Campervan Adventures: ‘January’ (oops April) on the Dorset Coast

Can you believe the weather we had at the end of April? April and May in the UK are often some of the loveliest months of the year and a great time to dust off your campervan and get out for some new adventures, but this April has been a bit bizarre (it actually snowed one morning!). Fortunately ‘Trev-the-Prev’ is a very warm campervan so, with the help of extra blankets (see product review on my wonderful Teddy Bear Blankets on link below), I managed to get through the zero degrees nights and still be smiling. 
Campervan Kit: The Gorgeous Teddy Bear Blanket

Photos for Campervan Cookbook

I booked a few days at the end of April on a gorgeous campsite (Highlands End, www.highlandsendholidaypark.co.uk) near Bridport (I open the door in the morning to an amazing, cliff-top sea view) and to meet up with my friend Liz, a gifted photographer,  to take some pics for the cover of my campervan cook book that will be out this summer.

To get the pictures, I cooked lunch for us while Liz took the photos and I decided to do one of my ‘Sponny’ recipes (‘Sponny’ is what my New Zealand friend calls anything spontaneous). I often cook a risotto in the campervan and sometimes experiment with what I throw in it and this time I went for a combo of goats cheese, blue cheese, beetroot and rocket which ended up being delicious. Once I’ve worked out the ‘official’ amounts of ingredients I’ll put it on the blog for you.

Liz and I usually go for some spectacular cliff walks and this was our plan this time too but the weather had different ideas. However, the Bridport area is embarrassingly rich in good eating places so we made the most of the cafes and here are some of the best…

Great Cafes for Campervanners

The Soulshine Café, 76 South St, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 3NN (you can often see some of the TV crowd from London here as they have second homes in the area).                                             Great coffee, delicious brunches and they do a really good selection of gluten-free cakes that are better than a lot of ‘normal’ ones so  –  “Thank you, Soulshine!”                       www.soulshinecafe.co.uk/

The Hive, Beach Road, Burton Bradstock, Dorset DT6 4RF        It’s actually on the beach and has lots of outdoor seating where you can sit and listen to the ocean. Superb fish and a great place to start a cliff walk.                                    www.hivebeachcafe.co.uk/

The Watch House (sister cafe to The Hive), West Bay, Dorset,  DT6 4EN                                      It’s on the beach too, has lovely staff and you can get real pizzas cooked in a proper pizza oven so a great place to hang out.  www.hivebeachcafe.co.uk/watch-house-caf/#watch-house-caf-

On the drive down, I stopped in the town of Dorchester to have a look around and it is a really interesting place to visit if you are in the area, especially if the weather isn’t too good as there are lots of bad-weather things to do there such as:

  • The Tutankhamun Exhibition, www.tutankhamun-exhibition.co.uk
  • The Dinosaur Museum, www.thedinosaurmuseum.com
  • The Terracotta Warriors Museum, www.terracottawarriors.co.uk

Apparently there is even a Ghost Walk every Thursday from The Kings Arms pub!

I’m sure I will be back to Dorset again with Glyn later in the year as it is one of our favourite places and we never get tired of the view from that campsite. Sometimes, when  I am feeling a bit tired or stressed at home, I just close my eyes and remember that view and it just makes everything feel better.