Tour of Cornwall
Discussion
We've decided to hire a camper van for 7 nights in August with the intention of touring around Cornwall. I'm looking for suggestions on nice places to stay and potential routes?
It'll be me, my wife, and two children aged 12 and 9. We live in Winchester so the drive to Cornwall isn't too long but we cannot collect the van until midday so realistically won't be leaving till about 2pm. My wife and I are both from families that had caravans in the 80s, but neither of us have ever stayed in a camper van before. We've both driven Luton style vans but don't fancy having to reverse up a narrow coastal road. We've hired a Swift Escape 696.
Our basic plan is to head for the north coast and work our way anti-clockwise around Cornwall for the first 6 nights. The 7th night will be in (or near) the New Forest so we can get the camper van back to Andover by 10:30am.
I've placed a few stars on caravan club sites within Google maps that appear to be fairly sensibly spread out. The hope is that advice and recommendations can then tweak this plan.
All input welcome!
It'll be me, my wife, and two children aged 12 and 9. We live in Winchester so the drive to Cornwall isn't too long but we cannot collect the van until midday so realistically won't be leaving till about 2pm. My wife and I are both from families that had caravans in the 80s, but neither of us have ever stayed in a camper van before. We've both driven Luton style vans but don't fancy having to reverse up a narrow coastal road. We've hired a Swift Escape 696.
Our basic plan is to head for the north coast and work our way anti-clockwise around Cornwall for the first 6 nights. The 7th night will be in (or near) the New Forest so we can get the camper van back to Andover by 10:30am.
I've placed a few stars on caravan club sites within Google maps that appear to be fairly sensibly spread out. The hope is that advice and recommendations can then tweak this plan.
All input welcome!
Thanks for the help. One common theme is to do fewer stops, so with that in mind, some advice from above, and comments from my wife as to what she wants to do, we now have the following.
First stop for two nights somewhere near Illfracombe. Maybe Newberry Valley Touring and Camping Park as suggested above or an alternative within walking distance to Woolacombe beach, so possibly Woolacombe Sands Holiday Park as suggested by a neighbour.
Next couple of nights somewhere near Padstow. Berryfields Holiday Park or Higher Harlyn Park as suggested above or somewhere within walking distance of Padstow town centre. Closest I can find is Padstow Touring Park. We stayed near Rock several years ago in a cottage and the ferry broke down causing issues trying to get back.
This leaves us two nights along the south coast. Crealy would probably be popular with the kids but we did DisneyLand last year so they can do what we want this year
. Slapton Bay sounds nice, never been to the part south of Paignton. Start Bay Caravan Club Site is virtually on the beach.
First stop for two nights somewhere near Illfracombe. Maybe Newberry Valley Touring and Camping Park as suggested above or an alternative within walking distance to Woolacombe beach, so possibly Woolacombe Sands Holiday Park as suggested by a neighbour.
Next couple of nights somewhere near Padstow. Berryfields Holiday Park or Higher Harlyn Park as suggested above or somewhere within walking distance of Padstow town centre. Closest I can find is Padstow Touring Park. We stayed near Rock several years ago in a cottage and the ferry broke down causing issues trying to get back.
This leaves us two nights along the south coast. Crealy would probably be popular with the kids but we did DisneyLand last year so they can do what we want this year
. Slapton Bay sounds nice, never been to the part south of Paignton. Start Bay Caravan Club Site is virtually on the beach.
Mr Peel said:
I'd still regard that as a two-week itinerary. However what you've hired is very much a motorhome not a camper van, so I'm guessing you won't be faffing about with an awning every time you stop. That would make it easier to move on frequently.
Rapidly learning the correct terminology 
The four of us do 2 nights in a London hotel with one small rucksack. We travel light. Bed, Toilet, Shower, BBQ and small bag each is all we need.
Edited by alock on Wednesday 4th January 17:37
Thought I would provide an update for anyone finding this thread in the future.
We originally hired a 2016 model Swift Escape 696. A couple of months before our holiday we received an email informing us someone had written off the motorhome (something to do with a low bridge). They had a new 2017 model Swift Escape 695 arriving which we could have instead. This had our key requirement which was the bunk beds at the back so our kids had their own area always available.
The new model has a more streamlined body. Lower overall so no drop-down step for the side door as well as no over-cab bed. The front seats have been upgraded to revolving 'captains' chairs instead. The additional bed drops down from the roof over the dining area.
After collecting the van, I drove it home so we could pack. The noise almost defended me on the 15-minute journey and I started wondering whether this whole holiday was a big mistake. However, I soon figured out that someone had just left the metal grill pan in the oven. Stock picture, but something like this.
With all the metal parts stowed away, enthusiasm for the 3 hour drive to Woolacombe returned.
Woolacombe Sands Holiday Park (spot our van)
A perfectly acceptable holiday park. Good size pitch (I reserved hard-standing and electric hook up at all our locations). Quiet neighbours. Good shop. Tired, but just about acceptable shower block. OK pool which the kids loved although changing facilities could have been cleaned more regularly. At 5pm the pool was absolutely packed, but at 7pm it was deserted. They also had an amusement arcade and bar which attracted a certain style of visitor. Looking back now makes me wonder if this is the reason we couldn’t hear our neighbours. They were in the bar instead of on their pitch. A slightly longer walk to the beach than I was expecting.
