Andrewshayes Caravan Park
Dalwood
Nr Axminster
East Devon
EX13 7DY

Tel: 01404 831 225

E-mail: info@andrewshayes.co.uk
Web site: www.andrewshayes.co.uk/

We found this site by accident. Having spent a very long day stuck in traffic travelling home from Cornwall we saw the sign for this site and pulled in. It is right on the A35 between Honiton and Axminster. (This does mean that there is some traffic noise) It is quite a large site with 2 touring fields, a rally field and static vans.

All pitches are on a slope so make sure you’ve got the chocks with you.

The facilities on this site are first class. The toilet block is brand new and definitely 5 star.

There is an outdoor pool overlooked by a licensed restaurant. It also has all the usual facilities like shop, launderette, gas sales etc. I seem to remember that there is also a games barn with pool tables.

We only stayed 1 night on this site but we were made to feel really welcome. We will be stopping there on our way to and from Cornwall again this year as it is so convenient. Although it is not in the usual area for touring Devon it is well worth a longer stay. The only draw backs are the sloping fields and the traffic noise (We may however have been over sensitive to this having just come from a site with no traffic noise at all).

Allyson Dovey. CLIC. June 2000

Barley Meadow This site is under new ownership. (see footnote)
Crockernwell
Devon
EX6 6NR

Tel: 01647 281 629

E-mail: welcome@barleymeadow.com
Web Site: barleymeadow.com

I stayed at Barley Meadow with 3 adults and 4 children on 2/8/03 - 4/8/03.

We arrived in two VW Camper vans which I believe was to the disgust of the owners. We are, and have been, experienced and frequent campers for many years and have never visited such a fussy camp site. We found the owners to be totally unsociable and lacting a friendly smile. Our children were very unwelcome in the small camp shop, which opened and closed whenerver it suited the owners. We found that we aggrivated the owners by giving the correct change for items purchased within the shop, our children were spending their pocket money in there for 2 days. Odd pieces of carpets were being sold for 50p however these were forbidden to be placed on the grass at any time as the children were advised. The attitude of the owners was not welcome and friendly and we decided to cut short our stay after 2 nights. We have never been treated in such an unpleasant way and will never recommend this site to anyone. It has now been re-named to Grumpy Meadow.

Claire Doolan. Internet. August 2003.

May 2006. Please be advised that this site in now under new ownership, and that they are appalled that campers could be treated as described above. I have suggested that they get one of their frequent customers to submit a more factual report

Bay View Farm Caravan and Camping Park
Croyde
North Devon
EX33 1PN

Tel: 01271 890 501

Web site: www.bayviewfarm.co.uk

Site visited: 2005

Bay View Farm is unusual in that although it is a pretty, quiet, uncommercialised site, it has the advantage that it is literally a 3 minute walk into picturesque Croyde with its narrow winding roads and thatched cottages

The village has 3 decent (popular) pubs, some quality restaurants, gift shops, ice cream parlours, surf shops and a post office. It’s great to be able to have a good meal, a couple of pints and then have a short walk back to the peaceful campsite.

Croyde is very popular with the young, especially surfers, as the beach is just a few minutes walk away through the sand dunes. The campsite itself only takes couples and families - no all male or all females groups.

Bayview has views over the sea to Lundy Island and there are footpaths that can take you into the hills and over to Saunton Sands.

The toilets and showers are quite curious in that they look a bit ramshackle from the outside but are in fact very nice inside.

All in all a great campsite (my sister and brother-in-law come here every year) especially if you’re into surfing and have a camper van (which they are and they have).

Archie. Internet. November 2008
For more reports like this, with photos go to www.archieundercanvas.com/index.html

Big Meadow Touring Park
Watermouth
Ilfracombe
Devon
EX34 9SJ

Tel: 01271 862 282

E-mail: bigmeadow@hotmail.co.uk
Web site: www.bigmeadow.co.uk

We have visited Big Meadow, in Ilfracombe.
It’s right next to Watermouth Cove, same side of the lane.
£5 a night for tents & motorhomes, £5.50 for caravans, (not charged by the person, which is nice) ;o) We had no electric, but a hook-up is £1.75 a night, dogs are 50p a night, boats free, awnings free. Extra car £1 and extra kiddies tent £1 (all per night).
A nice little touch on this site are the water taps...both hot & cald..:o)

There’s a licensed site shop selling food, newspapers, gas & bits...launderette, washing up facilities, toilets & showers with Shaver & hair dryer points.
There’s a great little activity ‘island’ for the kids, a childrens amusement room with pool table & tv, free tractor rides & toboggan in high season.
The prices only increase to £8.00 tents/motorhomes & £9.50 caravans in high season. You can camp on the lower fields next to the Sawmill pub alongside the road, or drive round to the top field on the clifftop with the sea views, like we did.

There’s a secluded beach nearby - secluded probably because you need to be unafraid of heights and rather nimble on your feet to reach it.....there are rather a lot of steps going down the cliff to the beach, many sections with no handrail, & I expect that deters a lot of folk. But that said, my kids fled up and down those steps like greased lightning, leaving me feeling incredibly old and useless!

Combe Martin is 5 mins away and Ilfracombe, Woolacombe etc only a few minutes. Anyway, there’s a website at www.bigmeadow.co.uk where you can see pics etc. Hope that helps, Christine. BTW, that said - if you like fishing, my brother just stayed on Mill Pond campsite over the road and closer to Combe Martin. It’s a lovely site, quiet (few children, so I won’t be taking my tribe to upset the balance!), licensed shop, 2 bars, etc etc....he paid £9 a night for his tent, gazebo & fishing on the site lake (caught a few nice carp, too) He goes several times a year and won’t go anywhere else, so it must be ok :o)

Terry Cooknell. CLIC. July 2004
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update from Terry April 2007

Car & Caravan: from £9.00 to £13.50. No charge for awnings.
Car & Tent: from £8.00 tp £12.00. - Pup Tent: (for under 16’s) £2.00. - Hiker: £4.00
Motorhome: from £7.50 to £11.50.
Electric hook Up: £2.00.
Extra Car: £2.00.
Dogs: 50p.
Prices based on 5 people. £2.00 extra per night per "extra person".

We visit the campsite at least twice yearly, and having visited only last summer (2006) are glad to report that there are no changes, the site is as clean and well organised and friendly as ever.
One very useful minor change is that the upper field (with sea views) is now divided into numbered pitches, so campers can pre-book their favourite spot.

We’re off to the site again in July, and will be sure to update for 2007.

NB....strictly speaking, the site is in Watermouth, a 2 minute stroll from Watermouth Harbour and its beach. Watermouth Castle is ten minutes walk down the road.
There are frequent bus services into Combe Martin, Ilfracombe and Barnstaple.

Browns Farm Caravan Park
Browns Farm
Village Road
Woodbury Salterton
Nr. Exteter
Devon
EX5 1PS

J. Dagworthy

Tel: 01395 232 895
Fax: 01395 233 127

Prices in 1999 were from £4.00 to £6.00 per night depending on season.

The site was very clean and tidy with a fairly new clean toilet shower block. In a room attached to the site owners house there was a fridge/freezer, washing machine, drier etc for site users and nearby a small basic games room with a payphone and lots of brochures for activities in the area.
Electric hook-ups were available and lots of taps around the site.

The site is open all year and storage is available. You can leave your ‘van in storage, just phone up and have it put on a pitch for when you arrive.

Dogs on leads were welcome on site and just a few yards up the road was a large doggie field where owners could let dogs have a run around and "do their business" without any problems.

The site was quite easy to find on the edge of the village, which had some interesting shops.
The local pub was not too friendly though, and the landlord a bit surly rude and unhelpful.

It was within easy driving distance of Sidmouth, Exmouth, and just 6 miles from Exeter.

The site owners were very friendly and helpful and a little mobile shop came around every day for papers, milk, eggs and everything else you could think of.

The site was nice and peaceful and very quiet at night.

Another site I would give several stars to and be happy to stay again.

