With a number of small jobs to be done on the Hymer I decided to take a trip away. Having looked at a weather forecast it seemed the west of the country would enjoy some good weather and so I booked into Charmouth Camping and Caravanning Club Site. The plan was to do some small repairs and cleaning on the motorhome but also get out with the camera to photograph this scenic part of the country. I also wanted to visit Ilminster in Somerset on the Saturday night for the illuminated carnival, the first of this season. I will be attending the Glastonbury one in November which is one of the largest along with Bridgewater.
At the last minute Ewelina decided she would come along too and so on Friday afternoon we collected the Hymer and made our way to Dorset. We arrived early evening after reception had closed and a note on the door directed us to our pitch. With the electric plugged in it we started on some of the simple repair jobs before eating. With no signal on the 3 mifi device it turned out to be an early night.
Charmouth Camping and Caravanning Club Site – Initial Impressions
On Saturday morning we had time to explore the site and the local area in more detail. The reception has a decent small shop for the basics. If this is not enough then Axminster is a short drive away where you can find a large Tesco supermarket and many other shops that you might want (in our case the hardware shop Lawson’s had the items I was looking for).
Charmouth Camping and Caravanning Club Site feels very green with huge mature trees on the perimeter of the site and good landscaping. It should be pointed out that the site has 3 main areas, the one run by the Camping and Caravanning Club, one run by the local farm and another for holiday lets. Both Ewelina and I were very impressed by the shower block, large cubicles with lots of hooks, a bench and taps where you can change the temperature. The tiling in the block was also high quality, we both felt this was one of the best shower blocks we had used.
Another plus point about Charmouth Camping and Caravanning Club Site are the staff. Not only are they very friendly and helpful and always willing to answer questions and give advice about the local area but we found that Dave in particular was willing to go the extra mile. To illustrate this when we returned from shopping I could not get the electricity to work. I assumed there was a problem with the site but after some testing Dave discovered that my EHU lead was faulty. The assistance did not end with the diagnoses either as he proceeded to get his tools and rewire the lead for me! Unfortunately for Charmouth Camping and Caravanning Club Site they will be losing Dave soon as he plans to move on to a new independent site in the Peak District but you can be assured of a friendly welcome even after Dave leaves. To be honest I would have given Charmouth 5 stars had it not been for the fact that mobile broadband reception was so poor but this really is the only downside and one that might not be relevant to you.
Charmouth Camping and Caravanning Club Site
Charmouth Camping and Camping and Caravanning Club Site – The local area
As mentioned one of the reasons for heading west was to watch the Ilminster Carnival. However since this is a 30 minute drive you might decide to look for a closer campsite than Charmouth. Charmouth is located close to the border of 3 counties, Dorset, Devon and Somerset. Most who stay at Charmouth Camping and Caravanning Club Site will probably do so to visit the stunning coastline nearby. Lyme Regis is a short drive away and worth a visit. Further west you have Beer but since we were heading east when we left Lyme Regis we decided to visit Chesil Beach and Abbotsbury. You can see some of the photographs from our weekend in the following gallery.