeling the holiday relaxation kicking in.
Keen to explore Salcombe, further along the
coast, we drove on, past the glorious sight of
Slapton Sands, where the road is met on both
sides by sand and water. In Salcombe, on the
banks of the Salcombe estuary, in the South
Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty,
looking out at the boats on the estuary with
the first pasty of the trip, we felt like we’d
already achieved ‘peak holiday’. And that was
before the non-driver discovered craft beers
from the Salcombe Brewing Co.
Our second night’s camping was at the
market town of Tavistock. We got a glimpse
of Dartmoor ponies grazing near the road
as we drove on the very edge of Dartmoor
and picked up some essentials. This campsite
is a perfect base for walks on Dartmoor,
but we only had time for a quick evening
stroll around the campsite, where I tried to
impress Richard by balancing all the way
around the children’s obstacle course, before
it was time to cosy up in the van with some
wine and cheese.
In the morning, I found Richard deep in
conversation with a fellow camper, who was
talking about how he’d been going camping
with his wife for some 50 years. They chatted
DAY 1: KINGSTEIGNTON – NESS COVE
– DARTMOUTH – STOKE FLEMING
After a stop-off (indoors) with family in
Kingsteignton, we spent the morning
skimming stones by the red sandstone cliffs
of Ness Cove Beach, which is accessed via an
original smugglers’ tunnel from Shaldon.
Keen to start ‘van life’ properly, we
headed on to Dartmouth, where our first
campsite booking was, and spent a few hours
exploring this pretty town, admiring the
boats and picturesque views across the River
Dart to Kingswear. By late afternoon, we
arrived at the campsite in the village of Stoke
Fleming and checked in.
By sheer coincidence, I’ve just started
working for The Camping & Caravanning
Club, so I was pleased to find that each of
the sites we visited had friendly, helpful site
managers, clean facilities and well-organised
set-ups – and they all had Wi-Fi, too, which
was a real bonus.
We soon got into a routine of getting the
van parked up, loosening the straps to pop
the roof up and unfolding the bed, which
was surprisingly easy, and we also developed
a system for storing bags and belongings to
make the most of the space.
F L I G H T D E TA I L S
Flybe has flights to
Birmingham from Aberdeen,
Amsterdam, Avignon, Bastia,
Belfast City, Bergerac,
Berlin-Tegel, Biarritz,
Bordeaux, Brest Brittany,
Düsseldorf, Edinburgh,
Glasgow, Guernsey, Hamburg,
Hannover, Inverness, Isle of
Man, Jersey, Knock,
La Rochelle, Lyon, Milan,
Nantes (until 25th October),
Newquay, Paris CDG (may be
operated by Air France) and
Stuttgart.
ABOUT ROCKIN VANS
Rockin Vans was founded
in Scotland in 2008. It has
rapidly grown and now has 50
employees located across the
UK. It converts VW campervans
into luxury leisure vehicles
for sale at its workshop in
Kilmarnock and showroom
near Birmingham. It also has
a fleet of campervans and
motorhomes to hire from
Glasgow, Edinburgh, Heathrow
and Birmingham. For a week’s
hire of a VW campervan,
prices start at £413. Visit www.
or call 0141
404 8384.