Weekend in South Devon
This was our third stay at Hillhead which previously had been in late Autumn but this time early spring. The site is ideally situated between Brixham and Dartmouth. Brixham itself is a busy working port and interesting to browse around. The main town street is pedestrianized and busy but most shops have modern facades and little has been preserved of the old character. The harbourside is interesting and its possible to spend hours just sat watching everyone else mucking about in their boats. A voluntary organization called Pride in Brixham has smartened up many of the little odd corners around the harbour with plants and fishing port themes. Dartmouth which can be reached either via the lower ferry at Kingswear or the higher ferry direct into Dartmouth. There is a large car park in Kingswear where it is handy to leave the car and cross as a foot passenger for £1-50 each way or walk up along the riverside to the higher ferry where foot passengers are only 50p. We walked up one side and back down through delightful Dartmouth to the lower ferry.The shops in Dartmouth are in sharp contrast to Brixham as there are many with old facades and in particular a stretch of Tudor style shops one of which sells irresistible cakes. Further afield ion the Dartmouth side of the river the road down to Slapton sands is spectacular passing through Stoke Fleming, Blackpool sands, Strete and Torcross. The coastal path takes you to the unique village of Beesands but we chose to drive there and walk on a mile to Hallsands to view the remains of the old village swept away by storms in the early 1900's.
Hillhead campsite is difficult to find fault in and if you are lucky enough there are some hardstandings and grass pitches with views out to seas.The toilet facilities are one of the best in the Caravan Club even with underfloor heating. The only fault we could find was that the meagre flush of water in the toilets doesn't do the job and it is often necessary to flush the toilet three times, once to clear the previous users leftovers and twice to clear ones own.
Having said that though Hillhead is one of our favourite sites. It must be extremely busy in the summer but caters well for family holidays with a pool and clubhouse and restaurant. We shall definitely be back next year.
