Staycation

Overheard in the van:

Chairman: "OK Google.... when do the clocks go back?"

Hay: "Last Saturday in October."

Chairman: "OK Google.... belay that, my wife gave me the answer."

We returned yesterday from a weekend away in the van to South Devon - Bigbury-on-Sea and Bantham, to be precise. We walked some of the South West Coast Path and I'm convinced that it's mainly women to perform the walk, as the worn path is so narrow that a man has to perform a mincing, catwalk walk, with one foot placed directly in front of the other, in order tread in the path. Walk with your feet slightly splayed out, or with a swaggering gait, and you're buggered.

We came across Challaborough (pictured below), which is a holiday village comprised entirely of expensive and not so expensive static caravans. You can buy them for anywhere between £50k and £72k, and very nice they are too. It struck me that these are a perfect answer to the housing crisis. They're inexpensive, yet very nicely appointed. Build a few villages comprising these statics near towns and I'm certain people would be queueing to buy them, or rent them. 

You purchase one of these caravans to be hosted at the site and, doubtless, there are all manner of restrictive covenants and additional, annual fees that make the site owner a fortune.

OK, they're a depreciating asset, but they are ideal for people who cannot afford, or ever will afford, to get on the traditional, bricks and mortar housing ladder. They're a bit like the old prefabs that were prevalent after WWII and people lived in right up to the 80s and longer. In fact, some in Southmead, Bristol, were demolished only as late as 2014.

While on the beach it struck me that I'm more fascinated by beach pebbles now than I was as a kid. As I get older, I appreciate the time it has taken to produce the perfect pebble.

We were walking along several narrow lanes, having to squash ourselves to the side of the road every now and again as cars wanted to pass us. Occasionally I wanted to shout; "Ow!" as a car passed us and then start jumping up and down as if in pain from the car tyre having passed over my foot. Hay sensibly stopped me. 

On one occasion we were walking along when Hay suddenly noticed a car behind us that must have been there a while. We hadn't heard it because it was electric. 

The place we stayed is a farm where the farmer has turned some of his land over to the hospitality industry. While he still performs some traditional farming, the hospitality sector must be bringing in far more cash than farming. Rather than farming vegetables and animals, he's now farming people, and who can blame him? 

With Covid and Climate Change putting the kybosh on international travel, staycations are becoming more prevalent and camping / caravanning are socially distanced forms of holidaying. While the UK is not self-sufficient in food today, it will only get worse unless farmers are paid subsidies that make it worthwhile to produce food.