With hot weather (perhaps even a heatwave) forecasted for the weekend and beyond we popped the bikes onto the back of our Campervan, Nellie and set off to Cornwall (Friday 20th June 2025). Our first stop was Trewethett Farm Caravan and Motorhome clubsite just a couple of miles from the villages of Tintagel and Boscastle.
The directions on the website clearly state the only accessible route for a car / caravan but despite this, my navigator Moe took the easy option and went with the satnav recommendations. Fortunately we weren’t towing our caravan because the tracks we ended on would not have worked at all. Still, with just the campervan we arrived on-site shortly after 1pm.
Pitch 96 is a grass with electric but our 25m cable isn’t going to reach so we can probably survive without the electric hookup. With sunny weather ahead our 200w solar panels will be good for the duration
The views from our pitch are amazing and the temperatures aren’t too dismal either.
After we had settled at the site we cycled into Tintagel for a quick orientation exercise. Too late to explore the castle we headed to local hostelry instead!
Almost the longest day of the year, sunset was nearly 10pm and the hot temperatures melted away to leave a fresh night.
Saturday morning and temperatures were now back to normal levels but humidity remained high. When the early morning sea-mist had evaporated, we headed onto the South West coastal path for a short hike to Boscastle. Access to the SW Coast path is directly from multiple places on the campsite. Left to Tintagel and right to Boscastle. Both just over 2 miles and featuring some impressive stepped climbs!
The picnic lunch was at Ladies Hole.
Boscastle is a pretty village with a natural harbour protected by two sea walls. Floods in 2004 caused widespread devastation to the village after 60mm of rain fell in two hours. Residents were trapped on roofs, in cars and alongside the river bank and the visitor centre was washed away. 2007 saw further flooding but not in the scale of 2004.
From Boscastle we caught the bus back to Tintagel and were dropped-off at an un-official bus stop at the campsite entrance.
Sunday we caught the bus to Port Isaac, which is a 50 minute journey away. For a Sunday, a two hourly service was impressive.
Port Isaac is a very pretty, small fishing village. Its origins are likely Celtic and the development of the village can be roughly divided into three phases. Through the Middle Ages and up to the coming of the railways, Port Isaac was a thriving port serving the area inland. During the Tudor period, the harbour was dredged, a good illustration of its importance. Once goods from locations further inland were better served by the North Cornwall Railway, the economy of the port relied on pilchard fishing, probably a centuries-old industry. However, the pilchard shoals began to decline, and after World War I tourism became the mainstay of the economy.
Frm 2004 to 2022 the village served as a backdrop to the ITV series “Doc Martin”. “Doc Martin tours are available for £12.75 per person and the surgery is presently a holiday cottage with a price tag of over £400 per night – exclusive of privacy judging by the number of visitors!
Joe was more impressed with this giant slate retaining wall…
We arrived back from Port Isaac to be faced with some horrendeous weather. The heatwave is well and truly over here in the South West.
