Monday 21st to Wednesday 23rd September 2026
Treyarnon bay Camping to Valley Camping, Polzeath.
21 miles (Acc 372 miles)
Fuel £0 (£115)
LPG £0 (£10.64)
Site fees £69 X2 nights ehu (£657.19 – Ave £29.11 after 20 nights)
Coffee, snacks, lunch, ice-cream etc £13.30 (£192.90)
Beer £10.50 (£53.28)
Groceries £17.50 (£192.41)
Total expenditure £110.30 (£1,161.72 – Ave £55.32)
Valley Camping was an excellent spot right in the centre of Polzeath and a genuine 5 minute walk down the path to the beach, bars and couple of shops. A real surfing town (village!) with a really nice feeling and happy go lucky vibe. Definitely the best place so far for being on the beach and potential for a surfing holiday in the future.
We just had a wander around on the Monday afternoon admiring all the multi million pound houses and then walked into Rock the following day. Not all that much there apart from more large expensive houses, a nice but expensive pub and a few cafes. We walked up through the village to have a coffee and then back down and along the coast path to return to Polzeath which was just over 6 miles for the round trip.
I definitely prefer Polzeath and probably one of my favourite places to date.
Checked out the main surf school to see what the deal was for a four day course and when they were open until. Maybe an October return if I am brave enough! It really is the perfect spot to do it unless Widemouth Bay or Bude can better it but I doubt it.
The following morning we made our way to Widemouth bay, via Port Isaac, grocery shopping and getting fuel.
Thursday 24th to Saturday 26th September 2026
Valley Camping, Polzeath to Sandy Camping, Widemouth Bay via Port Isaac
27 miles (Acc 399)
Fuel £100 (£215)
Site fees £90 X3 nights (£747.19 – Ave £28.74 after 26 nights)
Coffee, snacks, lunch, ice-cream etc £42.45 (£235.35)
Groceries £75.25 (£267.66)
Total expenditure £307.70 (£1,469.42 – Ave £54.43)
After leaving Polzeath we completed the short journey to Port Isaac to see what that was all about. After a bit of mucking about trying to decide on the best car park (£5!) we walked down into the tiny harbour village to see where they filmed Doc Martin. It was a classic steep sided village with a working harbour, pub, restaurants and cafes but not loads and all seen in less than an hour. If it wasn’t for Doc Martin I’m not convinced it would get all that much tourism as it is tiny with no beach and limited opportunities for shops etc. still interesting to see it.
The site at Widemouth Bay was right by the sea with great views and noise of the waves rolling in. A large beach area but with lots of large stones at the high tide point but better sand at low tide. Not a lot here apart from a few houses, a pub and a shop but definitely the best view so far from the camp site.
We just wandered along the beach on Wednesday afternoon but walked the 3 miles into Bude on Thursday which turned into a very warm and sunny day. We have been a couple of times before but it was nice to see it again and although not all that big it is very nice with a lot of beach options, harbour and canal.
There are a couple of sites here, one of which is nearly a mile from the main beach and the other, while much closer would not have had any views and still a 5 or 10 minute walk.
As options for potential Surf school locations despite being about 20 minutes closer to home didn’t come close to the Polzeath option so if I am going to do it I would say that will be where I go!
Although Friday was overcast, windy and cooler in the afternoon we decided to stay another night and travel home on Saturday 26th as there wasn’t really anywhere else that we wanted to go.
There are definitely places I would like to return to and spend time at. Outside of Cornwall it would be Lyme Regis. Within Cornwall it would be Looe, Falmouth, Poldhu Bay, Newquay, Constantine bay, Polzeath and Widemouth bay.
Overall the daily cost was very similar to our European trips with the main difference being the fuel costs due to higher mileage in Europe and the lower fuel costs due to much lower mileage, but much more expensive overnight stops as you generally do need to stay on formal sites, especially when you are in a motorhome, and they are extra expensive in Cornwall.
Groceries, coffees, beer, snacks etc are a similar price.
Let’s see if I get the courage to do the Polzeath surf school in October….. 😁.
Till the next one….
