I'm not a great fan of dogs wearing clothes, however, the problem with Cockapoos is that they are water babies and mud monsters! They are like magnets for puddles, ditches and pools of mud. In addition to that they don't dry very quickly so while other dogs dry and shake off the mud, the Cockapoos stay wet with the mud clinging to them!

In the current weather of rain, after rain, after more rain, it means baths after every walk, taking about an hour and a half. So, I took the decision to get the girls Equafleece suits to reduce the amount of bathing that would be required.

We were a little sceptical! We didn't really know how something that was made of fleece would keep them dry, but I am pleased to report that it absolutely does! 
 
Here they are carrying out the first product test of their new suits:

The only parts of them that needed a rinse were the bottoms of their legs, their tails and their heads - they do like to go head first into puddles! It has significantly reduced the amount of time that I have to spend cleaning them after walks making it quicker to get to the pub for my well earned drink!

Here is a link to the Equafleece website if you are interested in more information:

 http://www.equafleece.co.uk/store/index.html

We've just had our second adventure in Tubby at Langstone Manor Holiday Park near Tavistock, Devon.

We left home mid morning and decided to stop off for lunch on the way! We checked the faithful 'Doggie Pubs' website for a dog friendly venue near where we were and decided to go for the Prince of Wales am Ham Hill which said it was situated in a country park and had great reviews.

We followed the sat nav which took us up a very narrow lane and a fairly steep hill! It was a little scary with parked cars on the side but Ian did a marvellous job as always! It was very busy - I had forgotten that it was Sunday and was wondering why there were so many people about!

There is a large car park and several other parking areas for the country park. The pub is great - it is quite rustic but has a restaurant where no dogs are allowed and a busy bar where they are. Luckily the weather was quite nice so we were able to sit outside. It is a really popular spot for families and dog walkers! If we are in the area again we will definitely go back and hopefully have time for a nice walk as well! It's worth knowing that you can book tables in the bar as well as the restaurant!

We carried on down to Tavistock and arrived just as the sun was going downk. We checked in and found our pitch - it was really quiet! We plugged in, put the roof up and that was us set up. We stepped outside to take the dogs for a short walk and wow, what a view! A beautiful sunset over Dartmoor!

There were only another 3 caravans on the site and we subsequently found out that the whole site was due to close the following Thursday! Because of this none of their facilities were open and there are no pubs in easy walking distance! Thank goodness we were stocked with plenty of wine and beer, and food for our entire stay! The other drawback was that there was very little coverage for the MiFi so internet access was limited. It was going to be a good test of our ability to enjoy a self-sufficient trip in Tubby!

The following day we woke up to torrential rain - thankfully Tubby proved to be completely watertight! We went into Tavistock for a wonder round the shops and a coffee, and eventually the rain stopped! Late lunch at another dog friendly pub and then back to the campsite to get settled for the night!

We had a lovely time for our entire trip! It was great cooking in Tubby and watching programmes on the iPad and DVD's on the laptop! It's good to know that we can enjoy trips like this in the winter!

Here are links to the campsite we stayed at and the pub at Ham Hill:

http://www.princeofwaleshamhill.co.uk/

http://www.langstonemanor.co.uk/

We have just got back from our first adventure in Tubby and what a great time we have had!

We have found that there are several pubs around the UK that have campsites attached to them. This appeals to us greatly and we decided to book into one of these for our first trip - The Masons Arms, Lower Odcombe nr Yeovil.

We were so lucky to have chosen this place, it was just perfect for us! In 2005 the village of Lower Odcombe was going to lose its pub, but a lovely couple, Paula and Drew stepped in and took it over, transforming it into the friendly village hub that it is today! It has clearly become and well used venue for the locals and a destination for people from further afield. It was busy the whole time we were there!

The pub has rooms as well as the campsite. We were pitched on the hard standing as the field is understandably kept for the Spring/Summer and were the only ones camping at this time! The facilities for the campsite are communal but are newly renovated and very nice.

We did a mixture of eating in the pup and cooking in Tubby - it was great to have the option! The food in the pub was great - really good selection of different dishes and great portions! Not cheap but very good value! They grow their own vegetables and keep chickens, sourcing all of the other produce from local
suppliers. The also have their own micro brewery!

Naturally we got chatting about the dogs - Paula and Drew have their own dogs that live with them at the pub. We discovered that they were experienced agility competitors and actually had a field beside the campsite that is full of agility equipment where Paula still teaches the odd lesson! How did I miss that! I was given permission to use it and it was great to spend a bit of time with each of the girls there!

We will definitely go back to The Masons Arms and highly recommend it. Here is the link to their website:

http://www.masonsarmsodcombe.co.uk/

...and here is a selection of photos of our first trip away: