We spent 10 days staying in a luxury caravan at Burnham-on-Sea Holiday Village, a Haven Holidays venue. The caravan was the largest we have stayed in, 14 x 40 ft, with double glazing and central heating. It had a lot of decking with patio table and chairs on the veranda. There was a dishwasher, washing machine/tumble drier, a fridge and freezer, combi microwave, toaster, 32" flat screen TV, DVD player and a remote controlled electric fire. The bedroom had a king size bed, flatscreen TV and en suite toilet with bath and shower. There was also a separate toilet and shower.
The site was very clean and tidy and there were 2 picturesque fishing lakes. There was an on site bar/restaurant, the Mash and Barrel and the Showbar with entertainment including live cabaret acts, 'blue coat' shows, disco dancing etc. There were indoor and outdoor pools and crazy golf, archery, football pitches, tennis courts, bike hire and much more.
The weather was excellent. We had 9 days of sunshine with blue cloudless skies. Temperatures were in the low 20's, exceptional weather for March.
When we arrived, I looked at the map for local attractions. There was Cheddar, Wedmore, Wooky Hole, Clarkes Village, Wells, Minehead, Exmoor, Lynton and Lynmouth, but we did none of them. The weather was so good, we just sat on the caravan veranda and relaxed, ate and drank and sunbathed. We walked and went for runs on the footpath beside the River Brue and explored Burnham. In the evenings we either ate in the Mash and Barrel, or cooked in the caravan. We did eat once in an Indian Restaurant in Burnham called the Chandni. Checking Trip Advisor for the Chandni, 8 of the 13 reviews were 5 star, so we had high hopes. My thoughts follow later.
As Burnham is so close to home, we had some visitors. On the Tuesday morning, Dave and Jan came to visit and we showed them around the site and the lakes and Burnham and had a coffee sat by the outdoor swimming pool. Christopher came to visit on the Thursday evening and we had a meal and drinks in the Mash and Barrel. Sam came to visit on Saturday afternoon and we showed him round and had a meal together.
It was a wonderful relaxing holiday. And just 35 miles from home.
When we got back home,we were still feeling in the holiday mood, so we went out for supper to the Three Brooks.
Here are some holiday photos.
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| Our Home for 9 Days |
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| The Kitchen |
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| Sport Relief Mile - Burnham |
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| The Lake |
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| Sue by the Lake |
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| Lunch al Fresco |
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| Winnie the Pooh Claw Machine |
This Claw Machine was in the amusement arcade in the Entertainment Complex by the Mash and Barrel bar/restaurant. It was full of Winnie the Pooh cuddly toys and Sue was determined to win one. Whenever the claw grabbed one of the bears, it would start to lift up and then the bear would drop out. Sue must have put about £10 into that machine at 20p a go without a single win.
When we got home, I had a look on eBay and found an almost identical Winnie the Pooh. There were no bids on it and the auction ended the following morning. I won it for a fraction of the £10 Sue had spent. It arrived in the post today (Thurs 5th April).more to follow.
Chandni Indian Restaurant - Burnham
We were greeted at the door of the Chandni and invited to sit at a table of our choice. It was a Monday evening and the restaurant was not busy. The interior decor was very modern and it looked as if it had recently been refurbished.
They had Kingfisher and Cobra on draft, so we both ordered Cobra (which is less fizzy) and poppadoms and pickle tray to start.
When eating out at an Indian restaurant, I always compare it to our favourite, the Taj Brasserie in Winterbourne. The Chandni pickle tray had four smallish dishes: onion salad, lime pickle, mango chutney and yougurt mint sauce. The Taj present you with six large size dishes: onion salad, lime pickle, mango chutney, yogurt mint sauce, coconut chutney and olives and I have not found better.
Sue ordered a salmon dish, with pilau rice and I opted for chicken tikka madras with pilau rice and a peshwari naan to share.
Sue's meal looked very impressive. I wish I had taken a photograph. There were two large salmon fillets covered with a curry sauce and the central feature was a whole onion carved to look like a flower. Sue said it was the best curry meal she had ever had.
My chicken tikka madras looked good. There was no sign of the usual oil you often get floating on the top of the curry sauce. The sauce had a very thick consistency and was about average heat for a madras. Indian restaurants make their base curry sauce from a puree of onion, ginger and garlic, spices, tomatoes, tomato puree and perhaps some other vegetables. The onions should be cooked slowly so that they become sweet and the raw taste is cooked out. Unfortunately, there was still a raw onion taste in this sauce, which spoilt it for me. Also, I found the chicken to be strange. Instead of the usual fibrous texture, this was more homogenous. Difficult to explain, but I have experienced chicken like this at other Indian establishments. Perhaps it could be due to the tikka marinating process. Sue had been very impressed with her meal, but sadly not so for me.
At the end of the meal, we were presented with a free glass of Baileys and mint chocolates which was a very nice touch. The service and attention we received was first class.
