Glamping at East Thorne, Bude

Over half term we went glamping in a Yurt at East Thorne in Bude, Cornwall.

I haven’t stayed in a yurt before but if you’re not sure about camping then a Yurt is a good compromise and East Thorne is the perfect family destination.

The Campsite

The campsite is truly one of the nicest we have stayed at. The site is car free (except for unpacking/packing) with plenty of open space for the children to run around, a small climbing frame (which was visible from all the yurts) and a communal bonfire area.

The yurts all have their own decking with outside kitchen and picnic benches. You can add a wood-fired hot tub as an optional extra (we did) and plenty of space for setting up games on the grass.

On arrival, we were shown to our yurt and given a quick run down of the facilities and told how to operate the wood-fired hot tub (which was already hot for our arrival). We checked in quite late but had pre-ordered various food items for our arrival so food was already in our fridge/cupboard so it was just a case of getting the BBQ fired up.

After dinner, the bonfire was in full swing, so we joined the other families who were already sat around the fire toasting marshmallows for some s’mores and prosecco fruit shoots. This was a great opportunity to meet the other guests staying on site in one of the various accommodation types (yurts, roundhouses or cottages). Most importantly for us it enabled our little’un to make friends with the other children on site which was the absolute highlight of the entire holiday.

Our daughter was so happy to meet other children and spent every available opportunity going off to play with them. The beauty of staying in the yurt is that you’re overlooking the playing field and climbing frame so me and the other half enjoyed many lazy mornings and evenings eating and sitting in our hot tub while keeping an eye on the kids as they played. This was declared our daughters best holiday and she can’t wait to go back which I know is largely thanks to the “girl gang” and other friendship groups she made.

Another activity that went down a treat with our daughter was being able to join the staff during the morning animal feed. This wasn’t offered every day during our stay so make sure to find out which days it is on. The animals they keep on site includes pigs, goats, chickens and a range of different birds.

As our stay was during the midst of social distancing each yurt on site had their own separate bathroom and shower facilities. This added an extra bonus and is something I think I’d really miss if we were to stay there once COVID-prevention measures are no longer in place. It made the morning and evening cleaning rituals much easier as we didn’t have to lug our toiletries back and forth each time we went over there and meant we weren’t confined to a shower cubicle for getting changed in.

The yurts also benefitted from electric points which is another benefit of glamping over camping so we were able to charge our mobile phones/devices. I guess that’s not really in the true spirit of camping but of course does make daily living much easier.

To book a stay at East Thorne, please visit their website.

The Location

East Thorne is situated close to Bude, Cornwall. If you haven’t been to Cornwall before then it’s definitely a must-visit holiday destination and there are lots of towns, beaches and attractions to visit while you are there. We have been to Cornwall many times before and as we were only staying for 4 nights this time round we had decided to spend our days enjoying the best of Bude.

Beaches

We were extremely lucky with the weather as nearly every day was beach weather. We spent most of our days at Summerleaze beach as it was close to all the amenities we required (toilets, cafes, rocks pools, sea pool and streams). It was very close to the town centre with lots of shops and good food options. During the week we stayed there was also the added bonus of a fairground.

There is a quite a big car park at Summerleaze beach but it is also very busy during the school holidays. We ended up parking at Crooklets beach which was a short walk away (by cliff top or beach when the tide is out), again quite a lot of parking but lots of cars also looking to park.

We also visited Widemouth Bay which was a bit further away which was much quieter and still had toilet facilities and places to eat nearby.

Summerleaze Beach and Widemouth Bay both seemed to be popular destinations for surfing, paddle-boarding and body boarding which is enjoyable to watch whether or not you wish to take part. The water was pretty cold during May, so while we did try our hand at body boarding, it was hard to spend too long in there without a wetsuit.

Dining out

Cream teas

We visited Trelawny Tea Rooms at Widemouth Bay (book via Facebook Messenger/phone) as recommended by my aunt for a cream tea which was very nice. The tea room was surprisingly quiet too and had a nice relaxed atmosphere. They do takeaway boxes if (like me) your eyes are bigger than your belly. Our little’un very much enjoyed her scone with cream and jam and surprisingly ate a whole one (they are big)!

