News from Trevaylor

Welcome to Cornwall

As Hurricane Ophelia rustles around our ears we step away from summer and well and truly into autumn.  It will be half term for many of our schools around the country next week and no doubt a few of you will be visiting us here in Cornwall from various corners of the country and indeed various corners of the county.  Sennen Cove was looking a little ruffled this afternoon at high tide as this well-known seaside village felt the latest hurricane weather bustling through.  The waves churned and gurned and many spectators came down to fill up their senses and watch in awe as the mighty storm passed through. 

Gone are the gentle summer days now that watched over babes toddling in the gentle lapping waves that often caress the beautiful golden beach there at Sennen Cove.  Our summer here at Trevaylor Caravan & Camping Park was busy as ever and I have to say that most of our guests had a happy come what may approach to what turned out to be one of the wettest summers we have had in a while.  Everyone seemed determined not to let the weather spoil their hard earned time off and a good time was had by most.

Our newly refurbished club house was a huge success and was enjoyed by many during the season when it was open from March through to the end of September.  We served up plenty of our mouth-watering 21 day matured steak and chips and renowned chocolate brownies accompanied by Cornish clotted cream and of course plenty more besides.  Skinners Betty Stoggs real ale featured as our flagship tipple and may folks tottered ‘home’ to their tents merrily after sampling a good few pints at the bar. 

Alas now we are sailing through the quieter months and have our hardstanding at the ready for all of you who care to pop in and say hello – prepare to be most welcomed by us all here at Trevaylor!  We look forward to seeing you soon.  Charlie, Michelle, Eva and George.

A secluded Sandy Beach in Cornwall

This wonderful secluded sandy beach lies within 3 miles of our lovely family run campsite.  So, if you want to be somewhere like this, far from the madding crowd on your holidays, you can be!  You just need to get yourself booked in with us at Trevaylor Caravan and Camping Park.   Once you have arrived  here and settled in, we can point you in the right direction to get  yourself immersed in some of  the wonderful scenery  that awaits for you  right on our doorstep.  Literally.  We are around 400 meters away from ‘Wheal Leisure’ – ‘Ross Poldark’s’ Mine.  Indeed we have had the horse stunt team staying with us for the filming of one of the series.  From these old ruins you can walk along the South West Coastal Path to the left – where you will pass through the Kenidjack Valley and come upon Cape Cornwall with its little tidal pool at Priest’s Cove.  Walk out to the right from ‘Wheal Leisure’ (Wheal Owles) and the famous Crown Mines and you will come upon Levant Mine with its restored Beam Engine which runs on steam.  On beyond from there you will come to Geevor Tin Mine – a great place for children and adults of all ages to learn about Cornwall’s great tin mining heritage.  After a cuppa and a homemade pasty perhaps at their glass ended café overlooking the rugged coastline, you can then go on to explore along to Pendeen Light House and further still if you are feeling hungry for more exploration and adventure.  Come and see us soon and find out all about it. 

Our newly refurbished Bar – finally ready for action after a long winter overhaul!  Opens for good food and real ale on Friday 31st March 2017

St Michaels Mount in early March

Here we are in March… it seems all of a sudden to me, but I don’t suppose it is really – it’s just that we have been oh so busy bustling around bringing things up together.  For those of you who have been here before – we hope you will approve of the changes we have made to our bar and conservatory areas – we have given them a little bit of an ‘overhaul’ shall we say! …And for those of you who will be coming to us for the first time, we hope that you will enjoy the refreshed facilities that we have on offer.  We have not done too much out and about landscapeing on site this year as yet; hopefully we will still have a little bit of time left during the early spring to tidy up any rough edges out there! …Although we’d better get a wiggle on as I notice the Blackbirds are already busy collecting nesting material from our garden.  The weather of late has been typically February-March style – we have just come through 3 days of pea soup fogginess and it has recently been wet, windy, stormy, mild, chilly, sunny and predictably unpredictable!  Just how we like it.  We have already had a handful of tenters staying and there’s a steady trickle of motorhomers and caravanners coming and going on most days now.  We love this – and enjoy having a good chat with people during their stay with us.  Occasionally we even meet up for a pint down the local!  So, as I am writing this in I’d better be off otherwise we’ll miss this evening’s banter down the Queens – and that won’t do! We hope to see some more of you very soon.  Charlie, Michelle, Eva and George

Winter walks

With some of the best winter walks in the UK right on our doorstep how can you resist a visit to our wonderful West Penwith?  Whether you are fanatical about the great outdoors or simply just enjoy a getaway where you can take in the scenery with a gentle stroll then Trevaylor Caravan and Camping Park is the best place to be.  We are ideally placed close to the coastline with its rugged scenery and are nestled on the edge of a UNESCO World Heritage Site … The Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape … “Much of the landscape of Cornwall and West Devon was transformed in the 18th and early 19th centuries as a result of the rapid growth of pioneering copper and tin mining. The substantial remains are a testimony to the contribution Cornwall and West Devon made to the Industrial Revolution.” … So you can walk right out of our site and straight into this very unique and special landscape.  And for the Poldark fans among you we have the ultimate treat for you… no, not Ross or Demelza ladies and gents (we are not quite that good!) but the magnificent Wheal Owles or ‘Wheal Leisure’ as featured in the popular TV series – stands just 400 meters from us overlooking the majestic and breath-taking Crowns and Botallack Mines.  Our campsite and accommodation are open all year round – for you to make the most of your holidays when it suits you.  Please bear in mind though that our own bar and restaurant facilities will not be open until the spring but that the very warm and welcoming Queens Arms is just 5 minutes’ walk away in Botallack and is also open all year round.  A winter visit to this part of the North West Coast of Cornwall can reward you with so many fulfilling and memorable experiences… So come on over and see us soon!

