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A life less complicated….

Featured / freedombird / 13 Comments

Having started an epic journey around the coast of Britain in October 2017 – with a four year gap including Covid and caring for my elderly father – Tilly (my Toy Poodle) and I (Clare a 60 something female with a severe case of Wanderlust) are continuing to travel in our Bailey Endeavour B62 campervan, predominantly within eyeshot of the sea around both the Uk and Europe.

Returning from an amazing journey through the heart of Western Europe we rounded off our trip with a sunny (and as it turned out – very warm) tour around the South East Coastline of Kent, West Sussex and little of East Sussex and the Isle of Wight and headed home to Cornwall to re-connect with friends and family for the month of August, now in September it is time to head off again….

We have now visited some 1555 beaches around the coast of Britain and 638 in Europe with still plenty more to see..

If you would like to see our earlier journeys around the UK, they have loosely been grouped together by location and you can find the links below.

NB some of the links below are not yet working properly as it is a work in progress….

Beach Guides:

To catch up with our earlier adventures in:

  1. North coast of Cornwall from 5th October 2017 to 11th February 2018 –   Freedombird in Cornwall
  2. Back in Cornwall at various times to complete the coastline – Freedombird back in Cornwall
  3. North coast of Devon from 11th February to 19th March 2018 – Freedombird in North Devon
  4. Somerset from 19th March to 29th April 2018 – Freedombird in Somerset
  5. South Wales coast from 29th April to 14th August 2018 – Freedombird in South Wales
  6. West and North Wales coast from 14th August to 21st October 2018 – Freedombird in West and North Wales
  7. North West England from 21st October to 26th November 2018 and 27th January to 4th February 2019 – Freedombird in North West England
  8. Cumbria from 27th January to 5th April 2019 – Freedombird in Cumbria
  9. South Coast of Scotland from 5th April to 25th May 2019 – Freedombird on the South Coast of Scotland
  10. West Coast of Southern Scotland from 26th May to 17th July 2019 – Freedombird on the West Coast of Southern Scotland
  11. Edinburgh and surrounding area from 18th July to 30th July 2019 – Freedombird in Edinburgh and surrounding beaches
  12. East Coast of Southern Scotland from 28th July to 15th September 2019 – Freedombird on the East Coast of Southern Scotland
  13. North East England from 12th September to 20th November 2019 – Freedombird in the North East of England
  14. Yorkshire from 14th January to 22nd February 2020 – Fredombird in Yorkshire
  15. Lincolnshire from 23rd February to 13th March 2020 – Freedombird in Lincolnshire
  16. Norfolk and Suffolk from 15th to 24th March 2020 and 28th June to 18th July 2025 – Freedombird in Norfolk and Suffolk
  17. Inland England on various dates travelling through – Freedombird in inland England
  18. West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1 from 11th September to 14th October 2024 – Freedombird on the West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1
  19. North Coast of Scotland and the Orkneys from 15th to 27th October 2024 – Freedombird on the North Coast of Scotland and the Orkneys
  20. East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1 from 28th October to 15th November 2024 – Freedombird on the East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1
  21. In the Highlands of Scotland from 15th to 26th November 2024 and 10th to 21st June 2025 – Freedombird in the Highlands
  22. West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2 from 8th to 17th April and 31st May to 5th June 2025 – Freedombird on the West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2
  23. Outer Hebrides Part 1 from 22nd April to 12th May 2025 – Freedombird in the Outer Hebrides Part 1
  24. Outer Hebrides Part 2 from 10th May to 30th May 2025 – Freedombird in the Outer Hebrides Part 2
  25. East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2 from 15th to 18th June 2025 – Freedombird on the East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2
  26. North and West Coast of France from 11th September to 7th December 2025 – Freedombird on the North and West Coast of France
  27. Travelling down through the heart of Western Europe from 4th March to 27th April – Freedombird in Europe Spring 2026 Part 1
  28. Continuing our journey through Europe from 28th April to 8th June 2026 – Freedombird in Europe Spring 2026 Part 2
  29. South East Coast of England from June 9th to July 8th 2026 – Freedombird in South East England

Thursday 1st October 2026 – staying local and just being….

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Lovely hot day again, I say lovely as we have no plans and can just alternate between the cool shaded van / outside and wandering along the track to the dog friendly beach for refreshing dips in the sea – what is not to like?

I have also taken some time to do a bit of planning ahead and tried to decide exactly where I want to visit. This coastline has been trickier to access /find places to stay than the Ligurian Coastline from back in May, compounded by the extremely hot temperatures we are having. I have been looking at the Italian Aires (Sostas) to give me a few more options but have found them nearly all to be in unshaded areas which in this heat will be unbearable. As such I have also found that we have had some lengthy drives through not very interesting landscapes – so am feeling more focus is required. A plan always helps.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 0
  • Miles walked –
  • O/N – £18.75

Wednesday 30th September 2026 – a walk to Rochette and Roccamare….

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Today we opt to walk southwards along the cycle / footpath to take a closer look at the prominent Fort on the rocky headland that we can see along the far end of the beach. After about a mile we have to turn off the path and then cover another mile or so along the side of the road which isn’t very pleasant, though fortunately the road is not busy, to return to the coast. There actually isn’t any village here just a string of holiday parks which is a bit disappointing but Spiaggia di Rochette is a welcome sight….

Forte delle Rochette looks pretty impressive as we sit in the shade of some rocks at the waters edge to cool down….