Graham Pinder. CLIC. July 2000

Cofton Country Holidays--- Fishing site
Starcross
Dawlish
Devon
EX6 8RP

Tel: 08000 858 649
fax: 16268 91572

E-mail: Via the web site
www.coftonholidays.co.uk

We used Camping Cheques to find out about the site

Facilities:
New toilet / showers
Heated outdoor swimming pool
On site chip shop
Small supermarket (Sainsbury’s 5 mile away on Exeter outskirts)
Games room
Pub (The Swan) on site
Standard pub licence not a club so shuts at usual times site rules expect quiet within half an hour of pub closing.
Dog walk field
4 fishing lakes

Site first: View 1 View 2
Split into smaller fields - most sloping separate fields for electric (10 amp)and non-electric pitches small number of hard standings (extra charge) no super pitches
Toilet/shower/laundry/pot-washing block - fairly new building well up to Caravan Club standards in fact second smaller toilet block at other end of field too quite small but kept clean twice daily

We arrived Thursday afternoon and the site was still full from the previous bank holiday weekend but the site was very quiet at nights though when we left the site Monday it was 2/3rd empty.

The Pub was small but had a larger family room prices were not extortionate and they did serve food too but very basic ‘Pub Grub’

Didn’t use the pool as the weather was too cold and wet

Fishing: Part of the 4 lakes
There are three lakes divided into 4 pools
Supposedly has just been re-stocked. Lots of pictures about the site of fish that have been captured and a nice glossy brochure to show what the fishing is like!

The reality is the majority of the fish are very wary carp that are difficult to catch there are some silver fish that will ONLY come to maggot whilst there I only saw three fish landed and for the first time in a VERY long time I blanked because I did not use maggot

There is a list of bait bans that would cause some commercial fisheries to close (no groundbait no loose feeding no boiled baits) Understandably there is a Barbless hook policy and no keepnets too

The fishing is ONLY available to campers on site and from dawn until sunset

Costs:
For one rod £4 a day £20 a week
For two rods £5 a day £25 a week
Evenings (4pm onwards) £3 and £4
There is a discount for Senior citizens and under 14’s

Starcross is on the A379 and has a well served railway station on the Riviera line.
It is in easy cycling /walking distance to Dawlish Warren and Dawlish town and an easy car ride to the centre of Exeter

There are two really good pubs between the village and the campsite...The Ship and the Anchor
They both serve food the Anchor specialising in Seafood and I personally recommend the Shellfish (I had the shellfish selection for one[2lb of mussels 3/4lb shell on prawns langoustine mussels])

PERSONAL opinion:
We arrived on site to a pleasant staff who checked us in, showed us on a map which field to go to and left us to it to pick our own pitch (non of the pitches were numbered)
They showed us a little diagram on how they wanted us to pitch with the van at the left and the car on the right.

As I have already said most pitches are slightly sloping so need the wedge to level the van up.
The site was fine in the dry but not long after our arrival it started to rain and continued to do so for most of the weekend but not heavily for most part it was a steady drizzle.

By Monday morning the pitch had standing water and the ground was waterlogged, there did not seem to be much land drainage as everywhere was sludgy (a lovely red sludge too).

We decided at lunch not to stay and so left a night early and found that we were lucky having chosen a pitch next to the tarmac roadway as the van had sunk into the ground about 1 1/2 inches.

If the weather had been kinder to us this would have been a wonderful place with loads to do in the surrounding area From steam railways to shopping and of course the seaside and boat trips galore the weather really does need to be good as there is very little indoor entertainment

Graham Wilson. CLIC. June 2005

Chipley Mill CC CL
Bickington
Newton Abbot
Devon
TQ12 6JW

Tel: 01626 821 681

Information will be in the Caravan Club hand Book

A fantastic CL at Chipley Mill, Bickerton, near Newton Abbot.

The grass was so good you could walk barefoot, it was just like parking in a garden. Plenty of room and a lovely safe stream running along the rear amonst the trees.
There was a shower room very spacious although you had to buy 20p tokens for 10 minutes of hot water. I found it quite adequate.
Next to the field, but screened from view, is a playground where there are very upmarket garden frames, trampoline, and swings etc that are made by the owner. It acts as a good demonstration area as well as keeping children amused and away from the ’vans.

Sheila Mountifield. CLIC. August 2002

Damage Barton (CC affiliated) also CCC site--- Second report below
Mortehoe
Woolacombe
Devon
EX34 7EJ

Tel: 01271 870 502

E-mail: info@damagebarton.co.uk
Web site. Main: www.damagebarton.co.uk/
Web site C & CC: www.damagebarton.co.uk/c-andccs
Web site CC: www.damagebarton.co.uk/ccs

A typical Caravan Club and Camping and Caravanning Club Site. Yes it is both!
The grounds are neat and clean, the two toilet blocks are perfect but I would have liked more/closer water points and having to take your rubbish to the main gate is a bit of a pain.

The local area is very attractive and there are numerous walks along the coast and a couple of disused railway line cycle paths not far away.
If you go down into the village there are three pubs and a few restaurants. I though prices in the pubs a bit on the steepish side but that is probably because I am a vegetarian and I don’t like paying a lot of money for a plate of vegetables. You can walk from the site to the village by a footpath but I do not recommend it in the dark as one field or gate tends to look like another as we found out the hard way.

There is a good shop on the site which sells most things you will need to keep body and soul active and larger purchases can be made at Ilfracombe.
This site will suit most people with its well laid out pitches and spotless grounds but I found it a little sterile!

Colum Murphy. CLIC. October 2004

Damage Barton C & CC Site
Mortehoe
Woolacombe
North Devon
EX34 7EJ

Tel: 01271 870 502

E-mail: enquiries@damagebarton.co.uk
Web site: www.damagebarton.co.uk

Site visited: 2003

See price tariff for up to date prices

They say first impressions count, and it’s certainly true at Damage Barton. We arrived at about 10.30 in the morning after a five hour drive and were concerned we’d get short shrift after arriving too early. However, after asking about our journey, the owners, Mr and Mrs Lethbridge said we must be tired out and did we fancy a cup of tea! That’s the sort of welcome and customer service that costs very little, but is worth it’s weight in gold.

Damage Barton is a working beef and sheep farm situated between Woolacombe and Ifracombe on fairly level ground overlooking the sea. The site is very peaceful - no on-site restaurants or pub, not even a playground - but a large open play area and kite field. There’s a good on-site shop and as you’d expect from a Club site, the toilets and showers are great.

There’s lots of great walks from the site itself and the reception has lots of printed walk leaflets. We did one that went to the small coastal village of Lee where we stopped at a fantastic old pub for a couple of pints (it always makes the return journey seem shorter).

Cyclists are also well catered for. There’s an old railway line just outside the campsite entrance that’s been made into a cycle path. We cycled along it to Ilfracombe, which was a pretty easy ride as it was mainly downhill. The journey back however was a little more tortuous!

The nearby village of Mortehoe (1 1/2 miles) has a couple of pubs and restaurants and if you’re a surfer, Woolacombe is a few miles away. There are also many small coves and beaches within a short drive.

Archie. Internet. November 2008
For more reports like this, with photos go to www.archieundercanvas.com/index.html

Dornafield Farm--- Second report below
Two Mile Oak
Newton Abbott
South Devon
TQ12 6DD

Tel: 01803 812 732
Fax: 01803 812 032

E-mail: enquiries@dornafield.com
Web site: www.dornafield.com

Dornafield photos site: Site photos

Dornafield is a campsite that is very attractive, you will find the whole site has a ’green’ feel to it.
It is set within the boundry of a wooded area and is well away from any road noise.
The site has various pitches that offer different levels of equipment. Some pitches offer just electricity whilst others offer everything right up to chemical toilet disposal and cable TV.
There are gravel pitches and there are grass pitches. Personally speaking, we like the grass pitches in the Buttermeadow area of the site. In this area the caravan pitches are sited in a circular pattern, with a very friendly appearence. In the Blackrock part of the site, the pitches are set out side by side in the traditional form, and are mostly gravel bases. The Blackrock area has a very new toilet and shower block, whilst the Buttermeadow area has a fairly new block, but still very clean and tidy.

The site does cater for disabled persons, I have seen disabled facilities certainly in the Buttermeadow part of the site.
The Orchard part of the site does have hook-ups, but in the main is used tents.

The site owners make you very welcome and are very flexible with you should you need to make changes to your bookings. We have stayed at Dornafield numerous times since early 2002. We have no reason the find another place to stay when we go to Devon now. One downside for some... There is no clubhouse, for others this is a bonus of course. But in any event, there is a local inn just a stroll down the lane which only takes a few minutes.

We have a Dornafield photograph website that might interest readers of this web review. The owners of Dornafield are aware of this web site and have passed positive comments about its content.

John Carver. Internet. May 2003

Dornafield Caravan Site
Two Mile Oak
Newton Abbot
South Devon
TQ12 6DD

Tel: 01803 812 732
Fax: 01803 812 032

E-mail: enquiries@dornafield.com
Web site: www.dornafield.com

Dornafield photos site Site photos

Directions:
From Newton Abbot take the A381 towards Totnes. On the right in 2 miles is a pub called The Two Mile Oak, turn right here and the site is signed.

