Cornwall is a hugely popular caravanning destination, and if you can venture off-piste, this beautiful region has even more charm, says Claudia Dowell
“ It’s all about the light,” said Richard Barnes, of Tehidy Holiday Park, the base for our stay in Cornwall. “It’s a very blue light reflected off the sea and the beach. The countryside and the light draw in the artists and what appeals to them, appeals to the people.” Richard was explaining why Cornwall has such enduring appeal.
It had certainly appealed to me. Temperatures there seemed to be averaging 5-10 degrees cooler than the hot summer the capital was experiencing at the time of our visit, and any thoughts of getting away from it all by air had been thwarted by reports of cancelled flights to an even hotter mainland Europe.
The sensible thing to do, I reasoned to myself, was to head south-west and bask in the cooling effects of a place surrounded by sea. A call to our regular Top 100 Sites finalist secured a pitch and soon, we were driving unhindered along the A303 – where was the traffic? – past Stonehenge, and coming to rest at a pleasant café and farm shop in Devon.
It was roughly halfway, and an ideal opportunity for my long-time friend and neighbour Diana and me to refuel and stretch our legs. A welcome cup of coffee later and we were motoring on, reaching Tehidy feeling comfortable and relaxed. It really had been an easy journey, perhaps because we were travelling midweek.
Tehidy is terraced and reminded me of a site I once stayed at in Champagne. I was towing a caravan then, too, and it was my first attempt at pitching up. I failed dismally, but I did learn the German for right (rechts) and left (links), as a kind German neighbour did his best to help me get onto the pitch. This time, it was easier!
Close, but not too close
Tehidy Holiday Park is set back from Cornwall’s north coast in a beautiful wooded valley, just three miles from Portreath beach and four from Porthtowan.
Both offer surfboard hire, so you can dip into coastal activities if you want to, but you don’t have to be among the hurly-burly – and there was a lot of the hurly-burly – if you’d rather not. Both beaches have parking and are great for family days out.
When we arrived at Tehidy, we were given a map of the local area, which highlighted Porthtowan beach as a hangout for surfers (maybe not for us) and having a great bar/restaurant (definitely for us). Richard was full of information about the local area and the site.
