Jo Southway takes her pups for a four-day break at the DogFriendly award-winning Lynmouth Holiday Retreat
Balcony of Safari Tent
Lynmouth Holiday Retreat is a holiday park with amazing sea views. It is owned by Coast and Country, which has a few parks in beautiful locations. The retreat offers options for camping and glamping from your basic tent or van pitches right up to your glamping domes or, as we stayed in, safari tents, while our friends had a camping pitch for their van. The safari tents are a new addition to the park perched on the edge of the hill with glorious sea views. As you head down to your safari tent, the setting just blows you away. Outside there is a hot tub where you can relax and enjoy the view, and a covered decking area with outdoor seating for those beautiful, relaxed summer evenings with food and drink; or you can sit and gaze at the stars in the open skies, hoping a shooting star might come along. The outside area is open, so consider taking a tether point for your dog and a long line. Inside the safari tent has all of the facilities you could ask for of any glamping accommodation: a kitchen area equipped with a fridge and freezer; a hob, a sink, a kettle, and all the utensils, pots, pans and added extras. There’s also a table to sit at and plenty of space for all your food and essentials to be unpacked. The area is open plan and one side has a lounge area with sofas, table and television. Not that you need it with so much to do in the area, but on a rainy day there’s a TV. The bathroom has a super-sized shower, toilet and a sink. There are two bedrooms, one a double and the other has three singles. There are also blankets and heaters for colder nights. The small touches such as an eco-friendly washing-up bundle, coffee sachets, dog treats and disposable barbecue are welcome additions.
The safari tent is a glamping experience so you need to remember that you are still under canvas and can hear the outside sounds, feel the temperature drops and all the usual downsides to camping. So if this isn’t for you then you may want to opt for a mobile home. But as far as safari tents and glamping go, these are incredible; they feel super luxurious and we wouldn’t hesitate to book one again. For the wider site there are many great facilities, especially if you haven’t got the luxury of a safari tent, including toilets, showers, washing-up and laundry areas. Reception has a shop for everyday essentials and sells hot drinks. You can also pre- order fresh pastries for the next morning. For dogs there’s a selection of treats on offer. One of the best facilities on site is the dog walking field, a huge fenced space where your dogs can have fun running around and further walks straight from the site. There is also a really handy dog wash by the facilities block; you can use it if you have been to the beach and got sandy.
Ilfracombe
On site, food is served from an Airstream, which also does cocktails to celebrate your holiday in style. Around the site there are benches to sit and chill, and a beautiful pond area. The entire site is super clean and tidy and well looked after. On our first day, we decided to explore Lynmouth itself taking a walk around the shops and cafes and further out to Blacklands beach where we discovered the wonderful Coffee Shack By The Sea. They have the most beautiful spot, perched right on the edge overlooking the sea. Of course, as well as our coffees we bought a puppacino too, which was partly drunk and partly splattered over everyone at the bench in the excitement of drinking it. We took a walk along the beach and the dogs had a play in the sea.In Lynmouth we found some wonderful places including The Tuck Box where we managed to get a selection of delicious treats including vegan pasties. Lynmouth, particularly the fish and chip shops, do not cater for a great deal of dietary requirements and there was a mix in our group. Otherwise, the shops are what you would expect of a coastal town. One of the highlights of Lynmouth is the gorge and river running down to the sea. We let the dogs have a paddle here to wash off the seawater. It’s a beautiful spot to sit on a sunny day listening to the water running across the rocks.
Airstream bar and restuarant
On our next day, we wanted to explore more of the area and get the dogs out walking so we decided to head to the Valley of the Rocks,a stunning coastal area with dramatic scenery and goats roaming free. There are plenty of walking routes here where you can do small loops or big hikes along the Southwest Coast Path. Choose wisely, though, if you have a fear of heights, as some of the routes take you right along the edge and, while being incredibly beautiful, it is quite a drop below. Short leads for dogs are a must due to the dangerous edges and tempting goats to chase. A short drive or walk along the coast brings you to Lee Bay and its secluded beach with lots of rocks for a spot of rock pooling. This hidden gem is in a wooded valley and is much quieter than the surrounding area. After walking back up the lane from the beach we stopped at the Lee Abbey Tea Cottage. A stunning garden where we indulged in afternoon tea while the dogs sat in the shade drying from their beach activities. After lots of walking, we felt the dogs deserved a treat so we drove into Lynton and took them to the Lyn Valley Dog House, the most magnificent pet shop, which stocks all the essentials plus some naughty holiday treats your dog will love. There’s also a selection of healthy things for dogs with allergies, for people who raw feed or just for those wanting to steer away from all the processed stuff. If you are in Lynton and Lynmouth one of the famous must-do activities is the Lynmouth and Lynton Cliff Railway. It is only a short ride but space is quite tight so bear this in mind if your dog is nervous. It is open February to November and there’s a cafe at the top. It makes getting between Lynton and Lynmouth a much easier task than the steep walk up and down. But if you like a challenge then the walk is also lovely.
