Trevella Park* in Cornwall is a five-star multi award-winning caravan and campsite, situated in a countryside setting close to Crantock Beach and Newquay. It’s been named one of Cornwall’s top 3 holiday parks by Cornwall Tourism; one of the UK’s top 10 family parks by Practical Caravan Magazine; and has won the David Bellamy Gold Award for conservation for sixteen consecutive years!

A couple of years ago Trevella invited Practically Perfect Mums to review their facilities and you can read all about that in our  Trevella Park Review. You can also get a really good insight from our Trevella Park Video.

As a result of that first Trevella Park Review, we were invited for a return visit, so we decided to try to grab the last few rays of September sunshine, crossing our fingers that we might manage a dip in the outdoor heated pool this time.

JOURNEY FROM BRISTOL TO CORNWALL

With three school age sons, our weekend can’t start until after the 3.20 pick up and what with the usual changing out of school uniforms, welly-trying-on for boys (who insist on letting their feet keep growing, however much I nag them about it), devouring of what they refer to as snacks, but you or I might call a square meal (Do my children have huge appetites or have school dinners got smaller?) and general faffing, an hour has passed before we set out. Traffic conditions are good and we’re soon well on our way and driving directly into a very beautiful sunset – much appreciated by we passengers, although not the best driving conditions for the poor husband who’s having to squint to see the road!

By 7.30 we’re glad to see Trevella’s distinctive long flower-clad drive and we’re greeted by tempting barbecue aromas and a guitarist playing live music.

ARRIVING AT TREVELLA PARK

Once we’ve unloaded our bags, the boys run outside to grab a few minutes in the mini play area on the large green outside before it gets dark, while the husband and I check out the strange goings on in the cafe which normally closes at 7pm.  It turns out that we’ve arrived towards the latter end of a caravan owners party, just in time to be handed a plate heaped high with freshly cooked, yet surplus delights, including slow roasted belly pork, ribs, halloumi and giant hot dog sausages for the boys. No cooking for us tonight after all – great result!

THE GAMES ROOM

By the time the children have finished eating, it’s too dark to go back outside so we let them hang out in the games room, armed with a whole £1 each. They enjoy a lengthy game of pool, and by the time the room’s closed quite some time later, they’ve only managed to spend the grand total of £1 between them. Long may this frugality last! With the cafe normally closed in the evening, the games room is Trevella’s little nod to flashy nightlife.

OUR CARAVAN

After dinner we go back and check out our caravan properly. Classed as a three-bedroom luxury grade caravan, it’s very smart and clean with a big kitchen lounge diner and can sleep up to eight. The layout is unusual with the entrance door between two of the bedrooms at the carpeted end of the caravan.

The living space is pristine, featuring stylish decor, a small colour television and a modern fireplace.

The kitchen is well equipped and immaculate, with the smart fixtures and fittings you’d expect in a caravan which is only about a year old. The curtains are pretty, and of course I’m thrilled by the attractive and functional hooks on the hallway wall. It’s good to see items such as a cafetière on the standard itinerary these days, so we know to come prepared with our ground coffee.

The master bedroom is a modest size with no dressing table and there’s only one toilet which is located inside the large shower room. These two space-savers allow for more room elsewhere in the home and even with five of us, we’re happy to forfeit a second toilet in exchange for such a spacious living room area!

WHAT IS AND ISN’T PROVIDED?

All our bedding is provided along with a loo roll, washing up cloth and scourer.

We need to bring our own towels, soap, toiletries (and any food and clothes of course). I’d also suggest bringing a bath mat or small towel to stop the shower room floor from getting too wet.

There are sockets by the bed, but bedside lights aren’t supplied.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT?

Our caravan for the weekend offers a large comfortable living space, so we don’t mind at all that we only have one toilet and bathroom between us, but this particular layout may not be to everyone’s taste.

Having the entrance in a carpeted area between the bedrooms doesn’t offer an obvious storage space for muddy shoes and boots and makes us worry about getting mud on the carpet.

Reading in bed is one of the simple pleasures of being on holiday, so having no bedside lights, nor a switch by the bed to turn off the overhead light, is surprising in a modern luxury accommodation. Reading by the torch on my phone’s certainly not ideal so I hope some lamps might be added soon – otherwise we’ll be bringing our own next time we come!

TREVELLA PARK REVIEW

SITE AND FACILITIES

Guests can join in with free Ranger Adventures (during school holidays), enjoy the outdoor pool or relax at two well-stocked fishing lakes. Facilities for children also include slides, climbing frames, an adventure playground and zip wire.

THE PARK

Our caravan is near the main reception area so the boys can pop across to play in the little park near us while we’re preparing food etc.

ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

A few minutes walk takes us to this lovely adventure playground in the adjoining field, complete with a zip wire and monkey bars.

CRAZY GOLF

We don’t manage to find time for a round of crazy golf or to spend much time by the lakes but have a look at my Trevella Park Review Video from our previous visit if you’d like to see more on those.

MINI ZOO

Also near our caravan are a few animal enclosures and we sometimes hear the gentle hooting of the owl from our bed at night!

We feel very honoured when one of the staff offers to take us into the large owl enclosure and my seven year old is even allowed to collect a couple of discarded feathers to show his teacher at school.

The water’s heated so it’s fine for a quick dip at this time of year, especially with the promise of hot chocolate afterwards.

I suppose I should mention that there are laundry facilities, just in case you feel the need to indulge while you are on holiday, YOU CRAZY THANGS!! It looks comprehensively kitted out, if you like that sort of thing.

The site’s very well-tended as you can see from the shot below. It isn’t a set up, just a moment I happen to wander past with my camera, and you can see there’s not a petal out-of-place. Actually, I wonder if that nice fellow might like to pop up to Portishead and sort my garden out. . .

There’s plenty of scope for camping at Trevella too, although if putting up a tent sounds like hard work, you could always try your hand at glamping in one of these large safari tents.

THE VERDICT?

Trevella Park offers a great range of facilities as well as plenty of wide open spaces where our children can just indulge in good ol’ wholesome creative play. The site is really well-tended and even with all the facilities, still manages to maintain a quiet, rural feel.