Winter is upon us – but now at least we are heading in to each day getting a little lighter again; as the shortest day is just passing.  It is still incredibly mild here – although I have heard that the second storm of the season is on its way.  Let’s hope is doesn’t give us too much of a rough ride.  Our Christmas lights are up and so we are looking very festive here at Trevaylor right now.  Recently we have had guests come and stay from far and wide, some coming especially to see the spectacular Mousehole Christmas Lights just a few miles away down the road.  Elsewhere around the area is looking pretty festive too; with  Penzance, Gulval and Truro being of note, along with the little village of Angarrack near Hayle being one of our personal favourites to visit at this time of the year.  The surf has been fabulous lately and the mildness of the weather has really added to the enjoyment of playing in the waves.  Of course, we don our winter wetsuit gear – well, except for Christmas day that is – when around 200 of us will be going in at Sennen Cove wearing nothing but simple bathers and perhaps a festive hat or two amongst us for the annual charity swim at 11am.  It’s certainly a great way to shake off any Christmas Eve hangover and feel revived ready for the rest of the day!  Here on site we will have a few of you staying either in your campers, caravans or motorhomes and also some of you in our holiday homes too.  We are getting particularly busy towards the New Year – perhaps quite a few of you will be going to St Ives for the New Year celebrations there – I have heard they are quite good – although I must say we haven’t made it that far ourselves yet.  Ourgate seems to do us just fine!  So, as always, we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and we hope to see you soon, Charlie, Michelle, Eva and George at Trevaylor Caravan and Camping Park.

Trevaylor caravan and camping park is preparing to meet and greet its autumn and winter season visitors for holidays by the coast.  As summer draws to a close, we rustle softly into autumn just like summer never left; the sun is still smiling down on us warmly and the winds are gentle on our skin.  Mind you, I’m not sure too much of the summer was always this good anyhow – so to have it like this at the moment is definitely a bonus and a real treat!  Throughout the summer holidays it has been wonderful to see so many people from all over the world and from all walks of life cross over the threshold and in to Trevaylor.  We have been host to families, couples, groups and individuals alike, most of whom come to this particularly wild and rugged part of West Penwith to immerse themselves in the stunning coastal scenery.  The area around Botallack is also richly steeped in mining history and offers one of a very few vistas of such a heavily industrialised past which are actually quite breathtakingly stunning on the eye.   To see the old Wheal houses clinging  to  the cliffs with the tips of the  Atlantic ocean waves lashing at their base stones on a strong south westerly gale drives home the sense of astonishment of what it must have been like for the hundreds of men, women and children who used to work there back in the time of “Poldark”.  Speaking of Poldark, the filming for the third series has just finished on ‘Wheal Leisure’ as it is known in the series – which is actually part of the Wheal Owles Set and is about 500 yards from the Trevaylor campsite.  We were not personally lucky enough to have any sightings of Ross Poldark,  Aidan Turner or Demelza Poldark, Eleanor Tomlinson although it has been rumoured that some of our happy campers were indeed fortunate enough to have caught sight of some of the famed cast of Poldark.  Bookings for July and August 2017 are coming in fast already for our Holiday Homes and Camping Pitches.  Our Bar, Restaurant and most shop provisions will now be closed from Sunday 25^th September until some when in March 2017 – but remember the campsite, including accommodation is open 365 days a year for your holidays!  Limited hardstandings available – booking advisable for these.  See you soon.   Charlie, Michelle, Eva and George.

Portheras from the path above – bring on the holidays

July is here already, summer has begun, holidays are fast approaching.  Indeed, in some places within the UK the schools are on holiday already!  Our children are not breaking up until 22^nd July here in West Penwith.  Trevaylor is already currently enjoying a steady turnover of visitors from all around the country and from overseas too.  We have many holiday guests from Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Germany, Holland, France, South Africa, Australia, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, and Belgium to name but a few – as well as many many holiday visitors from as far as the furthest points north and east of England and everywhere in between … and not forgetting those from just up the road too – from places such as St Ives, Helston, Camborne, Redruth, Tintagel, Boscastle and even Penzance popping in for a night or a few and a pint of local ale or a few or a glass of wine or a few over a good hearty plate of well matured rump steak or  other choice from our menu,  rounded off with a bowl of strawberry and apple crumble or another scrumptious homemade temptation, served with clotted cream, ice cream or custard… The choice is yours.  What would you choose?  See you just as soon as you can get here. Happy holidays! As always, Michelle, Charlie, Eva & George

Happy sunny holidays at Trevaylor

The Spring Bank Holiday was a warm and happy sunny one here in this wild West Penwith part of Cornwall… with only the occasional splash of rain or dash of wind.  The sandy beaches at Sennen Cove, Praa Sands and Porthcurno were bustling and busy with sun seekers and water babies all flocking to our wonderful Cornish coastline.  The granite cliffs were warmed invitingly by the sun and the many climbers were kept cooler by the soft breezes as they traversed their ascents. There was plenty of surfing and paddle boarding atop the Atlantic Ocean… and a whole lot of sunbathing and barbecuing on the beaches as well as here at Trevaylor caravan and camp site too.  Many pints of real ale and several glasses of wine were enjoyed along with melt in your mouth steaks and fresh beer battered fish and chips served every evening  at our bar and restaurant.  The children made new friends and played tag and built sandcastles in our giant sandpit even after a full day out exploring some of our many hidden away coves, often cooling off with a dip in a warming tidal pool somewhere.  I don’t know how many cream teas and ice creams have been eaten so far but I hope there will be some left for us somewhere in this glorious county by the end of the summer – when it’s our turn to take a holiday here in Cornwall too!  Wish you were here … Michelle, Charlie, Eva, George