Last week me and my family travelled to North Devon to spend a week camping by the picturesque coastline of Ilfracombe. Aside from the horrendous 8 hour car journey on the way down and the torrential rain for our first full day (we spent it playing games, eating/drinking and generally getting on each others nerves) it was a lovely, peaceful week with great weather.

I was apprehensive about what gluten free food would be available in the small coastline towns, but I was thankfully very surprised! Our campsite was in walking distance of an amazing pub called The Sawmill Inn, which I can confirm is blooming amazing for gluten free food! They were extremely aware of cross contamination and the menu was pretty extensive. The only downside was a disappointing ‘chicken burger’ which didn’t quite live up to its name, but more on that later…

Below are some of the meals I had out and about, as well as food we had around the campsite. I also consumed rather a lot of snacks during the holiday, but didn’t manage to take any photos! These were mainly Haribo, GF ginger nut biscuits, Green and Blacks dark mint chocolate, Schar Mini O’s and of course Devonshire ice-cream!

BREAKFAST

Breakfast was the only meal I could plan for when packing for camping and my essentials were;

– Deliciously Ella’s bircher muesli
– Homemade granola (from this recipe)
– Meridian coconut & peanut butter
– Genius gluten free toastie bread

Most mornings I had Deliciously Ella’s bircher muesli mixed with milk, then topped with my homemade granola and peanut butter. Not very pretty but definitely tasty! This muesli is so quick to make as the oats are milled into a fine flour, so you don’t have to soak them over night like normal bircher! Perfect for camping, so thanks Ella 😉

A fry up has to be mentioned as you can’t have a camping trip without it! Beans, scrambled eggs, Tesco own sausages which are naturally gluten free and a slice of Genius bread, yum! Luckily my fam don’t mind eating GF sausages etc so there was no cross-contamination worries.

There’s nothing better than a hot cup of tea when you wake up in the morning…or when it’s raining…or when you get back to the tent at night. Ok, so a cup of tea is good no matter what time of the day it is! My favourite tea is vanilla redbush/rooibos.

LUNCH

During a walk near the beautiful town of Lynmouth; we stopped off at Watersmeet House, which is a National Trust property. As you can imagine with National Trust, they had a good range of gluten free food, even in the middle of nowhere! I ordered what I thought was a simple jacket potato with beans & cheese, but was pleasantly surprised that the beans were homemade and probably the best beans I’ve ever had! Sorry Heinz…

A simple but tasty lunch – tuna mayo sandwich with a side salad and tortilla chips. Yum yum yum!

Now I couldn’t go to Devon without having a cream tea! We visited the picturesque town of Clovelly during our stay (pictured below) and I was so shocked to see a sign saying gluten free cream tea! I’ll admit it was still a bit dry and crumbly, but ladened with cream and jam it was superb – me and the wasps enjoyed it very much!

DINNER

One of my favourite days of the holiday was spent at the Eden Project (more photos will be at the bottom of this post if you’d like to have a look!) Around mid-afternoon we stopped off for a late lunch/earlier dinner in the mediterranean biome. This Spanish Paella with chorizo, chicken, prawns, mussels and langoustines was delicious!

Me pretending I was eating my Paella in Spain, rather than Cornwall…

This is my slightly disappointing ‘chicken burger’ which I mentioned at the beginning. I don’t think toasted bread can be called a bun, more like a fancy chicken sandwich! Either way it was still yummy, and when you’ve been out all day walking and sightseeing, any food is gratefully welcomed!

Hello ultimate chilli nachos! I’d had my eye on this dish since the beginning of the holiday and boy am I glad I ordered it! No words can describe how delicious this was. Just yum!

DESSERT

Following on the from the ginormous plate of nachos, I somehow managed to fit in this yummy chocolate brownie. Other then eating my body weight in snacks, this was the only dessert I had throughout the trip! It’s all about balance, right?

EDEN PROJECT

If you haven’t visited the Eden Project before, then this is a day out you need to take! The biomes are spectacular and there’s so much to see and learn around the whole park.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my Devonshire camping holiday. I’d love to hear about any gluten free holiday’s or staycations you’ve been on? Hopefully throughout the years they’ll be more gluten free options available for Coeliacs, even in the most remote areas. Fingers crossed!

Sophie x