| Great escapes to West Cornwall |
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This month's travel team and their caravans: Practical Caravan features editor, Jessnifer Stuart-Smith in her 1987 Avondale Wren two-berth, PCV editor Alex Newby in her 2004 Abbey GTS Vogue 416, and Bob Phillips who owns a 1991 Sprite Alpine 400C.
Getting to West Cornwall
The A30 takes you all the way through Devon and right into the heart of Penzance on the Penwith Peninsula. Along the way you’ll pass by Hayle and nearby St Ives (follow the A3074). A short distance outside Penzance itself, you can pick up the the A394 straight to Helston on the Lizard Peninsula.
Service stations along the A30 tend to be small, and often have limited access and parking for caravans, if any at all. Your best bet is to stop at a service station before you reach the end of the M5 to fill up and use the facilities. Then you can carry on straight through to your destination.
Make sure you know exactly which route to take to your site. If you do get lost, stick to A roads; smaller, rural roads can suddenly narrow to just one car’s width, and although there are passing places, these can be quite infrequent.
Without the caravan in tow, you’ll still need to be prepared to reverse some way back into a passing place if you meet someone else coming the other way, but locals will always give you a friendly wave for making the effort.
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Click on the map, or use the links on the right.
To enable you to pick and choose from our comprehensive range of Great Escapes, we have collected them all here for you. CLICK HERE |
Spares and accessories
Should you need any spares or extra kit while you’re on holiday, the nearest caravan accessory shop is at Penrose Touring in the Scorrier area of Redruth (tel 01209 820451, www.penrosetouring.co.uk). It is open from 9am-5.30pm, Monday to Saturday.
To reach Penrose Touring, turn off the A30 at the sign for Scorrier, continue following the signs for Scorrier. Shortly after you’ve passed the Plume of Feathers pub on the left, look out for the shop – which is also a franchise dealer for Bailey caravans - on the right.
Alternatively, on the other side of the A30 at Blackwater, also near Redruth, is Caravan World (tel 01209 821411, info@caravanworldsales. co.uk), which sells a few spares and accessories, and deals in used caravans. It is open 10:30am-6pm Monday to Saturday, and
11am-5pm on Sunday.
To avoid a wasted journey, always call in advance to check the shop has your spare in stock before you visit.
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SEE ALSO IN THE JULY 2005 ISSUE OF PRACTICAL CARAVAN
Nature Notes, The Great Outdoors, History and Culture, Eating Out, West Cornwall's Best Pasties, Family Fun, Festivals and Events, General Information, Contacts.
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Alternative sites
If you’re a member of either of the country’s main caravan clubs
- the Caravan Club (tel 01342 326944, Click Here) or
the Camping and Caravanning Club (tel 024 7669 4995, Click Here) - you can stay at any of their certificated locations (CLs)
and certificated sites (CSs), respectively (see panel right). These are tiny sites that can take up to five tourers; some have full site facilities (including electricity and toilets) but some have only fresh water, so ask for full details before you book.
The beauty of these sites is that most are on farms or other quiet rural locations, and that there are thousands of them all over the UK. That means that they can be a good bet if
bigger sites are booked up.
Always make sure to ask for detailed directions to any sites
in West Cornwall. Otherwise, you could end up stuck on a rural lane, with night creeping over the area as you try to make your way to your site.
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