Now that is what you call taking your work with you!!!! Strangely this stretch of coastline has been my first encounter with these beach traders in my travels around Europe. I cannot imagine how uncomfortable and soul destroying it must be just trudging up and down the beach all and everyday carrying your wares which must be heavy and most people don’t want….

Having not particularly enjoyed the walk here we opt to return via the beach which though tough walking and in the full sun is probably about half the distance….

About half way back on Spiaggia de Roccomare there are a number of bamboo roofed shelters (belonging to one of the holiday parks which is closed for the season) along the way for us to stop, sit, cool down and have a drink (as always I am armed with cold water for Tilly and a flask of coffee for me). We are in no rush….

A bit further along we have to leave the beach to cross a stream and that involves wandering through another deserted holiday parks which in the semi shade before rejoining the beach at Spiaggia Pineta di Roccomare….

Wow that was certainly a work out and a bit of recovery is required before taking a latish dip in the sea to complete our recovery before calling it a day.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 7
  • Beaches – 3
  • O/N – £18.75

Tuesday 29th September 2026 – a walk into the old town of Castiglione della Pescaia….

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As the sun is beating down and the beach is rather narrow with only soft sand to walk on, I opted for us to walk the couple of miles into Castiglione della Pescaia along the cycle / footpath. Not the most pleasant walk as the path is next to a fairly busy road but it was relatively shaded and cool. Once arriving in the town we took the first opportunity to join the wide promenade and walk the rest of the way to the old town along the seafront – a mix of private (paid) and open beach (Spiaggia di Sud Punta Capezzollo)….

As we approached the old town the overlooking Castello Araganse was dominating the skyline….

The promenade ended at the main Spiaggia Castiglione della Pescaia and from there we followed the river with its marina into the old town….

A pleasant town of old shabby chic buildings both residential and a mix of shops, bars and restaurants….

Unfortunately by this point the heat was beating us so we didn’t wander up to the castle, instead we found somewhere to sit in the shade and catch our breath before walking back to site the way we came, with the promise of a dip in the sea and an afternoon in the shade….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 7
  • Beaches – 2
  • O/N – £18.75

Monday 28th September 2026 – moving south to Castiglione della Pescaia via Castagneto di Carducci….

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Time to move a little further south, as there is not a lot here to keep us amused – apart from the sun, sand and sea! Fortunately my kindly German neighbours were around to help me manoeuvre out of my pitch without any further mishap and we were soon on our way.

We stopped briefly for a quick food shop and then meandered our way up to the hilltop village of Castagneto di Carducci for a walk around the old town, stopping to admire the lush Tuscan countryside on our way up….

We passed the old church perched on the side of the hilltop….

And meandered our way around the narrow cobbled streets adorned with potted plants and laundry drying from upper floors with teasing glimpses down to the lush greenery below…

The main street home to a few bars and restaurants bedecked with outside tables and umbrellas or far reaching views towards the distant sea (from whence we came)….

Even the rooftops have a certain shambolic charm….

After cooling down for a while in the shade of the van, with all the doors open to ventilate the van we left the hilltop village behind and headed back down to the coast joining the main SS1 coastal road south. This section of the coastal road is in fact mostly inland a bit and not that scenic, however within a couple of hours we arrived at Camping Maremma sans Souci, on the outskirts of Castiglione della Pescaia.

No guided tour by golf cart here, we were just handed a map and told to park up in the car park, wander around and choose a pitch (or indeed several as there were quite a few others wandering around with a map) and then report back once done – straight forward – not!

With it being a pine forest with a similar twisty turny layout as the previous site, many of the pitches appeared just too tricky to access (though to be fair some very capable manoeuvering had been deployed as the site was pretty chocca) or were very awkwardly sloped, this was no mean feat. I did however find a few that looked ok and reported back to reception only to be told that my first 2 choices had already gone and my 3rd & 4th were larger pitches for bigger vans, so number 5 it was! It then took over half an hour to get back out of the car park as there were vans abandoned all over the place and when I got to choice number 5 someone had parked in the opposite pitch making it impossible to get sufficient angle to reverse into the pitch!! Suffice to say we did get settled onto a pitch eventually but that is 2 hours of my life I’ll never see again….

Still on a positive note the pitch was right next to a lovely pine forest walk to the much quieter dog friendly bit of the beach – Spiaggia del Camping Maremma….

Todays stats:

  • Miles driven – 49
  • Miles walked – 7
  • Beaches – 1
  • Groceries – £37.28
  • O/N – £19.03

Wednesday 23rd through Sunday 27th September 2026 – a beautiful few days alternately enjoying the shade of the forest and the sunshine on the beach sea….

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The weather continues to influence this journey, or should I say, lack of. It is just too hot (being in the upper 20’s) and full sunshine for us to do much. Fortunately the almost total shade of the site is keeping the van and surrounding area nice and cool. During the night the temperatures are still kind and ideal until about 4 in the morning when suddenly I feel a chill and have to reach for a blanket to supplement the sheet I am sleeping with. The sunrise brings almost instant warmth.

We happily settle into a new routine of walking for an hour or so around 8am and then again around 6pm, usually along the beach in one direction or the other. We fill our days with further trips down to the beach for me to swim in the lovely refreshing sea, Tilly alternately chasing driftwood or pinecones and sitting in my shade and reading – well we are on holiday after all!!

Heading down to the beach a little later to catch the beautiful sunsets….

Tilly occasionally making a sit down protest in the distance if the waves are a little noisy….

This is the life….

Stats:

  • Miles driven – 0
  • Miles walked – 18 (total)
  • Beaches – 3
  • Groceries – £4.62
  • O/N – £99.12 (4 nights)