Nikki Bosworth experiences a sense of déjà vu
Planning a trip to Devon and Cornwall for this summer, I came across a scrapbook compiled on a previous campervan holiday to the southwest of England. In June 1983, I had set off on my first solo adventure ( following my divorce) in XRA 55L, a Volkswagen converted by Richard Holdsworth.
In those days, there was no need to book campsites ahead of the holiday. You just turned up at a site of your choice for that night, although I did experience the occasional site that refused to accept lone travellers (or even single-sex ‘groups’ of one).
My ‘bible’ on that trip was the AA Caravan and Camping Guide. In a campervan with no electric hook-up, water heater, toilet or fridge, I was looking for sites that offered facilities.
Keeping food items cool involved a cool bag and ice packs that needed to be refrozen every night. Campsites were charging between 10p and 30p for extras such as showers and ice pack freezing. In the days before mobile phones, I also wanted to stay on sites that felt safe and secure for a female on her own (except for my dog, Mali).
The chosen campsites were Riverside near Plymouth, Maen Valley near Falmouth, Sea Acres near Kennack Sands, Lower Polladras Farm near Carleen, Pengersick near Praa Sands, Polmanter Farm near St Ives, Parbola near Hayle and Leverton Place near Truro, most of which are still caravan sites today but some no longer have touring pitches and are run as holiday parks. I paid between £1.35 and £3.50 per night.
On my 2024 holiday, only one of these sites is on my itinerary. Riverside Caravan Park, on the outskirts of Plymouth (and within walking distance of a park and ride into the city), this time it will cost me £34 per night instead £2.50.
As my parents were also on holiday at the same time in 1983, I called in to see them on my way down to Cornwall. They were staying on what I think was a Caravan Club CL in woodland at Dundridge Lodge, Harberton, near Totnes, paying £1.50 per night.
In Plymouth, I took the opportunity for some evening entertainment (other than people-watching whilst I ate my evening meal). At the Drake Film Centre, for £2, I chose to watch Local Hero rather than Tootsie or Return of the Jedi and, with a ticket costing £5, the Theatre Royal was staging The Happiest Days of Your Life starring actor, Hugh Paddick, well-known from the radio
