Campsites in Polperro, Camping at Great Kellow Farm Campsite

There are options for campsites in Polperro, a village on the coast of Cornwall. We opted to stay at the dog friendly Great Kellow Farm. Great Kellow Farm is a working farm and campsite on a hilltop near to the picturesque village of Polperro in Cornwall. The campsite is a quiet and remote place with basic facilities that you need for a camping adventure.

Camping Cornwall - Shadow 350 Nightfall Tent

This is one of my favourite campsites that I have camped at in Cornwall. It has the perfect blend of remoteness and is accessible for the nearby coast towns.

Campsite Location Near Polperro, Cornwall

The farm is on Kellow Hill in some very nice farmland. It has some superb sea views from the top field. The farm is a 15-20-minute walk into the stunning fishing village of Polperro that has an interesting history. This area of Cornwall is excellent for hiking, and the local Polperro Heritage Coast is stunning.

Polperro Harbour

There are many pubs and restaurants in the nearby village of Polperro, the closest being The Crumplehorn Inn. My favourite eatery during my stay was the stunning Three Pilchards that are near to the harbour. The Three Pilchards Seafood was divine, clearly very fresh and cooked to a very high standard.

Seafood Platter

For supplies, there are limited options, but the standout shop for me was Polperro news. They stocked many food items from fresh local meat, sundries, cheeses, and fuel for barbeques.

Great Kellow Farm Camping

Sunset

This is a working farm, and visitors should expect to see farming in action on your stay. This was fascinating for me and becoming my daily alarm clock. The farm had 3 dogs of their own, a terrier type dog, a fully trained sheepdog, and a sheepdog puppy. Their puppy liked to make friends with campers and visiting dogs. The site has signs that visiting dogs were to remain on leads, much like when walking through any farmland.

Cattle Farming

There were beef calves in a barn when we arrived, waiting to move to another farm. The farm has quite a large flock of sheep. One joy of the stay was watching the farmer and sheepdog moving the flock from field to field.

Flock of Sheep

A few pigs were in a nice field with mud to roll in near to the main gates. These looked like they were having great fun in their area.

Pigs at Great Kellow Farm

Finally, there were hens and roosters that were the early morning wake-up call for me. These also laid eggs that the farmer sold daily at the gate in an honesty box. Eggs cost £1.50 for six. These were some of the best eggs I have tasted for a long time.

Eggs for sale

How To Get To The Site

To get to Great Kellow Farm by car typically involves travelling down the M5, then A38 into Cornwall, then on to scenic country roads. It is easy to find using sat nav travelling via Looe through some stunning countryside.

The nearest train station to the farm is Looe, so is a possibility for Interrail travellers. The Looe Branch line is a stunning piece of the track. From Looe, there are regular buses provided by Transport for Cornwall. The numbers of these are the 72 or 73. From the bus stop is a 15-minute walk up the hill. This is a steep and one-lane road and a challenge after a long day out.

If travelling in a group, a taxi from Looe to the farm is the best value. It is also the easiest option. The trip costs between £12 or £15. For people who wish to push the boat out and arrive in style, Polperro and Looe have regular boat trips between the two places.

Campsite Facilities

There are two basic options when booking a stay at Great Kellow Farm. Either a basic pitch in the field nearest to the far buildings. Alternatively, a pitch with an electric hookup in the second field that has the sea views.

Polperro Campsite - Great Kellow Farm

Obviously, the pitches with a hookup provide you with electricity. For campers without the shower block had many plug points for you to charge phones, cameras, power banks, etc. The charging points were welcome and complimented my solar-powered power bank for keeping me charged.

The shower block is located where the 2 camping fields meet. It had 4 wet rooms, so very accessible for all. Each wet room had a regular shower with a higher, bigger head that was relaxing to stand under. The room had a toilet, sink and a hand dryer too. This shower block was well maintained. The farmer inspected and checked these daily cleaning & replenishing the sundries.

There was a two-sink washing up area with hot water and deep sinks to clean your cooking kit. This was outside the shower area but covered for a pleasant washing up experience. We could also use the sinks for handwashing clothes, ideal for campers that travel light and need to freshen up their wardrobe.

Cooking at the Campsite

Campsite-Barbeque

People on the site used various methods for cooking, including facilities in their campervans or caravans. They allowed the use of Barbeques, if raised off the floor as per most sites. Great Kellow Farm was organised for this and had a pile of breeze blocks you could collect to raise even the disposable barbeques that are quite popular.

Personally, I used a recycled barbeque I spotted in the bin area after a good wash of the grill served me well and saved me some dollars. Many campers leave useful stuff near to the bin area on many sites as they leave, a treasure trove for new arrivals sometimes.

Booking a Stay

I found the campsite to be very good value for the basic stay on a tent pitch. They also have pitches with electicity which cost a bit more. These are ideal for camper vans and motorhomes.

There are contact details on their website, including email, phone or post. I actually used Facebook messenger to arrange the stay, which was efficient. After 2 messages, they confirmed my stay and requested I do a bank transfer to seal the deal.

Check-In

Welcome to Great Kellow Farm

Checking in was very easy. They placed a board by the farm entrance with instructions to call. On calling, they directed us to the field and told to pick a spot we fancied with distance from other campers. I usually like to be quite a distance from others, so picked a spot that suited me.

Camping with Dog in Cornwall

Dog Friendly

I found the campsite very welcoming of dogs and there was plenty about sometimes communicating. Dogs were not allowed off the lead according to signs on the site. The farm dogs were friendly and did the rounds to say hi to the guest pets.

There were loads of great walking nearby to keep dogs exercised. Also, dogs were welcomed in most pubs in the local area. During hot weather, I would advise to find a shady part of the site. And to bring your own shade for the dog to keep cool on a warm day.

Things to see and do in South East Cornwall

The farm is in the countryside and very near the coast, so lots to do for outdoor types that enjoy hiking. The South Coast Trail passes through Polperro so you could hike in either direction, both of which are spectacular.

Looe is a small town with many things to see on the coast. It is to the east of the campsite. There are more shopping options in Looe and more activities. There is also a very nice vineyard to the north of the town called Looe Valley Vineyard, who does a fantastic tour and tasting session.

Fowey is a pretty fishing town with loads to do and popular with watersports enthusiasts or history buffs. Fowey is best accessed via the ferry from Polruan after catching the 481 bus from the Crumplehorn pub bus stop.

Farm at sundown

As the campsite is at the top of the hill, it has some fantastic views and is a great vantage point for sunrise and sunset. The sunrises were a great way to start the day with farm noises and songbirds, the accompanying music. Watching the sunset here draws you in and is pretty spiritual: it is a great way to wind down after a full-on Cornwall day.

Campsite Sunrise at Great Kellow Farm

Contact Great Kellow Farm

Dan and Sadie Stanbury, Great Kellow Farm Caravan & Camping Site, Polperro, Cornwall, PL13 2QL

Telephone – 01503 272387

Website – www.greatkellowfarm.co.uk/

3 thoughts on “Campsites in Polperro, Camping at Great Kellow Farm Campsite”

  1. There are not enough showers and toilets in the summer holidays! All except 2 toilets.are in with a shower so people get up, go for a shower and there are no free loos until the showering people are done!

  2. Gorgeous place. Remote spots not too far from civilization are my favorite regions on earth. To date, these are the only locations I could settle in right now and make home; I could leave the digital nomad life behind for such peaceful, serene living. Excellent review.

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