Padstow Touring Park
A clear change in in the type of visitor. New cars and posh caravans everywhere. What I did notice was that more people stayed on their pitches in the evenings and several had music playing outside which I thought was rather anti-social. At least it didn’t go on late into the night and there was no shouting or loud voices to accompany the music. The shower block was a huge upgrade and felt like an expensive gym. Large cubicles and very clean. Drinking water taps near every pitch made filling our fresh water tank easier than all the other sites. I never went into this shop but family managed to buy everything we needed. They had third-party onsite food most days, and the day we were there was burrito day. The burrito was very nice
Walk into Padstow was shorter than I expected. This was also the only site with solid Vodafone 4g.
Slapton Sands Camping and Caravanning Club Site
Interesting journey to the site. The roads are very narrow and you are recommended to take a sizable detour to approach from the south. Roads from the north are apparently even worse. Our 8 year old TomTom sat-nav kept suggesting ridiculous routes with grass down the middle of the road. I had my phone in a dashboard vent just showing Google maps which worked better than sat-nav. Site felt cramped with pitches a little too close. Having a hard-standing pitch meant we were on the edge of the site and hence didn’t feel it as much as those on the grass pitches in the middle. We had a nice grassed area behind the van for a little privacy.
Green Hill Farm Camping & Caravan Park
This was the biggest surprise for me. I was expecting something a bit more rural. They make a big thing of their adult only areas which gave me the impression it would be a quiet, forest site. In reality we were next to their bar which had an outdoor quiz night with a loud PA system late into the night. Other than that, quality of facilities felt similar to the Woolacombe site, and the kids loved their zip-wire.
Overall we did about 560 miles and averaged about 26mpg. 2 and a bit tanks of diesel and £1.30 of LPG for the oven/grill.
We originally hired a 2016 model Swift Escape 696. A couple of months before our holiday we received an email informing us someone had written off the motorhome (something to do with a low bridge). They had a new 2017 model Swift Escape 695 arriving which we could have instead. This had our key requirement which was the bunk beds at the back so our kids had their own area always available.
The new model has a more streamlined body. Lower overall so no drop-down step for the side door as well as no over-cab bed. The front seats have been upgraded to revolving 'captains' chairs instead. The additional bed drops down from the roof over the dining area.
After collecting the van, I drove it home so we could pack. The noise almost defended me on the 15-minute journey and I started wondering whether this whole holiday was a big mistake. However, I soon figured out that someone had just left the metal grill pan in the oven. Stock picture, but something like this.
With all the metal parts stowed away, enthusiasm for the 3 hour drive to Woolacombe returned.
Woolacombe Sands Holiday Park (spot our van)
A perfectly acceptable holiday park. Good size pitch (I reserved hard-standing and electric hook up at all our locations). Quiet neighbours. Good shop. Tired, but just about acceptable shower block. OK pool which the kids loved although changing facilities could have been cleaned more regularly. At 5pm the pool was absolutely packed, but at 7pm it was deserted. They also had an amusement arcade and bar which attracted a certain style of visitor. Looking back now makes me wonder if this is the reason we couldn’t hear our neighbours. They were in the bar instead of on their pitch. A slightly longer walk to the beach than I was expecting.
Padstow Touring Park
A clear change in in the type of visitor. New cars and posh caravans everywhere. What I did notice was that more people stayed on their pitches in the evenings and several had music playing outside which I thought was rather anti-social. At least it didn’t go on late into the night and there was no shouting or loud voices to accompany the music. The shower block was a huge upgrade and felt like an expensive gym. Large cubicles and very clean. Drinking water taps near every pitch made filling our fresh water tank easier than all the other sites. I never went into this shop but family managed to buy everything we needed. They had third-party onsite food most days, and the day we were there was burrito day. The burrito was very nice
Walk into Padstow was shorter than I expected. This was also the only site with solid Vodafone 4g.
Slapton Sands Camping and Caravanning Club Site
Interesting journey to the site. The roads are very narrow and you are recommended to take a sizable detour to approach from the south. Roads from the north are apparently even worse. Our 8 year old TomTom sat-nav kept suggesting ridiculous routes with grass down the middle of the road. I had my phone in a dashboard vent just showing Google maps which worked better than sat-nav. Site felt cramped with pitches a little too close. Having a hard-standing pitch meant we were on the edge of the site and hence didn’t feel it as much as those on the grass pitches in the middle. We had a nice grassed area behind the van for a little privacy.
Green Hill Farm Camping & Caravan Park
This was the biggest surprise for me. I was expecting something a bit more rural. They make a big thing of their adult only areas which gave me the impression it would be a quiet, forest site. In reality we were next to their bar which had an outdoor quiz night with a loud PA system late into the night. Other than that, quality of facilities felt similar to the Woolacombe site, and the kids loved their zip-wire.
Overall we did about 560 miles and averaged about 26mpg. 2 and a bit tanks of diesel and £1.30 of LPG for the oven/grill.
Gassing Station | Tents, Caravans & Motorhomes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff