Cornwall in the back of a van
- hollie burke
- Oct 27, 2021
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 28, 2021
I have just gotten back from my very first trip in my campervan... AAAAH! This is honestly such exciting news for me, and I am so proud that I get to share it. I bought my little camper back in December, and although it isn't yet complete, it is mine and I have worked so hard on this project for the last few months (hence the quietness of posts etc). This project has been tough, and I did really start to second guess myself whilst in the process of converting it. All that self doubt went away after spending just a few days on the road in my baby and has proved that the hard work is all worth it. On this 5 day trip I visited 3 places along with a stop off for just 1 night and what an experience I have had, the places I will touch on are Bristol, St Ives, Porthtowan and Looe. Me and my bestie hopped in the van at around 6:30pm on a Friday eve, with a stack of CDs, a couple body boards and wetsuits and a blow up mattress in the back, we were ready for our first drive down the country.
Tips:
1. Transport- Cornwall is quite rural, and you could be driving an hour or so from destination to destination, it is pretty vital to have a vehicle. Obviously there are trains, however not all the places you will want to visit have a stop, so a car or van is definitely preferred.
2. Budgeting- There are so many amazing places to eat down here, I guarantee you'll want to eat out almost everyday because the options are endless, and at the very least you will definitely be wanting a Cornish Pasty. I spent an average £30-£40 a day on food and alcohol. (Beware, I talk about food A LOT in this post)
Stop 1
We wanted to get a good head start on the travelling, with us living in Cheshire it is a total of 7 hours drive to St Ives and so we wanted to get a good chunk done that evening so that it didn't eat into any of our holiday time. The drive to Bristol was plain sailing, arriving at around 9:30. Since it was such a quick stop over, we didn't want to fork out a load of money to get our heads down for just 8 hours to then leave first thing. We stayed in a pub carpark (The Plough) on the outskirts of Bristol. I found it on the amazing app 'park4night', which if you don't already have, you NEED to get! We paid £10 for the night, we weren't illegally wild camping and also had piece of mind that we were in a safe place.
Park4night:-
Stop 2
My favourite place, St Ives! I could go on about this place all day long, I'm not even kidding. In fact I probably haven't stopped speaking about it since I returned home. St Ives has this magical feel to it that I just cant explain, and I really wish I could have spent more time there. The cobbled streets with the small independent shops, combined with the modern restaurants selling incredible food and then on top of that so many amazing beaches that you stumble across whilst out exploring. We stayed in a campsite at the top of the hill, which over looks the beautiful Porthmeor beach, it even had a coastal walk that took you down to into the town.
Now lets get down to what matters, places to eat, just to name a few- Caffe Pasta, The Seafood Cafe, and my favourite, Talay Thai Kitchen. I think you can go anywhere to eat in this place and have a good meal, there's not one chain restaurant!
My favourite beach is by far Porthmeor, the waves are incredible for body boarding, Porthmeor Cafe do exquisite cakes and iced coffee to sip on whilst you sit on the sand, and if you're extra hungry, take a trip up the steps and have a sit in the cafe for a few tapas dishes and a Bellini. There's also a surf school on the beach, so if you like activity and adventure it's definitely worth signing up for.
If you want a smaller beach with a more chilled vibe, but still some waves, Porthgwidden is your place, and a great place to sit and eat a picnic on the table and benches they have on there.
Ayr Holiday Park:-
Talay Thai Kitchen:-
St Ives Surf School:-
Stop 3
Porthtowan is a tiny town right on the coast, its so quaint and honestly felt a little like a ghost town whilst walking around it. A few small cafes and one pub fill the one street that runs to the beach.There really isn't an awful lot going on round here, except for the sea. Me and Chloe went body boarding for a couple of hours and I can honestly say that the waves were INSANE. The buzz I get off being in the sea is incomparable, and we were having so much fun. To top things off, we even witnessed a seal less that 10 metres away from us swimming along in the waves. As the evening set in, and we dried off and warmed up whilst we sat and ate muscles at the Blue Bar. As the sun set, the beach got busier with dog walkers, and the sea was filled with surf boards. If I could choose a prefect moment, it would be this.
We stayed at the Ponderosa Campsite which was a short drive away from the beach. Its a family ran campsite who are all so friendly and its an absolute bargain to stay!
Just before we left, we went for one last wander around the town, discovering a little stream flowing from the town down through the sand and into the sea, it was so charming. We then found ourselves up the side of the cliff overlooking the coast, with a view of St Ives clearly in sight. Before we hit the road, we went back to the Blue Bar for a sausage sandwich and a latte.
The Ponderosa Campsite:-
Blue Bar
Stop 4
Our last stop was Looe, a small seaside town. There are so many little shops to mooch about in, and a pub on every corner (just how we like it). My only qualm my unfit self had with this little town, which isn't something that cannot be helped, were the hills in Looe! Oh my goodness, it definitely confirmed to both me and Chloe that we need re-visit a gym sometime soon because we were practically half dead by the time we got into the town. After a few drinks in pubs and some tasty cakes bought from Sarahs Pasty Shop, we happily made our way back to our amazing campsite! This campsite was truly one of a kind, partly a farm, it consisted of Shetland Ponies, and many cute collies around. We were showering and washing up in an old cowshed, and it was a surreal experience. But the thing that made it one of a kind, was the truly spectacular view! We washed down our burgers and nachos with some pink prosecco whilst talking and singing into the night.
Bay View Farm Campsite:-
Sarahs Pasty Shop:-
The 5 hour journey home really isn't interesting enough to document. All I can say is, its worth it for the trip I just had! If you have any questions, advice or if you have any tips for me next time I'm down there, please get in touch with me!
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