Valley of Rocks
We tested out Nana Jude’s Ice Cream Shop at the top of the railway which has every flavour of ice cream you can imagine. One of our holiday traditions is seeking out a dog friendly cafe with amazing breakfast options and reviews, because although the cooking facilities at the camp site are great who doesn’t want a morning off being served delicious breakfast cooked by someone else? We opted for Charlie Fridays, a cafe in Lynton which is recommended by pretty much everyone in all the various places we have been. The added bonus to Charlie Fridays is that they are right next to The Lynn Valley Dog House. So we popped in for a long-lasting chew so that the dogs had their tasty breakfast option and could settle under the table while we had ours. We highly recommend the burritos and tea cakes. All the food and drinks were lovely and the interior was well designed and homely.
Reception
When staying in the Lynmouth area with dogs, exploring the open moors of Exmoor is a real treat. There are so many places that you can park up just off the roads through Exmoor with signposts leading you off. We chosea small unnamed car park on the B3223. Walking here you feel incredibly small and on top of the world as the moors stretch out as far as the eye can see. It is important to keep dogs on leads as there are free-roaming animals such as horses and sheep as well as all the wildlife. You can walk for miles and miles without seeing anyone. A lot of it looks the same, so it’s easy to get lost if you wander too far.After exploring the moors nothing could be better than a nice cold drink. We called into the Exmoor Forest Inn. On nice days booking ahead is recommended if you want food. They were fully booked when we visited. On our journey back across Exmoor to the camp site we were lucky to catch the sun going down and watch a group of stags casually wandering across the moor.
With so much to do on the doorstep from the coast, the small towns and the moors you don’t need to go far to have a fantastic holiday. But we love to explore the surrounding areas so we had a couple of trips slightly further out to Combe Martin and Ilfracombe. Combe Martin has a beautiful sheltered cove with some of the best rock pools we have found and is nestled in among shops, pubs and cafes. We walked out along the rocks to the small caves and inlets. It is important to be careful here with your dogs walking on the rocks as they are slippery and have lots of sharp edges. There is a central stone walkway which is flat. Dogs are restricted on some of the beach areas in Combe Martin during the summer months. We sat outside on the edge of the beach at the Focsle Inn for drinks. We didn’t get food in Combe Martin as we wanted to try out the eco-friendly barbecue that was supplied by the camp site, so we drove back and fired it up with a drink in hand. It worked surprisingly well and, with a tired dog from the day’s adventures, we humans had some peace to enjoy an evening in the hot tub admiring the view. Our other adventure was to Ilfracombe. Here we explored the shops and a market where lots of small local businesses had stalls selling their handmade items. The shops were dog friendly and the harbour beach was dog friendly all year round. We spotted the Lime Kiln Inn from across the harbour. The inn sits in an enviable location, perched on the edge with floor-to- ceiling windows and a terrace overlooking the harbour; it’s one of the best lunch views we have had, bathed in sunshine. The menu was equally as delightful. The Lynmouth Holiday Retreat is the perfect base to enjoy such a beautiful area.
Dogs on the Balcony
FACT FILE
Lynmouth Holiday Retreat
ADDRESS Manor Frm, Barbrook Lynton EX35 6LD
CONTACT 01598 753349 or through website
PRICE Safari tents with hot tub start from £699 per week, Combe stargazer done tents are from £420 per week
WEBSITE www.coastandcountryparks.co.uk
Places to Visit
Lynmouth
Valley of the Rock
Lee Bay
Combe Martin
Ilfracombe
Exmoor