They also offered a range of other cakes which all looked really good and which I did intend to purchase a slice of for after dinner but by the time I’d finished my scone I was definitely too full up to contemplate eating anything else.

Fish and Chips

One evening we ventured outside of Bude to Padstow to visit Rick Steins Fish and Chip Restaurant. We’ve eaten here on many occasions and have always been really impressed with the food but sadly on this occasion the food didn’t live up to our expectations. The chips didn’t taste fresh and the cod just lacked in flavour. I was really disappointed as Rick Steins fish and chips is usually one of the things I ‘must-do’ when we visit Cornwall.

There also seemed to be issues with the food ordering app which was causing massive queues for the takeaway and the eat in restaurant. It has always been a popular venue so there is usually some kind of wait but I think the wait ended up being over an hour in the end. I’m not sure if that’s often the case now with mobile ordering or whether we just chose a bad night for it.

Ice cream

We discovered the Taste of Cornwall ice cream parlour on our first day and I think ate there every day after that. The ice creams were really good and they changed the flavours daily. I think between me and Mr FFT we probably sampled most of them. The little’un opted for the whippy each time (on a teddy bear cone). Queues here can be quite long during peak-times but move fairly quickly too. There is also outside seating available for customers but very limited shade.

Water Sports

We’re not big on water sports (she says having recently purchasing an inflatable kayak…) but we did try our hand at body boarding at Summerleaze. Our little one didn’t enjoy it in the slightest (but she is still learning to swim so maybe doesn’t have the experience or confidence for it yet), other children of a similar age seemed to enjoy being skimmed across the wet sand on them or used as a float in some of the bigger rock pools and the sea pool.

I used to enjoy body boarding when I was younger and more carefree but there were far too many people in the water that I was afraid I’d mow down that I didn’t really give it much perseverance so I didn’t really get any good waves in. I wasn’t sure if this was down to my inexperience, my worries or the cheap body board we’d purchased at the beach or maybe all three (most likely) but if you are planning on trying out this activity then I’d probably recommend buying one of the more expensive body boards which look a bit sturdier and hiring out a wet suit so you can at least persevere at it long enough to get some decent waves in.

On one of the days we drove into town and parked near the canal and hired out one of the pedalows. Our daughter enjoyed that much more than going in the sea and Bude canal looked like a lovely place to boat or walk along with the added bonus of ice cream shops along the way.

Walks

Lovely coastal walks used to be one of our top activities in Cornwall, since having our daughter this has kind of taken a back seat as lots of them are fairly intensive and seem a bit dangerous for such little legs.

We did manage a couple of small cliff top walks with our daughter around the coast of Bude. The views across the beaches and the sea were just stunning with the blue, cloudless skies above. Quite a lot of trip hazards to be aware of and had my heart racing each time she wriggled-free from my iron grip.

We did also take a trip to Tintagel castle on one of the days to walk the coastal path to Bossiney. We didn’t have tickets to look around the castle but the coastal walks there are absolutely stunning (if not tiring and nerve-wracking as a parent). We were hoping to see some seals bathing but alas it wasn’t to be, we did see plenty of different bird species, butterflies and cows though which was enjoyable for our little one. The route we followed can be found on Walk Cornwall but please note there is no access to Bossiney Haven right now due to rock-fall.

Make sure you take plenty of drinking water and snacks if you plan to do any of the coastal walks with children, as it definitely ended up taking longer than we were anticipating because of the frequent rest/snack breaks. The big steps and rocky nature of the walk wouldn’t make it suitable for any children still in a pushchair or unsteady on their feet. Our 5 year old struggled in places so often asked for a piggy back.

On arrival in Bossiney we found a vintage ice cream van, so me and my daughter stopped for a cold drink and ice cream while the other half went off to fetch the car (the walk back was much quicker by road and only took 15 minutes). We also purchased chocolate brownies for back at East Thorne which were really good. Thank you to Proper Vintage Cornwall for being right where we needed you when we needed you!