Trevella Park, Crantock, Newquay, Cornwall

Who in their right mind heads off with their family to stay in a caravan in the wilds of Cornwall, during the chilly October/November half term? Oh and why not throw into the mix predictions of one of the worst storms for decades? As a family we haven’t generally been lucky with the Cornish weather, even during the height of the summer, so a forecast packed with severe weather warnings and dire storm damage predictions just as we were set to go on holiday, seemed fitting.

For once I’d packed early, using my latest super slimline packing list (husband, of course, still labours under the misapprehension that I take FAR too much). We had originally been planning on spending Sunday night with relatives to break up the journey a little, but due to the weather, we decided to batten down the hatches and be prepared for any trees or garden furniture which might end up in our lounge during St Jude’s storm.

In the end the storm didn’t come to much in our part of the country, although of course it rained quite convincingly while I packed the car. Grrrrh! Fortunately the sun came out en route to Crantock and we didn’t feel quite so foolish leaving the comfort of our lovely solid house to stay in a flimsy little caravan in a field!

Anyway I’ve made a little video about our break at Trevella Caravan and Camping Park in Crantock, Newquay so you can see how it actually turned out.

Crantock Location

Trevella’s in a lovely spot, just minutes from beautiful Crantock Beach (apparently walkable when the ground isn’t waterlogged!) and a short drive from Newquay. As well as lovely beaches there are also plenty of attractions nearby like Lappa Valley Steam Railway, Eden Project and Blue Reef Aquarium. Crantock beach car parking is free for National Trust members.

On-Site Facilities

For the children there’s loads of space. Big grassed areas, an adventure playground, a normal playground, a heated outdoor pool (not open in October half term), mini golf and a beautiful fishing lake.

There’s no bar on site but there’s a sizeable shop and licensed cafe which are both reasonably priced. Ranger activities are free, subject to availability.

Cost

Our Monday to Friday four night break, in a luxury 3 bedroom static caravan during October half term was priced at £229 including bed linen. We were a party of 5 but the accommodation sleeps up to 8, (6 if you just use the main beds rather than the lounge) so I would rate this as a very good value break, especially for larger families.

Pros and Cons

At this time of year when the clocks had just gone back and the weather was wet, a bar on site might have been good. The licensed cafe closed at 7pm and there was no communal area open after that – although we were so tired out by all the fresh air we ended up having really early nights. In the summer this would be less relevant as we would have enjoyed sitting out on our decking or walking into the village.

Customer service throughout was excellent. I mentioned that one of the children’s beds was uncomfortable and it was immediately replaced. We asked about local family friendly pubs and were offered maps and personal recommendations. The halloween celebrations were superb and age appropriate for all our boys from a nervous 4 year old to a thrill seeking 9 year old.

As we had a lot to pack into our break we only managed to fit in one ranger activity, but it was very enjoyable and exceeded expectations. This wasn’t just for children either. As you can hear from the film the adults were completely immersed in trying to identify the creatures we’d caught!

Location and accessibility to nearby beaches and activities was great.

Lots of pros and very few cons. We would certainly recommend Trevella Park.

Disclosure: We received complimentary accommodation for the purposes of this review, however I retain full editorial control and all opinions are my own – as are any sweets and other treats which may or may not have been left over after Halloween (chomp, crunch).

I made the video just because I really liked our break and because the staff at Trevella went to such great lengths to make our break special. Please feel free to leave a comment to let me know if you find it useful or if you have any suggestions for future video guides/reviews

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