Carnon Downs Caravan Park in Cornwall
Great news to bring you today! We’re pleased to announce we have purchased the award winning Carnon Downs Caravan Park in Cornwall. The popular campsite, which has been an Affiliated Site with the Club since 2007, reopened on 12 April 2021 and will continue to operate all year round.
Located just three miles from the cathedral city of Truro and near the villages of Carnon Downs, Devoran and Feock, the recently acquired and newly named Carnon Downs Caravan and Motorhome Club campsite is an excellent base from which to explore all that Cornwall has to offer. There are many amenities close by, including the Old Quay Inn, and visitors can enjoy wonderful walks both on and from the campsite. The River Fal and the creekside hamlets of Penpol and Devoran are just a short stroll away, and the site is located on Route 3 of the National Cycle Network. Find out more here: Carnon Downs
We would like to thank Simon Vallance and family for all their hard work building and maintaining this fantastic campsite over the years and look forward to continuing their success. All current bookings will be honoured.
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A lovely open and spacious site. Large pitches with the big advantage that you can book a particular pitch a year ahead. Will this still apply? Will current pitch bookings still apply for the rest of the year?
When do CAMC rules come into effect on this site?
Thanks
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If I remember correctly, Simon Vallance was a warden at another club site near Truro, now long gone, before taking ownership of Carnon Downs. Maybe that explains the good standard of Carnon Downs.
I see the site will continue to be open all year under the club's ownership. That's good as there aren't many all year sites in Cornwall.
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This is good news, just a shame the book a pitch button takes you off the Club site to the original web site. It would seem you are unable to book unless you contact the site.
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Simon and family have certainly worked hard to build a fantastic campsite and I wish them well with whatever they move on to now. Sadly though I can't help but be concerned for the site as I'm sure CAMC will soon reduce it to their basic bog-standard
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Oh dear, the marketing people are out early:
'Recent reviews
Rated five-star by Club members, Carnon Downs Camping and Caravan Park enjoys consistently excellent reviews, with guests particularly enjoying the great location and high quality onsite facilities. One member even went so far as to say it is the “best site on the circuit”!'
Its only been a Club site for 9 days
Perhaps this could be trialled for book your pitch preference as often mentioned. There is a system in place that gets rave reviews, so shouldn't be too difficult to not mess it up.
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If I remember correctly, Simon Vallance was a warden at another club site near Truro, now long gone, before taking ownership of Carnon Downs. Maybe that explains the good standard of Carnon Downs.
Guess it is a bit too close to home for you TW. I have stayed on both sites in the winter months. I believe he sold the first site to Tesco or certainly as part of a retail park.
I cannot see the Club wasting money on changing the site to any great extent.
peedee
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The site where I believe Simon was warden was where the Threemilestone retail park is now, or thereabouts. Quite a way from Tesco.
We stayed at Carnon Downs once in winter when we lived further away but it is a bit close to home now. It's a site often used by visitors who come to see the Truro Festival of Lights lantern parade each November.
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As you aren't a member and say you won't be will it matter?
Actually funnily enough a departed poster said almost the same thing when the club obtained Cayton Village, it appears you two are of the same mind.
This is the second (third?) site the club has purchased in as many years so well done club.
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I have similar memories, Corners, but thought it was said of Bingham Grange, the new club site in Dorset.
Perhaps it was said of both. 🤷🏻♂️
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Yes I think you're right and could well be, so it is three new recent sites. The club must be doing something right.
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It’s good to increase pitch numbers, or to bring them under the club's umbrella, whatever the nay-sayers think👍🏻
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It began with L but I can’t remember the name.
Leverton Place is still there but is now called Truro Caravan & Camping Park. It borders the same retail park and the two sites were close neighbours back in the day.
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The Vallance family owned Leverton Place at Greenbottom. We used to stay at Leverton Place in out trailer tent days. It's now a retail park - I assume they sold up and they bought Carnon Downs. I think Simon was the son. Perhaps he is now thinking of retiring??
We've not stayed at Carnon Downs - we usually use Globe Vale, just outside Redruth and will probably continue to do so, although we may try Carnon Downs and possibly alternate between the two.
It will be a fantastic addition to the Club.
David
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I suspect both our memories are probably a bit hazy, David, but Leverton Place is still there and running under its new name next door to the retail park. A second site existed where the retail park is now.
https://chacewater.cylex-uk.co.uk/company/leverton-place-caravan---camping-park-17941865.html
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That is uncanny, that was more or less the reply from the long departed poster I was was talking about. I think he was from Dorset I recall?. You two are defiantly of the same mind.
I think the club will improve on it, as well as getting rid of non refundable deposits, payments 3 days before arrival and making it more child friendly. Also £30 per night in January appears a lot? It's a welcome addition to the network.
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Bingham Grange used to be a great non club site, but judging by all the adverse comments from members using the site now it is a club site, it was not for them.
Have to say not visited since the club gained control, can see why club members dont like it, but no doubt in the re-furbishment that is planned the club will turn it into another sterile camp site, Bath Chew Valley is another, again not visited since the club took charge, but remember it well, as part of the service you used to unhitch at reception and a nice person on a little tractor took your caravan to pitch and helped you set up, cant see that happening on a club site .
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I thought Bath Chew Valley was still an AS in private ownership?
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Have the club now taken on Bath chew valley?
We went to Bingham Grange when the cc first took it over ,and cannot understand how some can complain about facilities on club sites when noting just how poor they were there
At times the only way that some pitches Not a choice, could be accessed was to unhitch at reception for the staff to pitch for you,
And there was not any waste disposal on the lower part of the site
Toilet ccep was a very dirty toilet in a ramshackle "shed?"
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Thank you everyone for your comments.
We want to reassure anyone who already has a booking at Carnon Downs that this campsite will continue to run without any changes in 2021 and we will honour all previous commitments.
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"Toilet ccep was a very dirty toilet in a ramshackle "shed?""
might have been a shed, but all was good when we stayed, more than once, but this is what happens when the club takes over sites that are way off the club norm, and you are club norm.
When in private ownership they had a dedicated team of cleaners, maintenance people, and yes in some cases they helped you onto pitch if you could not manage especially if it was wet , so that people did not churn up pitches etc, personally never had a problem.
As for facilities, yes some were def not what you would get on a club site, quirky i would call them but they had a couple of very large ensuite rooms which were fairly new and quite a few of the more querky type but lots had a shower, toilet and wash basin all in one cubicle which i like.
Certainly not car park like, although i believe they added a few extra pitches that we have not seen, but we enjoyed the site and the area, in fact we will be back in the Bridport area for 2 weeks starting 4th May but not on a club site
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Carnon Downs changed ownership at least once before - the previous people, called Birch I believe, went to run the site at Wareham Forest Park. Now Carnon Downs has changed ownership once again but it's still the same site in the same place. Some members who would never have gone there before when it was merely "affiliated" may go there now. Some people may be more excited than I am.
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You definitely heard wrong, Rufs😀
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