This site is a member of The Best of British camping chain and if this is the standard of their sites then they will be quite superb. It is also managed under contract for The Caravan Club and members recieve a £1 reduction of pitch fees per night.
There are three price bands, low, value and high season. Prices range from £10.50 to £17 per night for 2 adults ’van and electric, awnings .50p/1.00p These prices are not expensive when you see the facilities.

The site is situated about half a mile from the main road, care is required as it is narrow. However don’t let this put you off because of its location it is totally quiet with no road noise whatsoever. The only noise on a night is the resident tawny owl.
As you approach the entrance you will realise the site is run to high standards. Entering between stonebuilt walls you are greeted by the owners 16th century farmhouse which leads you into the reception area, a courtyard which is very tastefully made up of old farm buildings. The whole courtyard was still awash with colour from the flowers and this was late September.
Here you will find the site office, shop (which was very well stocked nearing the end of the season) and childrens room.
Children are well catered for here with pool table, darts, table football, table tennis and slot machines. This was tastefully done out, all equipement being in good condition. This would obviously be used as a meeting point when the site is busy. Also an information centre which is superbly stocked. This also acts as a small environmental centre which the owner is actively involved in having recieved various David Bellamy awards. All these facilities are well away from the pitching areas so would not pose a problem with noise.

There are three pitching areas, The Orchard, which is used for tents, is slightly sloping and has 6 electric points. It also has direct access to one of the shower blocks in the caravan area.
Down a short internal lane you come to the two caravan areas. The first, Buttermeadow, is the older of the two and is mainly grass with ten hard standings. Plans were to add more during the closed season. The pitches here are either slightly sloping or flat. Each pitch has its own water tap, electric point, drain and Satellite ariel socket (cables can be hired) This field also houses a childrens play area, well screened and a full sized tennis court.

The toilet block is large and modern with separate areas for the showers. It also has a full size disabled washroom. The showers here are some of the biggest I’ve seen and are to a very high standard all have separate drying areas so no wet clothes.
Laundry and undercover washing up room with a microwave would you believe, are situated next to the showers.

The second pitching area is called Blackrock Copse and is relatively new.
Here you will find all superpitches, all hardstanding and level. Each has the same services as mentioned before but also have individual dustbins and elsan emptying points, sheer luxury.
The shower block here is new and built to hotel standards. It even has warm underheated tiled flooring thoroughout and even babies are catered for with their own washroom.
Pitching in this area, as you might expect carries a premium rate.

I can only discribe this site as superb. If you are used to the high standards of CC sites then this goes one better.
The site is centrally located for touring southern Devon. Dartmoor is within very easy reach as is the coast of The English Riviera. Exeter and Plymouth are just a short drive away.

A truly superb site, highly recommended.

Harry Burrows. CLIC. October 2004

Galmpton Touring Park
Greenway Road
Galmpton
Brixham
Devon
TQ5 0EP

Tel: 01803 842 066

E-mail: enquiries@galmptontouringpark.co.uk
Web site: www.galmptontouringpark.co.uk/

The entrance to Galmpton--- The view from top of site--- The view

Owners. Alan & Susan Hopkins
Wardens. John & Eileen Lambert

I am delighted to report that we had just spent a week on this site.

Lyn and I had left it a bit late booking this year, what with one thing and another. The weather hadn’t been too good either.
We had tried to book at a couple of sites beforehand, without any luck, they were full up for the period we wanted.

The brochure showed views looking down over the River Dart. That is exactly what you see from all over the site. From early morning to late evening, high and low tide, you get to see the river in all it’s moods.

Finding the site was easy, the instructions were good.

We arrived mid morning on the Saturday, their busiest time, and only had a short wait to be pitched by John Lambert, who waited until he was sure that we were going to be OK, he then had to rush off to see to the next outfit.

All pitches on this site are slopping. I had made the mistake of using our ’lock & level’ wheel clamp, hoping that it would rise one side to level us off. I had to take it all off again to use a large plastic wedge onto which I pulled the caravan.

When we booked our stay, we were offered either standard or super pitch. We opted for the std. We took a look at the super pitches while we were there and both agreed that the view was better on the back row

We were pitched on 61, which, as I said, was on the top back row. We felt that this row and what the warden referred to as the ’terrace’ were the best pitches for touring caravans. We had a bit of a walk to the toilet/shower block, but with the terrific views, and the chance to chat to other campers, we didn’t mind. (this walk only took 1 minute !!)

Touring caravans and tents had their own areas. The tented area was nearer the toilet/shower block as were a lot of caravans on the lower tiers. The owners had said that they were going to do some work on the tented area to make them more level, but that will not be until next season at the earliest. They still have their own high standards to maintain and will attend to improvements as and when they can

There was a children’s play area with swings, slide, see saw ect. This was in sight of all the site with the exception of some of the tents area.
Behind us, at the top of the site, there was a parking/early arrivals area. It was large enough to swing round a car and caravan.

We found the site shop most useful (you always forget something !!). It catered for the most immediate things we all tend to run out of. Newspapers were there every morning, with no need to order them. Fresh bread was available to order. Sliced loaves were on the shelf. For the main shopping there was a Sainsbury’s about 3 miles away and if you didn’t want to cook, a fish & chip place was about three minutes away (by car)

The toilet/shower block was good. The men’s bit had 7 ’sit-downs’ 3 ’stand-ups’ 5 showers 10 hand basins and 1 hair dryer. The ladies boasted 16 cubicles 5 showers 8 hand basins and 3 hair dryers. All the showers delivered a good supply of hot water on a timed basis, so it was necessary to gauge when it was about to switch off and press the knob again. All the showers were free. I only had one little complaint with the showers and that was when you were drying yourself, you got splashed by the shower next door, due to the gap at the bottom of the dividing partitions. I also found that the lack of a seat in the shower cubicle made dressing difficult, especially during the busy times, when the shower floors were wet.

That little complaint aside, we found the site to be clean, tidy and well run. All the grass was mown as soon as an outfit vacated it’s pitch. The staff were all helpful and courteous, they were always ready to chat, even though they had heaps to do.

We rate this site as one of the top three we have been to and look forward to a return visit.
Well done Alan and Susan.

Ian SL. CLIC. May 1999

Added March 2001.
Open: Easter to end of September.
Facilities: 60 10a pitches (20 all-service); 60 tent pitches; 10 hot showers

Goonreve Farm CC CL
St Guvias
Penryn
Devon
TR10 9DU

Tel: 01872 863 039

Details are in the Caravan Club book

We travelled to a CL at Falmouth, actually near Penryn. It was a pleasant field with a shower room, with toilet and basin. Really clean and plenty of unlimited hot water in a roomy tiled shower.

All our 3 kids and 2 grandkids were down in Falmouth for their holidays, so we spent time together and even chartered a Swan 38 for a day. The nine of us explored the Carrick Rodes and sailed out and along the Helford river.... a superb 11 hour day in glorious sunshine.

On our last morning a caravan arrived at the CL, and although there was plenty of space around, they parked within 6 feet of our ’van ! If the awning had still been erected they wouldn’t have been able to get in. We couldn’t understand that..... surely the beauty of CLs is that we are not on top of each other !

Sheila Mountifield. CLIC. August 2002

Hidden Valley Caravan Site--- Second report below
West Down
Ilfracoombe
Devon
EX34 8NU

Tel: 01271 813 837
Fax: 01271 814 041

E-mail: relax@hiddenvalleypark.com
Web site: www.hiddenvalleypark.com/

’Our’ pitch on the back row --- The pond with the restaurant beyond

Lyn and I picked this site out of one of our Caravan magazines. It had received glowing reports like, A delightful site, full of hidden suprises and The best site in North Devon. Lyn and I wonder if the writers actually go to the sites they write about or do they rely on the site owners to supply what they hope will be a factual report

This is not a good site if you don’t like being hemmed in or suffer from claustrophobia. The whole of the hard standing part of the park is boxed in by high banks (like 30-40ft high), trees & bushes and the stream. If you are used to the meadow environment, then this part of the site is not for you.

The "hard standings" are no more than light, ash like gravel which walked into the ’van on the bottom of your shoes, we could have lived with that but the things weren’t level at all meaning you still had to block one wheel, in our case by 4". Neither are the standings spacious, if you are not first class at reversing and I think that most caravanners would admit that they are not, you will find placing the ’van a bit daunting as most pitches couldn’t boast more than 30’ from front to back of the pitch including the perimeter road, a bit on the tight side.

It’s not all bad news as far as this site is concerned, it has some redeeming features as well. The restaurant is delightful, the outlook over the central pond is nice and soothing, the food is first class, plentiful and cheap, Lyn and I had all our evening meals there and enjoyed every one. The pond has it’s resident family of ducks who ascend the 20 or so steps up from the pond and down again every evening.

Had we known what the tiered section of the park was like, we may well have opted to stay on Kingfisher Meadow instead, it being the more traditional layout most with electric hook up.

04/02/96

Ian SL. CLIC. May 1999

Added March 2001.
Open: Mid March to early November.
Facilities: 134 pitches (with TV hook-up); 74 hardstandings; 123 16a hook-ups; 16 hot showers; Family washroom.

Hidden Valley Caravan Site--- Third report below
West Down
Ilfracoombe
Devon
EX34 8NU

Tel: 01271 813 837
Fax: 01271 814 041

E-mail: relax@hiddenvalleypark.com
Web site: www.hiddenvalleypark.com/

Visited this site as part of a rally September 2006.
Some of the hardstanding pitches were not very long and people ended up somewhat squeezed in. They are very particular about nothing extending beyond the hardstanding onto the grass and on some of the pitches I can’t see how you would manage this with a sizeable caravan, awning and car.
Phone and TV signals were very variable depending on where you were on site.

Plentiful water points. Facilities were clean and in good working order. I gather they have had some shower problems as there were notices saying if they weren’t working properly use the disabled ones, but they were fine when we were there.

Probably wouldn’t bother visiting again, not because it was a bad site, it wasn’t, but being in a valley with lots of trees, we didn’t see a great deal of the sun.

You need to get tokens from the shop to use the laundry facilities. Shop sold basics in the food line including some frozen stuff. Also touristy stuff.
The shop/reception and showers were uphill from where we were pitched and for elderly or disabled members of the party this was a problem - car was needed to get to the shop.

We didn’t try the meals on site, but other members of our party who did were not particularly impressed.

Myra Sears. CLIC. February 2007

Hidden Valley Caravan Site
West Down
Ilfracoombe
Devon
EX34 8NU

Tel: 01271 813 837
Fax: 01271 814 041

E-mail: relax@hiddenvalleypark.com
Web site: www.hiddenvalleypark.com/

Site visited June 2006

Set in a secluded valley some pitches are quite awkward especially for larger units. This site has a bar/restaurant which was closed while we were there (June 2006) but with a terrace outside overlooking the lake it could be a nice ’rendezvous’.

The toilet blocks did not meet our exacting standards, although we understand they were being renovated.
There is a play area and the area offers good walking, but overall did not justify the high prices.

James Russle. Dunc n Dots caravan travels. March 2007

Higherlands Farm CC CL--- Second report below
Bulstone
Branscombe
Sidmouth
Devon
EX12 3BL

TEL: 01297 680 259

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas

Caravan Club CL

Open: April to October (2001)

April/May £5 per night, £2 electric, 50p Awning, 50p Groundsheet

This is a beautiful CL, situated deep in the rolling Blackdown Hills.
Approached from the A3052 Exeter to Lyme Regis Road, there are a couple of interestingly steep climbs to negotiate and the main road to the site is virtually single track in places and there is one steep but short slope to contend with. The farm entrance is at the end of the small hamlet almost at the point where you think you must have missed it! In fact we were so convinced we ended up driving straight by the entrance, noticing it only at the last moment and ended up driving a further two miles to find somewhere to turn around!!!!

The site is well worth the journey. Situated 157m high and only 1.5 km in from the coast the sea is visible between the hills, it’s elevated position means that television and mobile phone coverage is excellent. The site is part of 3 acres and has two flush toilets, and a shower ( 20p for 5 1/2 mins). The husband said the shower was roomy but that the 5 mins went very quickly and when the money runs out the water doesn’t stop it just stops being hot!!!!! (I told him it would wake him up but he wasn’t convinced.)

The pitches are all situated along one fence and are very spacious and relatively flat and there is a huge expanse of sloping field ideal for kite flying.

A very peaceful site, well away from any main roads.

We tried to book for the spring bank holiday week but they are already fully booked and I’m not surprised, definitely one to visit again.

Tamasine Woods. CLIC. May 2001

Higherlands Farm. CC CL
Bulstone
Branscombe
Sidmouth
Devon
EX12 3BL

Tel 01297 680259

The site at Higherland Farm was very interesting....the report from Tamasine Woods, was just about spot on...
....However, when we arrived there was the forecast that Hurricane Gordon was about to swing his tail across our area, so we were advised by the owner to pitch on the airfield as it was more sheltered.
This we did, and as we, (sorry, John), had just finished erecting the awning, the ‘manager’ came to see us in and we had to pay up front. This is fine except that instead of the £6.50 + 50p for the awning, it was £9.50 per night. In the summer season it goes up to £11 + 50p, and in October £8 +50.

At first we didn’t feel happy about it, but after a few days we realised that with the excellent facilities and situation, it was well worth it. The whole place was very smart, and well maintained with all the buildings and hangers painted dark green and white.

There are two parts to the washing facilities. One has two cubicles and a shower, with hand basin. The other has one cubicle and a shower plus two washer dryers and a large sink and draining board. All of these were spotless, but the shower was expensive at 50p for under 5 minutes, and the washers were £2, which is normal, I think.

Both the CL field and the airfield sites face south, with no pitches opposite you. The CL field has distant views of the sea over the countryside with no buildings in sight. The airfield sites face a tall hedge hiding the CL pitches, and is far enough back to allow the small aircraft to taxi along to the take-off area. in front of the caravans. This was great as we chatted to the pilots and the owners of the aircraft using the hangers there. Yesterday there was a Tiger-Moth wheeled out and we chatted and had a history of the craft which had been built in 1944 by Morris Motors! It was due to be flown this week, and we were leaving! Drat!

I have always been mad about aeroplanes. (The most exciting thing I have ever done is take the controls of a Cesna for 200 miles across the Canadian Rockies)

Anyway, we stay there for 2 weeks, and loved the area, so we will definitely be going back. Hurricanes apart, we will take the seaview next time.

Sheila Mountifield. CLIC. October 2006

Higher Well Farm & Holiday Park
Stoke Gabriel
Totnes
Devon
TQ9 6RN

Tel: 01803 782 289

Web site: www.higherwellfarmholidaypark.co.uk/

John & Liz Ball

Cost about £15 for 2 of us for 2 nights inc electric

If you are looking for a quiet family site, then this is one for you !

The site is signposted off of the Torquay ring road, a couple of miles down a winding, narrow, hilly country lane, but no problem to the average caravan driver.

The site is quite large, split into several small fields, one with static vans.

The pitches are fairly well spaced with enough room for caravan, awning, boat, car and sunloungers.

It is a beautifully clean site with short frequently mown grass, which got trodden into the van. I suppose some sort of doormat would have helped, must put it on my shopping list.

The toilet and shower block was oldish, but in good condition and clean, with plenty of free hot water, and a hair drier, lit at night, but with no other lights on the site remember to take a torch !

A few yards away in the next field there was a laundry room with ironing boards, but no irons.

There were several taps with drains, rubbish bins and tarmacked roads around the site.

There is a small shop on site, but only open some hours, and happy to arrange morning papers. It is a mile or so to the village shops, but only about 10 - 15 mins drive from Paington, Torquay, Brixham, or Totnes.

There was no club room or entertainment on site, no playground and being well off the main road, no traffic either, it was wonderfully quiet at night. As it was so close to the sea and towns the lack of facilities for children would not matter, except for lazy parents, but did help to keep it quiet.

Dogs on leads were allowed, but owners were obviously expected to clean up any mess especially as there were quite a few children around.

Overall, I think I would give the site several stars and be quite happy to return again.

Graham Pinder. CLIC. July 2000

-------------------------------
13-18 July 2001

The owners John & Elizabeth Ball, have built a new five star toilet and shower block for the touring part of the site - no slot meters for anything! For the creased, irons are available on loan from the office.

The 18 static vans were not visible from the touring section (80 pitches) The view was great - of fields and trees, some outlined on the skyline. Beautiful!

The village of Stoke Gabriel is worth a visit. Parking on the bank of the River Dart visit the ancient church, village shops and teashop! Dartmoor easily accessible from here as well as the delights of the coast - don’t miss Berry Head.

Up-date from Pat Worsfold. CLIC. September 2001.

Hillhead Holiday Camp--- Second report below--- Fishing site
Brixham
Devon
TQ5 0HH

Tel: Office 01803 842 336
Tel: Site 01803 853 204

Web site: http://www.oakwood-village.com/..

I have just spent a week on this site for the third year running, so it must have its attractions! The camp will send you a nice glossy colour brochure on request, so I’ll quote heavily from the brochure and add my comments where I think they are relevant.

The site is easy to find if you follow the instructions on the back of the brochure. From Newton Abbott you follow the A380 towards Brixham via the Torbay ring road. At the end you turn right onto the A3022 towards Brixham, turning right onto the A379 Kingswear Road after 8 miles, and then left onto the B3205 where the camp is ¼ mile along on the left. The reception office is open from 8am - 8pm daily.

The site is set in twenty acres of camping and playing fields with panoramic views of Mansands Bay, the English Channel and the South Devon countryside, and has been running for over 25 years. Facing south, the playing fields overlook the whole of Torbay. The site has been extensively terraced with shrubs planted to divide the camp into many small sections and individual pitches. The site does slope downwards once one is away from the main section of the camp, but they have terraced each pitch as level as possible even in the bottom sections. The larger and flatter pitches are closer to the main facilities and seem to be reserved for ’vans and motorhomes. You may well find that you are further away from the clubhouse, shower blocks, etc, if you are tenting. All communicating paths and roadways within the camp are metalled, and the land seems very well drained even in very heavy rain. A word of warning - make sure that any guy pegs you use are strong - rocky ground is only a few inches below the surface, and the wind can be quite strong. Grass is mown as soon as a pitch is vacated.

There are two separate toilet/shower blocks on the site, with free hot water 24-hours a day during the season supplied on a timed basis via push-button. I still can’t work out how the water is heated, maybe a combination of solar panels and electricity, but the temperature can be very variable from day to day! And watch out for water on the flag-stoned floors - bruised bottoms could be the least of your problems! There is also a laundry/launderette room with coin-operated washers (two £1 coins), dryers (20p coins) and irons (20p coins), and this is open all day.

Within the clubhouse complex there is a fully stocked shop/off-licence which is open from early morning (8.15) till late evening (7 normally & 8.45 during school holidays). I found that you can get most food, newspapers and camping items there, including recharged replacement gas bottles, maybe slightly more expensive than supermarkets but very handy. If you fancy someone else doing the cooking for a change, then there is the café which is open from 9am - 1.30pm and 7pm - 10.30pm daily for hot and cold meals, snacks and takeaways. There is a fully licenced bar which is open from 7pm daily, plus Saturday and Sunday lunchtimes during the main season. Prices are comparable to normal southern pubs. The clubroom has a varied weekly programme in the evenings, including dancing and cabaret acts - no entrance fee. There is also a television room, an amusement arcade for the children, and a heated open-air swimming pool. Only one niggle - the children’s amusements and the bar are very close to each other which can sometimes cause "problems".

I don’t know how the prices compare with other parts of the UK, but I’ve found them favourable against other south coast sites:

There are two routes from the camp to Brixham, both about 15 minutes drive, one of which is downhill all the way, narrow and winding, and not suitable for towing. Parking can get expensive - anything over 3 hours costing £6 during the day. Brixham doesn’t have as much to offer as its bigger sisters of Torquay and Paignton. It is quainter with some nice restaurants and pubs and banking services, but there’s not much in the way of beaches. However, my main reason for staying near Brixham is its good selection of professional skippers and sea-fishing charter boats - get out and catch conger and bass!

Colin Smith. CLIC. August 1999 (20th)

Hillhead Holiday Camp--- Fishing site
Brixham
Devon
TQ5 0HH

Tel: Office 01803 842 336
Tel: Site 01803 853 204

Web site: http://www.oakwood-village.com/..

We have Just got back from Hillhead, had a great time.

The old report is still valid but a few changes have been made. There are 2 new toilet/shower/laundry blocks which are absolutley super with as much hot water as you want all the time. Blocks are heated so a pleasure to use. New bar, restaurant, games, shop block. Bar is the entertainment area and will be very crowded in the summer. Restaurant was fine if a touch expensive.

Staff made us welcome and our son thought the skatepark and castle adventure play area was great. Football area and dog walk were useful too. Plenty of families to chat to.
This site is a great one to visit but expect to use your car as it is out of town.

J Evans. Internet. April 2005

The Camping & Caravanning Club Site--- A second report
Lydford.
Nr. Oakhampton
Devon
EX20 4BE

Tel: 01822 820 275 (no calls after 8.00pm)

Map Ref. 191/512853
About halfway between Oakhampton and Tavistock.

Our first time on this site but, it won’t be our last.

It is open to most of the prevailing winds, in spite of various trees and hedges and awnings should be securely guyed down if the weather is rough. It is reasonably level, at least in the main area, so little or no adjustment to the van level is needed.

The Wardens (Keith and Jean) are very helpful and they have a small shop in reception with most essentials, as there is no shop in the village of Lydford. There is a pub though. The Castle Inn which does fabulous meals. We had Sunday lunch there and the choice was brilliant.

The actual Castle (which is not a castle, but an old courthouse and jail with earth mounded up to make it look like a Baillie and Mott) is worth a visit. It’s next door to the pub.

The most famous feature of Lydford is, of course, it’s Gorge. This is a *must*, but take a stout pair of boots if you intend walking the full trail round the Gorge. It is about 3 miles in total, but the return path is quite exciting and totally unsuitable for people who have any walking disability or who are of a nervous disposition. There are short walks at each end for those unable to do the full 3 miles.

White Lady Falls at the far end of the Gorge are very spectacular, but the Devil’s Cauldron at the main entrance end is breathtaking and definitely not for the timid!!! When busy the queue for the Cauldron can take up to an hour!

There are plenty of local walks near the camp site and of course Dartmoor is very near for those who enjoy the more strenuous type of exercise.

Lydford site is going down in our book as one of our favourites.

The toilets and showers on the site are spotless and the water very hot

Don Lowndes. CLIC. May 1999

Legge Farm Coarse Fishery--- Fishing site
Church Road
Highampton
Devon
EX21-5LF

Tel: 01409 231 464

Campsite Review

A certified site with the camping and caravanning club (members only).
A new toilet block has been built with showers and toilets. Some hardstanding and plenty of ehu.
Owners on site with two small cottages to let.
There are no shops nearby.

Fishing

Five well stocked lakes in a woodland setting.
Carp to 21lb ghosties to 10lb grass carp to 11lb tench to 3lb.
Fishing 7am till dusk £5 a day under 16 £3 OAP, disabled and after 4pm £3.50.
Keep nets allowed in winter, barbless hooks only

Reviewed By John P. Via Madcaravanner. 2008

Lydford C & C C Site--- An up-date
Lydford
Nr Okehampton
Devon
EX20 4BE

Tel: 01822 820 275 (no calls after 8.00pm)

Some images of Lydford:
Motorhome service point -- Facilities block -- The bottom field -- The top field

• 70 pitches
• Open 30 March to 30 October 2006
• Age concession all year
• Double camping miles in low season. non-members welcome.

Very quiet site in the western part of the Dartmoor National Park, consisting of 3 sloping camping fields with occasional level areas. The top field has views of Dartmoor.

Over last winter, new site roads were laid and 27 (I think!) hardstandings created in the first field, the aim being to extend the camping season there as it used to become unusable in wet weather. A motorhome service point was also created. On the pitch we had the hardstanding was beautifully level although the surrounding grass sloped slightly. Some of the grass pitches slope quite a bit, so take ramps if you have a van. The wardens were trying to direct people to the least sloping areas as far as possible. Quite a few of the pitches had conveniently located trees to provide shade if required. We did have some problems with insects, so if they tend to bite you, take repellent and bite cream!

The loo block is elderly, with no disabled or parent & child facilities, although reception do have a baby bath available for you to borrow if needed. As ever, the block was cleaned regularly and stocked with loo rolls and soap. There is a laundry and a covered outdoor dishwashing area, with assorted tourist info around the walls. I understand that the Club hope to redo the facilities block this winter if all goes according to plan.

Reception has a small shop which sells a good range of basics - tinned goods, bread, cakes, sweets, ice creams, sausages, bacon, burgers, cheese. They will also order newspapers. There is not a shop in the village.

The local buses stop at the war memorial in the village, a short walk from the site. Service is roughly hourly, was reliable and pretty close to time when we were there. You can get to Tavistock (£1.70 return), Plymouth, Okehampton and Barnstaple without changing, assorted other places if you change buses. Rover tickets are available (£5 on Sunday when they include the Dartmoor Line and Tamar Valley railway services as well, £6 or £7 on weekdays, buses only). Timetables available from reception.

There is a pub at the other end of the village (The Castle Inn) which does bar meals and has a restaurant (nice food).

Local attractions:
• Lydford Castle (EH/NT)
• St Petroc’s church which has interesting wood carvings
• Lydford Gorge (NT)
All 3 within walking distance from the site.

Activities:
• The Granite Way cycle route (partly along disused railway track) is accessible a short way from the site

Plenty of walks on Dartmoor - reception have leaflets on letterboxing.

Would we go back? Quite possibly, we enjoyed the holiday. Not what I would call a ’pretty’ site in its own right, but well placed for the area and there was plenty to do that we didn’t manage to fit in!

Myra Sears. CLIC August 2006

Lydford Caravan and Camping Park
Lydford
Nr. Okehampton
Devon
EX20 4BE

Tel: 01822 820 497 (no calls after 8.00pm)

This is an up-date from Myra.

"This site is no longer run by the Camping and Caravanning Club, but the site still exists - now known as Lydford Caravan and Camping Park, it is a privately-run Caravan Club Affiliated Site. They take caravans, motorhomes and tents - maximum unit length 9m. Free wireless internet."

Myra also added
Please note: "I have not stayed at the site since the change of management so this is not a review just a basic update."

Myra Sears. CLIC. November 2010

Mill Park Touring Caravan & Camping Site--- A second report--- Fishing site
Berrynarbor
Nr Ilfracombe
North Devon
EX34 9SH

Tel: 01271 882 647
Fax: 01271 882 667

E-mail: millparkdevon@btconnect.com
Web site: www.millpark.co.uk/

Mill park is situated 1 mile from the ’sleepy village’ of Combe Martin and 3 miles from the popular town of Ilfracombe.
The site is spread over 3 large fields. The top field is near the entrance and reception building, it is mainly used for ’all year round storage’ of tourers and houses around 50 vans. These ’pitches’ are very much sought after by people looking to store their vans safely, hence a long waiting list! All of these pitches have ’hook up’ facillities available.

The ’middle’ field is the one mainly used by visiting caravans, It is not a large field, approx 2 acres (not including the acre & a quarter coarse fishing lake at the far end of the field) and has around 50 hook up points.
The field is basically square shaped with gravelled paths for cars running up one side, around the top (by the lake edge), and down the other side.
Caravans use the inner pitches inside the gravelled path and tents are given the outer pitches that border the nearby woodland. The third field is an ’overflow’ field approx 2 acres with no hook ups and is mainly used for tents or caravans without the need for an electrical supply.

The site facillities are well above standard. The reception building houses a general shop that sells everything from basic food requirements, bottles of chilled wine to gas bottles, camping accessories and fishing bait. At the rear of the reception building is a lovely quaint newly opened restaurant (eat in or take away) and bar that welcomes children and even has a ’kiddies menu’ (late night drinking and loud music is not tollerated in the bar).

There are two separate shower blocks with free hot running water on the site, a chemical waste point, laundry room, hair dryer and shaving points as well as many other free facillities all within 100 metres of any pitch.

To keep the kids busy (whilst dad the ’big kid’ is down at the lake fishing) there is a ’safe style’ park on site with climbing frames, swings, crawling pipes and even a very popular ’stream swing’ that will keep the kids happy for hours.
There are no Arcade machines, fruit machines, jukeboxes, loud music or similar on site and if this is what you are looking for then Mill Park is not for you, Whereas if you like the peace and quiet of rural Devon, enjoy listening to and watching wildlife in fantastic settings, then you will fall in love with Mill Park and will return year after year as do so many others!.

Prices:
Prices start at just £6.00 per night for a tent and £7.00 per night for a caravan depending on time of year. (over 50’s have a 50% discount most of the year!!)

For more details and/or to reserve your spot....
Telephone Brian or Mary on 01271 882647.

Some of the facillities available:
- Electrical hook ups (10 amp)
- Toilets, showers, washbasins with free hot/cold water
- Hair dryers and shaver points
- Laundry room with washing machines, tumble dryers, Ironing facillities
- Dishwashing sinks (free hot water)
- Chemical disposal point
- Payphone
- Well stocked, competetively priced shop open daily march - november
- Take away & Restaurant
- Off License (wine chilling service available)
- Camping supplies
- Gas exchange
- Freezer block service
- Fishing tackle & bait (no maggotts)
- Family room & Bar

Stuart Taylor. Internet. July 2004

Mill Park Touring and Camping Site--- Fishing site
Berrynarbor
Nr Ilfracombe
North Devon
EX34 9SH

Tel: 01271 882 647
Fax: 01271 882 667

E-mail: millpark@globalnet.co.uk
Web site: www.millpark.co.uk/

The site is run by Brian and Mary Malin, and their two sons Thomas and Matthew.

Two fields for Caravans and a large overspill field for tents in the busy periods. The lake field has only 14 electric hook-ups and is very popular so its best to book this field in season.
The other field has about 50 electric hook-ups.

They have now added a Bar/Dining Room to the amenities and the beer prices are cheaper than the Sawmill Pub at end of site and also cheaper than the Globe which is about a quarter of a mile up the hill into Berrynarbour village. As I understand it the two pubs are owned by the same family.

The site is set in a south facing valley and is surrounded by trees so once the sun rises its with you all day.

A small trout stream runs through the park and services the lake with a steady throughput of water. The lake has a central island which is where the Carp tend to swim. It holds about 25 pegs and is accessible for the disabled.
Fishing is very mixed with lots of silver fish, plenty of Bream and Roach to be caught on red maggot and corn, quality Roach in the evening on casters and a few small Tench can be caught close in on corn or meat. Golden Orfe to 4lb can be caught over by the island and are partial to casters and luncheon meat. Carp very shy and only two or three per week seem to get caught though they are usually doubles.
Tickets half price for campers.
The site shop stocks a bit of tackle and ground bait.

All in all a great site which we have been visiting for 9-10 years and will be back again.

Tom L. CLIC. September 2007 (visit date unknown)

This report was copied from www.madcaravanner.co.uk/ ...(for caravan sites with fishing on or closeby)
My thanks go to the authors and to Graham Wilson.

Newberry Farm - - - - - Second report below--- Fishing site
Woodlands
Combe Martin
North Devon
EX34 0AT

Tel: 01271 882 334
Fax: 01271 882 880

E-mail: relax@newberryvalleypark.co.uk
Web site: www.newberryvalleypark.co.uk/

Mr. & Mrs. T. Greenaway

From the top of the site --- The middle section --- The fishing lake --- The carp I caught :o)

A site that caters for Tents, caravans and motorhomes. I’ve placed them in this order, as this seemed to be the ratio while we were there. There are a total of 110 pitches available, so it’s not huge. The site is open from Easter to the end of October.

Newberry Farm is a short ditance outside Combe Martin, a 4 or 5 minute walk from the back of the site gets you to the town centre. This site is long rather than round, and there are 3 levels, as it nestles on the side of a valley. The first half of the site is mainly for tents and motorhomes, while the rest is a mixture of caravans & tents.
Pitch sizes were generous with ample room for a full awning one side and the car the other. The depth of the pitches did vary slightly, but most pitches would cater for most twin axles. There were a few hard standings on the upper level. Where the view was best looking out over the valley that the site is situated in. From this level one can see the sea.

The toilet/shower block was quite good. The showers were free, and during the time we were there, were not that busy.
It looked to me that the block had been renovated within the last couple of years, but not quite up to CC standard.
One word of warning. This site uses the hard loo paper, so you might want to provide your own loo roll.
I found that one had to wait for the showers to warm up,

if one was first to shower in the morning. One way around this, was to start all the showers going (they are on a timed push-button) before you started to wash :o)
There is a disabled shower and toilet in each of the woman’s & men’s blocks.
I like the position of the block. Unlike many other sites, it was centrally placed, so the tenters could pitch near to it and not have the normal mile walk to the loo !.

Newberry Farm welcomes responsible dog owners.

One of the reasons we chose Newberry Farm was for it’s fishing lake.
After a 15 year gap, I had started coarse fishing again.
It’s lake is not huge, but boasts some big carp (see photo of a baby one I pulled in on 2.5lb line !).
I’m not a dedicated carp man, but found that the 10 minutes that it took to land this little beauty had me on a real high. All the time I was expecting my light line to break, so had to play the fish with respect.
The lake level was low when we were there, so the fishing area was slightly reduced.

Combe Martin is a sleepy little village/town (not sure which as it has a town hall, but the locals kept refering to the ’village’). The beach is mainly stone and pebble with a bit of sand.
Rock pools abound to one side of the bay, so the kids (and dads) can while away many an hour here. Net fishing seemed to be the most popular past-time.
Beware if any locals say "it’s only at the end of the high street"...... It’s 1.1/2 miles long ! :o)
Ilfracombe is not that far away, about 5-8 minutes in the car, and offers more by way of entertainment.

Plans to go back:
Yes. Maybe next spring. There was nothing about this site that would prevent our return.
You never know, I just might hook into my carp’s big brother :o)

Ian SL. CLIC. September 2001

Newberry Farm--- Fishing site
Woodlands
Combe Martin
North Devon
EX34 0AT

Tel: 01271 882 334
Fax: 01271 882 880

E-mail: relax@newberryvalleypark.co.uk
Web site: www.newberryvalleypark.co.uk/

Mr & Mrs T Greenaway

We stayed at this site from 26 July to 4 August, 2003.

This site is on 3 levels and has good shower and toilet facilities. However, the owners also run a skip hire business from the same address and skip lorries use the site for access to their tipping ground. This started around 7.30 am and continued throughout the day. Our pitch was next to a gravel road, so this caused great clouds of dust every time a lorry passed.
The owners also do not appreciate children being on this site (their belief is that children should NOT be seen or heard). Our 2 sons were accused and blamed for all manner of things which they had not done. This site is only suitable for couples and should you decide to stay do not accept a pitch on the top level.

Andrew & Sarah Creighton. Internet. August 2003

Sea View Campsite
Newlands Farm
Slapton Sands
Kingsbridge
Devon
TQ7 2RB

Tel: 01548 580366

E-mail: camping@camping-devon.com
Web site: www.camping-devon.com
Web site: brochure request
Web site: on line booking

Situated just outside the village of Slapton.
Contact site for details of approach. Narrow access.

May 97

Judo weekend

We were more than fortunate with this site, though on arrival we did not realise it! Turning up late-ish on a Friday night, we discovered it had been taken over for a Camping and Caravanning Club rally. It was too late to find somewhere else, so we drove in and explained that although we were club members we were not there for the rally. It made no difference at all, we were welcomed, charged only £5 for the weekend, and invited to any of the "events" we wished try.
Everybody was more than friendly, and insisted that we join them for their bar-b-q and "Feast of Lanterns" on the Saturday night.
On the Sunday morning, several of the "residents" made a point of coming over and wishing the kids good luck in their Judo competition.

The site itself overlooks the coast, just above Slapton, a large field, level, with plenty of water points, but only one waste water and chemical disposal point, behind the toilet block.
The toilets were rather old and scruffy, though clean, and a wash basin in each block. There was also a single shower. The most notable feature, was the complete lack of any traffic noise, though you pay for this with the slightly awkward access for a caravan along typical narrow Devon lanes!

Roger Barker. ICQ. May 1999

Ross Park Caravan Park
Park Hill Farm
Ipplepen
Newton Abbot
Devon
TQ12 5TT

Tel/Fax: 01803 812 983

E-Mail: enquiries@rossparkcaravanpark.co.uk
Web site: www.rossparkcaravanpark.co.uk/

Mark and Helen Lowe personally welcome you to one of Devons most attractive family-run caravan parks, it has an excellent range of facilities whilst retaining a friendly and tranquil atmosphere and service with a personal touch.

Ross Park has been created to give a relaxed ambience for families and couples who appreciate beautifull rural surroundings, it has magnificent floral displays and high standards in all aspects of the park and particular attention is paid to cleanliness.

The site has a total of 26 acres of parkland devoted to the caravaner, with 110 pitches, all with 16amp electric hook-up, 82 hardstanding, 50 with their own water hook-up and waste water points are close by to all the pitches.
The individually landscaped pitches give a high degree of privacy and many enjoy superb views over Dartmoor and the surrounding countryside.

The amenities block is of a very high standard, fully tiled, centrally heated and is complete with baby changing and disabled facilities and free hot water. There are also seven en-suite shower rooms.
The laundry room has washing machines, tumble dryers and comes with free ironing facilities.

In the New Barn Restaurant there is a lounge area for relaxing and reading, whilst in the evening an extensive menu is offered that caters for all tastes.
Attached to the restaurant is the Tropical Consevatory which offers an alternative venue for dinning or just relaxing where you can enjoy the wonderrfull scents and beautifull colours of the many tropical plants.

There is a large field adjacent to the main park, this is used for tents and comes with 4 electric hook-ups, there is also a childrens play area located there.

Ross Park is very dog friendly and dog owners are always welcome to bring their pets. There is a dog shower on site and a hair dryer supplied for drying it.

This site has had many awards from Caravan Magazine/Practical Caravan Magazine/David Bellamy to name just a few.
I cannot praise this site enough.

The only downside is Newton Abbott, it is heavily congested with traffic.

Jim Tierney. CLIC. August 2005

Smithaleigh
Plympton
Plymouth
Devon
PL7 5AX

Tel: 01752 893 194

Just of the A38 9 miles north of Plymouth

Only overnight stopped here but a reasonable site.

Kids playground, trampolines and Karaoke in the bar!!

A good start to the holidays but not the place to go for peace and quiet.

A lot of the tourers seem to be semi-resident and almost locals to the bar. Toilets clean and showers free.

I just do not know if I would stay for more than a couple of nights on the way to France.

David Benison. CLIC. September 2001

Start Bay Caravan Club site
Kingsbridge
Devon
TQ6 0RU

Members only site,
No tents

80 pitches, 28 of which are hard standing, rest grass.
Blocks needed on most pitches as site gently sloping.
Good toilet block with dishwashing and clothes washing sinks plus washing machine and tumble dryer.
Wardens cook fresh rolls and croissants each morning, very good value, great way to start morning.

Childrens play area,

stoney beach 10 minute walk from site(shelves quite steeply and srong currect - good for fishing). Lots of safe sandy beaches within short drive.

Very good farm shop next to site - definately worth a visit, pick your own veg & fruit plus locally reared meat.

2 pubs in Stokenham, 5 mins walk away, nearest one does very good food. Large pub in Torcross, 10 minutes in opposite direction, overlooking beach, best fish & chips in area, plus good real ale, worth the walk.

Dartmouth a short drive away, Salcombe prettier town plus has 2 good beaches. Totnes worth a visit, on Saturdays in summer they have a market and most traders dress in victorian style clothes.

Popular family site in summer.

Jan Bain. CLIC. September 2005

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update from Wardens. February 2010

’The site has been upgraded and now has 90 pitches 46 hard standings. New wardens for the 2010 season are Brian and Julie Adams.
Very friendly. Great library and dvd loan scheme

Steamer Quay CC managed site
Steamer Quay Road
Totnes
Devon
TQ9 5AL

Tel: 01803 862 738

The site is flat & level --- The site & the hills beyond --- Another view of the site

Lyn and I liked Steamer Quay. Of course the weather helped, it was hot, sunny and quiet.

The site is fairly flat, so we didn’t have too much trouble getting the ’van level. The whole site was clean, tidy and well run. We noticed that as soon as a pitch was vacated, the warden appeared with his mower to cut the grass.

We liked the location, just a few hundred yards from the town centre and just across the road from the river Dart. It was a pleasure not to have to use the car to go shopping, we in fact, didn’t use our car for the first three days we were there. It was a pleasure just to walk into town in the morning to get the newspaper. Not only that, there were walks down the river bank,

in both directions. There was also a cycle path along the bank (some of the way) to the nearby Cider Centre

The toilet/shower block was excellent, well designed and spacious. The showers were good, they supplied a constant flow of hot water, they were also generous in their size, giving ample room to dry and dress and not have to stand in pools of water.

The site warden and his wife were both helpful and were always ready to give help or stop for a chat.

Totnes, the town, is a quaint Devon town. It boasts a main street that run uphill dwindling down to nothing more than a lane at the top, all lined with interesting shops. Off of the main street are various ally ways and passages leading to other parts of the town, some with steps, others without, all were narrow, it was easy to imagine being there a hundred years ago.

Across the road from the site, as I mentioned, was the River Dart, a hive of activity on a sunny weekend. There were river trips down to Dartmouth and back and are well worth the small expense, the skippers of the river craft that make the trips are knowledgeable and go to great lengths to point out all the attractions along the way.

