A good campsite in our book is one that has everything you need close to a whole heap of places you want to EAT! So if you can’t survive camping without a decent flat white, or a multi-course gourmet meal, then we’ve got you covered. Here's our top foodie campsites in Cornwall...
Cornwall has a really exciting food scene right now, so if you want to dine like kings but stay on a budget, then camping can give you great access to Cornwall's best foodie haunts. We’ve chosen the best campsites for their proximity to good Cornish restaurants, pubs and eateries.
You’re going to need stretchy pants for this one...
A beautiful, simple campsite perched on the headland on the Roseland Peninsula with amazing sea views and clean facilities. You can rock up with a tent, campervan, a caravan or book into one of their camping pods. Pitches are spacious and almost all have views across to the bay. We always camp with our Bell Tent in Arthurs Field, which they open just for July and August. The views are amazing - magnificent ocean horizons, patchwork fields and little villages dotted across the headland.
Treloan campsite has the closest proximity to a foodie pub than any campsite in the whole of Cornwall (that we can think of anyway!). Just 3/5 minute walk along an accessible road is The Standard Inn, a beautifully revamped fishermans pub, serving incredible food and real ales.
On summer days the large pub garden hosts bottomless barbecue lunches, grilled fish and meats cooked and smoked slowly over wood, served on their impressive giant oak long-tables. It’s an independent freehouse, and a newly opened summer hotspot! But, if the weather cuts up a bit rough, and you fancy something more cosy, the inside of the pub is candlelit with beautiful traditional decor. The Standard Inn has been voted one of the best pubs for Sunday roast by the Guardian.
Sample menu prices at The Standard Inn:
Lunch plates from £14, Dinner plates from £19 and Sunday lunch from £24. With the yellow and blue bars free for casual drinkers, with use of garden tables too.
Alternatively take a short walk along the coastal path to the traditional Cornish village of Porthcatho, where you will find shops, cafe’s, art galleries and The Hidden Hut - run by the same owners as the Standard Inn, Gemma Glass and Simon Stallard.
The Hidden Hut is an unassuming beach-hut-come-outdoor-cafe - actually on the beach! Serving an incredible causal dining menu, delicious freshly-made lunches and refreshments. On the day we ate there the menu included popular favourites; Charcoal grilled lemon and oregano chicken, Chicken and sausage sweet potato gumbo, Salt cod, chorizo and butter bean stew and Spinach and chickpea dhal. Their Salt cod, chorizo and butter bean stew with oven-fresh sourdough was to die for! Totally worth the undulating walk from the campsite.
Be warned though, there is no seating inside the Hut, so choose your day. Guests are encouraged bring creature comforts they like, from blankets, cushions picnic rugs and even pop-up tents. Places for Hidden Hut theme supper nights and Feast Nights are as sough after as festival tickets, so book early!
Dennis Cove Campsite is a fantastic campsite in an unrivalled location! Only a 10 minute pushchair-friendly walk (via their own access on to the Camel Trail) to beautiful Padstow Harbour & renowned restaurants of the area. There are lovely spacious pitches and a really high spec facilities block. The sheer number and variety of great places to eat near Dennis Cove Campsite in Padstow is impressive.
Seafood restaurants have a tendency to dominate Padstow, but if you want high-end we recommend Paul Ainsworth at No6. A Michelin star restaurant and the must-visit destination restaurant for fine dining in Cornwall. Diners can glimpse the chefs creating their masterpieces in the kitchen, including the restaurant’s iconic ‘A Fairground Tale’ dessert course – each served resplendently on a miniature carousel. No6 is a beautiful Georgian townhouse and the perfect setting to spoil yourself when on your camping holiday. Don’t worry, the dress code is still very much casual.
Other amazing eateries in Padstow, just stroll from the campsite, are Prawn on the Lawn and Rick Stein’s Café
A small and peaceful, waterside campsite at Mylor. It’s near to the marina & amenities on the country’s finest sailing waters. With large pitches, all facing the water with views across Carrick Roads and along the creeks, with great facilities.
If you take a walk along the southwest coast path to Flushing (try this wonderful scenic circular walk), you’ll find the infamous Flushing Harbour House. A beautiful public house on the water’s edge.
Harbour House Flushing pub kitchen offers amazing breakfasts, lunches and dinners as well as an all-day bar menu with small plates and bar snacks. Their array of dishes showcase the freshest of produce from the surrounding sea, rivers, fields, alongside beers from local breweries such as Verdant, Treens and Padstow, as well as locally distilled spirits and Cornish ciders.
Andrew Tuck, ever-rising star on the Cornish food scene, formerly the acclaimed head chef at the St Kew Inn, is now the Head Chef at Flushing’s Harbour House. Cooking a delightful BBQ-based open kitchen menu.
Handily Harbour House is open from 9am for coffee and pastries, also breakfast. Lunch is served inside from 12-3pm Dinner is served inside from 5:30pm – 8:30pm. Located right on the harbour front, it is the perfect place to eat, relax, have a beer and watch the world float by.
Further on from the campsite is another great foodie destination, the Pandora Inn. A 13th century creekside inn with beautiful low beams and flagstone floors, serving fish straight from the boat. You can choose to eat inside or on the pontoon by the water. There’s an extensive menu, decent wine list and traditional real ales from St Austell Brewery. Open 10am - 10pm daily, a perfect spot for refuelling after a good walk – perhaps the most popular Cornish pursuit of all! Here a good circular route for Mylor Bridge to Pandora Inn.
An eco-chic campsite on the north Cornish Coast. Surrounded by countryside with a footpath down to the beach, the tidal pool and village of Porthtowan. The Eco Park is a back to basics wild campsite, where you can switch off from the mundanity of modern life and become absorbed by eco-focused beauty. Spacious pitches, most with sea views, with it's own restaurant, the Blue Bar and The Unicorn on the Beach close by.
Acclaimed Canteen Cornwall is now a permanent resident at the Eco Park with their on-site restaurant. Serving a daily changing menu of plant-based breakfasts, lunches and dinners, using ingredients from their organic allotment. Championing great ingredients and the importance of provenance. Serving breakfast from 9am - 11:30am and Lunch from 12pm. Seasonal feasts and themed nights are held under the atrium, with firepits, alcoholic drinks with music. From Curry nights, Grill nights and Pizza parties, making it the perfect easy camping location when you don’t fancy going out.
Canteen serves seven days a week, so if you envision having somebody do ALL the hard work for you, the Eco Park has you covered. Lunch dishes are very affordable from £8 - £10 per plate. The also serve amazing coffee and their famous Cinnamon buns!
If you DO fancy stepping out the Campsite, then the Blue Bar in Porthtowan is a great spot to sit by the sea, sip beer and feast on beach-bar-classics, such as burgers, pizza's and tacos.
We offer pre-pitched Bell Tent hire to all of the above campsites. So if you want an effortless camping experience, giving you time to fully enjoy the foodie delights of Cornwall, simply pack your bag and we'll do the rest!
Find out more about our fully furnished Bell Tent hire to Cornish campsites here.
