We are about to pack up with 4 children and go off camping for 3 weeks! Help needed!!

[zephyrcat]

Advice more than help really. We are planning to start in South Devon, go up around Cornwall and end in North Devon. Does anyone have any recommendations for cheap but family friendly campsites?

zephyr, seriously think about booking- people having major issues this eyar getting sites, with the recession nobody can afford much more.

Most of the 'cheap' sites don't take bookings, in my experience.

I'd recommend North Morte Farm near woolacombe, that's where we're off to! Not exactly cheap, £9 for adults and £3.50 for kids per night I think.

I have found that you need to book in advance too. There probably are some word of mouth, can't be find online sites but would be hard to track down.

Ah teh cheap ones we use are via C&CC so may be different

Still would be wary though- few threads on here altely by people who thought they could get their usual sites then found they could not (and on a more basic level school hols have been staggered more- mine been off for a week already- so some people already pitched up IYSWIM)

In South Devon. Cheap and family friendly and quite basic - we sometimes go to Upper Rew farm, above Salcombe, it tends to have spaces even in school summer holidays without booking.
at Bigbury there's Mount Folly farm, doesnt' take booking, I don't know if it fills up.

North Morte Farm near Woolacombe is lovely, not cheap, doesn't take bookings, I don't know if it gets full up in high summer but the road to it has 7 large campsites and you should get into one of them. We stayed at one called something like Warcombe, it was nice enough, not as nice as North Morte though.

There are lots of low key sites around Dartmoor which you coulc probably get into wtihout booking. look for the camping sign on ordnance survey maps. They are mostly good for children in terms of being near woods and streams and having lots of access to the moor.

we rarely book in advance, even in the summer holidays. and we have never been stuck in this area yet, not with the sort of low key sites we like best.

Fennel, you seem to be the one to ask about Devon. I'm in Exeter and have grandparents wanting to come and visit at the end of August but the prices are astronomical. Can you recommend anywhere? Either a caravan or small hotel? I think they're a bit past camping

Hmm. I know Exeter but haven't stayed in any of the hotels. sorry, I know of places but don't know how good they are.

Thanks all for the help so far. We hadn't even thought about booking to be honest, might have to look into that...last thing we need is to be driving around with nowhere to stay! Does anyone know average prices for tent pitches these days and whether they are all per night... I've just seen some online which are per person per night which would end up getting costly and we want to be able to just go from place to place as and when. Can you tell we haven't camped for years?!

Steart Farm near clovelly is really nice. We went last weekend and paid £10 per pitch plus £1 per person.

Zephyr

You might want to think about joining caravan and camping online? Often cheapest options for some tiny sites.

otherwise UK capsite has site brochures which you can use for price ideas