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Heligan Caravan and Camping Park was the third stop on our tour of the South West and we’d deliberately chosen this 5-star rated, dog friendly, campsite as a quiet and peaceful resort where we could relax in the evenings in beautiful surroundings and spend a day at the Lost Gardens of Heligan, which is right next door. The campsite is close to the popular and picturesque Mevagissey Harbour.

The first thing we’d say is don’t follow your Sat Nav to get there! The campsite know this too well and it is clearly written on their website, however, we didn’t look at that before we set off, so I’m reminding you now if you’ve booked or are thinking about going soon! We realised too late and had already headed off down a long road marginally wider than the caravan and with hedgerows either side that were taller. If we’d met anything coming in the other direction we’d have been in a stand off! Anyway we didn’t, and arrived unscathed and very relieved, phew.

We were greeted warmly by the Heligan campsite staff and shown to our pitch, directly opposite the play area which was perfect for our little ones. The roads around the campsite are quite narrow and the whole site is on a small hillside, although most pitches are pretty flat. Our spot was a little awkward to get into but as we have a motor mover we used that and there wasn’t a problem. If you’ve got a caravan that hasn’t got a motor mover and you aren’t a pro at manoeuvring perhaps ask in advance about which pitch you’ll have. Looking around there are plenty that are easy to access though so don’t be put off.

We’d no sooner unhitched and the kids were off playing on the park with some other children from the site. Husband and I decided it was so nice to have the kids occupied that instead of rushing off to do something locally we’d have a leisurely afternoon on the campsite and just popped down to the local town, Mevagissey later on. Mevagissey harbour seems to be a great place to go crabbing and there are some quirky little shops. We did go to have a look at the little aquarium which is free to enter but I have got to admit I didn’t enjoy seeing such big fish in such small tanks so we didn’t stay long. It was rainy by this time so we took cover in a fabulous pub, The Ship Inn, instead and enjoyed a drink before going back to the campsite to cook up some delicious burgers on our Campingaz Party Grill 600 for tea.

The next morning, after doing some clothes washing in the well serviced laundrette and getting everyone showered in the ample shower blocks, we headed off to nearby Fowey to Charlestown Harbour and Shipwreck Museum, which is a must for any pirate or Poldark fans! You can read our full review here. In the afternoon we drove south and spent an enjoyable few hours in Truro where we met some family that now live in Cornwall. Truro Cathedral is gorgeous and well worth a visit. The highlight for the kids though was spending ages looking at comics in a real comic book shop opposite. 

Day three and we had a leisurely morning before going to the Lost Gardens of Heligan in the afternoon. I wish we’d gone earlier though as it really is a fascinating place and our children enjoyed it as much as us adults, which I’ve got to say surprised me a little. You can read our review of The Lost Gardens of Heligan here.

Back on Heligan Caravan and Camping Park the kids raced off with their friends again and in the end our eldest and middle son stayed out until dark just playing on the on the playground, enjoying games of tig, building cities in the sand and chucking around a frisbee. We were happy that we could see them from the caravan and the youngest curled up with me and spent some quiet time colouring and painting.

Overall we’d have to agree that facilities at Heligan Caravan and Camping Park are good and well maintained. You will find everything you need such as dishwashing stations, water and waste water points, chemical disposal point, a small site shop, tourist information, motorhome service point, baby changing and disabled facilities. My only suggestion would be for there to be a mop handy in the ladies showers as the floors in the cubicles got very wet.

Day four and time to move on, which we did so reluctantly! We had a really relaxing and enjoyable stay at Heligan Caravan and Camping Park and will definitely use it again when we come back to the area. Do check out the Heligan Caravan and Camping Park website ideas for other things to do locally and local events such as the Charlestown Regatta which is in the last week of July and looks fantastic fun.

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