11-09-96.

Ian SL. CLIC. May 1999

Stowford Farm Meadows--- Second report below
Berry Down
Coombe Martin
North Devon
EX34 0PW

Tel: 01271 882 476
Fax: 01271 883 053

E-mail: enquiries@stowford.co.uk
Web site: //www.stowford.co.uk/

Large site ( 500 acres, part sloping) (photo) Built around the old (15 Century ) farm buildings almost like a little village

Facilities are Heated indoor swimming pool, Food shop, Accessory shop, Take Away, Cafe, 3 Bars, Horse riding, Pet mini zoo, 18 hole golf course, very clean showers toilets laundries ( these are in each camping field - each field separate and wardened ) Security is GOOD dog patrols at night site is invisible from road so no passing trade for bars

The one big suprise was that after 11pm the site was so quiet you could hear the badgers and foxes in the nearby woods

Score 9/10

Graham Wilson. CLIC. June 1999

Added March 2001.
Open: Beginning of April to end of October.
Facilities: 570 touring pitches; 540 10a hook-ups; 50 hot showers.

Stowford Farm Meadows
Berry Down
Coombe Martin
North Devon
EX34 0PW

Tel: 01271 882 476
Fax: 01271 883 053

E-mail: enquiries@stowford.co.uk
Web site: //www.stowford.co.uk/

Site visited: 15th to 29th June, 2002

Stowford Farm Meadows is a large commercial site with over 800 pitches, all bar half a dozen with 10 amp hook-up. When the new field, nearing completion, comes on stream, it will take the capacity to over a thousand.
The site is divided into several areas, 4 main fields, several smaller fields and a large rally field.
Stowford is on a slope, but few pitches need more than the normal steady adjustment to get levelled. Most pitches are large, the largest pitches I’ve seen on a commercial site. We were in field 4, where every pitch is 10 metres wide, and most 10 m deep, and all directly accessible from a surfaced roadway, something true of nearly all the site.
Each of the 4 main fields has its own shower block, but the central facilities are all at one end of the site, anything up to ten minutes walk from the van (if, like us, you’re at the far end of field 4.)

The site is well maintained, and despite all the children there, the shower blocks were clean at all times of the day.
The site shop is well stocked and fairly priced (corner shop rather than supermarket), and so is the caravan shop on site.
For entertainment, there’s a heated swimming pool, 3 bars, restaurant and chippy, a farm zoo for the kiddies and fun golf for the grownups (18 holes spread over 2 fields, no difference between fairway, green or rough, it all gets mown at the same level).

As far as cost is concerned, it seems competitive with other sites of similar standard, not too different from Caravan or Camping and Caravan Club levels, but they offer mid season bargains. Our 2 weeks cost only £78, and that included £14 for the dog. £5 a night seems excellent value.

Drawbacks? With large pitches separated only by a line in the grass, on large fields there’s little or no shelter from the wind, which blew steadily from the northwest most of the time we were there.

Would I recommend it? Most readily. We enjoyed being there, and will go back later this year. In fact, if anybody else wants to join us, I’d be happy to organise a rally there.

Nik Dennis. CLIC. June 2002

Umberleigh C & CC Site
Over Weir
Umberleigh
Devon
EX37 9DU

Tel: 01769 560 009

Map Ref: 180/606242

on the A377, about 10 miles SE of Barnstaple.

An established site (we were there last year) although trees have recently been planted to give the place some character, because without them it is a somewhat open site with very little shelter from the wind.

In wet weather (which we experienced) the ground, which suffers from poor draining, gets very muddy and the Warden is busy towing cars and vans off pitches with his Land Rover, which, I should add, he does without any hesitation.

Most pitches are reasonably level, but there are very few hard standings, and those few seemed to be reserved for motor caravans. The village is about 10 minutes walk away and has at least one pub/hotel where, I understand, they do a fair meal and dogs are allowed in the bar.

There are plenty of walks around; Exmoor is only a few miles away and Dartmoor not very much farther. Locally there is a good walk along the River Taw, although we were unable to do it at time of year as the river was in flood and the path was un-passable.

There is a games room on the site, with a pool table and table tennis etc.
The Wardens go out of their way to be helpful and on Saturday evenings in the summer Alan (Warden) gets out his electric organ and gives a recital of popular music, finishing up with a general sing-song. Simple, but, very enjoyable.

We like the site and intend going there again.

The toilet blocks are spotless and the water piping hot.

Don Lowndes. CLIC. May 1999

Webbers Farm Caravan Park
Castle Lane,
Woodbury
Exmouth
Devon
EX5 1EA

Tel: 01395 232 276.

E-mail: Reception. reception@webberspark.co.uk
Web site: www.webberspark.co.uk/..

An aerial view of the site --- General view of the site

This site is first class, If this is an example of the sort of site we will occasionally come across we are looking forward to our next trip out.
Entry is good, directions are clear. The whole site is clean, tidy, litter free, freshly mown and well organised. The toilet/shower block makes you look forward to your next shower, it’s warm (when it’s cold) spotlessly clean and make you WANT to clean the washbasin when you’ve just washed your hands.

This site is down for another visit.

22/08/94

September 1999
I heard through the grapevine that Webbers have built a whole new reception/shower/toilet block. I have yet to see the changes for myself, but have it on good authority that it’s even better than I remember.

Ian SL. CLIC. May 1999

Webland Farm Holiday Park
Avonwick
South Brent
Devon
TQ10 9EX

Tel. 01362 73273.

E-mail: General@weblandfarm.co.uk
Web site: www.weblandfarm.co.uk

Julu 2007: It appears that Webland now offer facilities for holiday homes only, no tourist pitches

Jill & Trevor Horne.

The entrance --- The view that greets you as you pull onto the site --- Our pitch

We visited this site in late summer and due to it’s location, on the edge of Dartmoor, we had to suffer a lot of rain, fortunately for us most of it seemed to fall at night but it did make the ground soggy. We only had to travel a couple of miles in the direction

of the coast to find better weather. this site is a good base for the beauty of Dartmoor and the coastal resorts of Brixham, Dartmouth, Paignton, Tiegnmouth and Torquay are only a few miles away.

The amenities on this site are basic. The shower/toilet block was old but delivered a good hot shower. There was a small shop on site but it was necessary to order things like milk and newspapers. South Brent was only a short drive away and had a good fish and chip shop as well as a couple of grocery shops.

Waste disposal was a manhole cover in one corner of the field, I would have expected something better. No effort had been put into making the pitches level and due to the hilly terrain, every pitch was a sloping one, this leads to problems when trying to pull the ’van out of a hollow when it’s been raining for days, not an easy task for the front wheel drive Sunny we were running at that time.

I should mention that the only road to the site was a narrow lane about 3/4 of a mile long. It was so narrow that the hedges were brushing the sides of the ’van !!. We had a Bailey Pageant, so it wasn’t a huge one.

26/08/94

Ian SL. CLIC. May 1999

Widdicombe Farm Tourist Park
Ring Road
Compton
Torquay
Paignton
Devon
TQ3 1ST

Tel: 01803 558 325

E-mail: Only a web site booking form
Web site: www.widdicombefarm.co.uk/index.htm

Widdicombe Farm Tourist Park is a very pleasant site near Torquay. Although on a hillside it is very cleverly terraced, with level pitches, most of which are hardstanding.

Plenty of electric hook-ups, a very good children’s play area which includes a ground level trampoline, several slides, climbing frames, rope walks etc. and soft wood-chip flooring.

Toilets and showers are excellent.

There is a bar on site as well as a restaurant. Unfortunately the last two were closed for the winter season while we were there, so I can’t comment on the quality of their *products*.

The site lies directly off the main Torquay ring-road and moving out of the site onto the dual carriageway can be a little dicey as the traffic really whips along and doesn’t very often move over into the outer lane to allow one to exit.

Torquay centre is about 3 to 4 miles away, although the outskirts are only about 1 mile away.
There are masses of tourist places within a very few miles; Paignton, Brixham etc. with all their associated attractions and places like Salcombe or Plymouth are less than an hour’s drive away.

Directions.
To get to Widdicombe Farm from the North, take the A380 from Newton Abbott to the English Riviera Roundabout on the edge of Torquay (by a large garden centre), turn right onto the ring road (which shortly becomes a dual carriageway) and go to the second roundabout on the ring road, go right round this and come back down the other side of the road for about 400 metres and Widdicombe Farm is on the left.

Don Lowndes. CLIC. November 1999

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