Penrose Campsite – a great little Cornish spot

The recent trip to Cornwall with the family was a great success, partially due to the location and partially due to the campsite.

We decided to take a week off and hope for the best with regards to the weather but also to not book a campsite until the last minute (just in case!). We wanted to be near the sea which to be fair in Cornwall isnt too difficult! We also wanted a simple and relaxing campsite. With this in mind we found a campsite that was on the face of it perfect but until you turn up and pitch you are never quite sure.

Penrose campsite http://www.campingcornwall.net/ sits 1/2 mile from Porthleven town and beach. It comprises 3 large fields with basic but very clean toilets and showers in the 1st of these. The best views are to be had from the field furthest from the toilets and showers but we felt it was well worth while. We also poached what we considered to be the best pitch in this field as it sits on a slight rise with a clear view of the sea. The cost is a staggeringly good £5 per person and £2.50 per child, which at the height of summer in Cornwall is a bargain.

The owners have decided to go for informal camping on all the fields with no defined pitches which meant that you could pitch where you wanted. By common consent no-one pitched in the middle of the fields leading to large open spaces for everyone’s children (and some adults) to play with the tents hugging the perimeters. This worked really well and the kids were able to kick footballs, fly kites, play frisbee without getting in anyone’s way. Unconsciously all the kids in each field naturally migrated together to play so by the end of the week there were new friendships being made.

We took our behemoth of a tent as we were there for a week, the Vango Aspen 700 DLX. It often reminds me of an igloo or yurt for obvious reasons! Its a real beast being 80kg in weight and requiring 2 people to pitch it. The most unusual thing about it is that its a double skinned 7 berth tent and its….inner first! Still, after pitching it in the top field, it did look the biz and we got quite a few enquiries and comments from people.

The site, apart from being close to Porthleven and the sea is also well placed for The Lizard Peninsula, Lands End, St Ives, Hayle, Helston and a whole host of coves, beaches, cliffs and villages. We love this area anyway so having a cheap well placed campsite bang slap in the middle was brilliant. We had a really great time and found the campsite a great relaxing place to spend the evenings after our days out. One night we were even treated to an ultra clear night sky and managed to watch the ISS drift overhead along with meteorite showers (the Perseids) with no light pollution to diminish the spectacle.

We had such a relaxing time that we aim to revisit the site next year. Even my son said he liked the site who is normally critical of places with minimal facilities! I cant recommend it enough. So whats the downside? Its only open July and August currently but as our kids are older now, we are having to take our main trip in the school summer holidays so wont be an issue. Maybe sometime they owners will consider extending this camping season so we will keep tabs on it until next year.

But like McArthur, we will return

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