HAPPY CAMPERS

Take your tourer to one of the UK’s most spectacular sites

WE’VE been given the chance to set up home in a secluded corner plot surrounded by 22 acres of rolling hills and views of the sea.

It’s the sort of prime spot developers would pounce on if it came on the market.

But with no chain, no estate agent fees and no sealed bids, this idyllic location – and others like it – can belong to anyone who has mobile digs.

The Caravan and Motorhome Club operates more than 200 sites in Britain’s most scenic coastal and countryside locations.

Unspoilt and cheap (just £49 per year membership fee), they give people with a tent or caravan the opportunity to embrace outdoor life.

The 110-year-old club also boasts 300 holiday parks across Europe, including in France, Spain and Germany – as well as running worldwide holiday tours – so there are plenty of options to suit all tastes. We decided to try one of its most spectacular locations on home turf, Hillhead Caravan and Motorhome Park, a five-star visitorrated site set up on the clifftop near Brixham in Devon.

We parked our touring caravan in a grassy square screened by hedges and had loads of space for alfresco dining as well as fabulous views across a patchwork of fields down to the sea.

While we unfolded the camping chairs, prepared the barbecue and popped open a few beers, our kids proceeded to unpack every outdoor game we’d brought and tried their best to play them all at once. The combination of fresh air and freedom seemed to have sent them giddy!

After a peaceful night’s sleep, we woke to the sound of birds twittering and the kids’ desperate pleas to go swimming.

Hillhead has a lovely outdoor pool, which catches the sun all day, and is sheltered from the wind by hedgerows.

It was great to dive into the big pool with our daughter Layla, six, to finally crack front crawl. Meanwhile, our two-yearold son Ralph loved splashing about in the separate paddling pool with mum.

There’s also an imaginative children’s park, a large playing field for ball games, a restaurant serving pubstyle meals and Sunday carveries, a games room, club house, shop and bar.

Hillhead is a great starting point for day trips and we set off to Torquay’s brilliant zoo and aquarium, Living Coasts, set in a stunning rocky location, right on the seafront.

The kids loved walking among the penguins at penguin beach and listening to the fascinating feeding-time talks.

They giggled at the huge seals basking on the rocks, waved at the puffins and loved crawling through the fish tanks and spotting starfish, octopus, rays and

seahorses. Also in Torquay is Dinosaur World, a fascinating and interactive attraction where kids get to sit on prehistoric beasts, take selfies with them and find fossils buried in the sand.

The fun-filled family quiz was a great way to keep little ones engaged and, at the end, staff gave out small bags of fossils as a thank you for visiting.

There are also plenty of boat trips from Torquay including deep-sea fishing jaunts and wildlife safaris.

We chose to go on a speedboat thrill-ride, jumping from wave to wave, the ocean spray splashing in our faces which really ramped up the fun-factor.

Brixham is a smaller fishing town with its famous square-shaped harbour lined with waterside bars, eateries and gift shops. If you’re a fan of seafood, check out the Poopdeck restaurant, situated above a shop with window seats overlooking the harbour.

I enjoyed a delicious dish of monkfish medallions with Parma ham while the kids munched on amazingly fresh fish fingers.

There’s also the muchloved replica of the Golden Hind, a fixture which has entertained visitors to Brixham harbour for more than 50 years. Clamber aboard and you’ll get to ex- perience the sights, smells and hardship experienced by Sir Francis Drake and his men who made history as the first Englishmen to circumnavigate the globe in this five-deck ship more than 400 years ago.

If you enjoy days on the beach, head to Broadsands, a beautiful curve of pinktinged sand, backed by beach huts and green fields between Paignton and Brixham.

Sloping gently into the sea, the beach is a safe choice for families and, at the south end, there’s an area of rockpools which become exposed by the tide.

The little secluded bay of Churston Cove is also worth a visit if you like peaceful beaches surrounded by cliffs and plant life.

Take the downhill path through a wood to where the small sand and shingle beach with crystal clear waters is revealed. Even on a hot day, we almost had the place to ourselves.

Meanwhile, the fun continued back at Hillhead and a particular favourite of ours was resort entertainer Mr Wishy Washy.

We’re big fans of his laugh-a-minute warmth and energy because he kept our kids entertained while we got to finally sit down and enjoy a drink.

Cheers Washy!