Cornish Tipi Holidays review
If you’re dreaming of a laid-back summer of meadow camping, wild swimming and exploring the coast, book yourself a little slice of the Good Life at Cornish Tipi Holidays. Sleep in a tipi or your own tent, cook freshly-caught fish over the fire and spend your days messing about on the water at this very special campsite.
Down a forgotten country lane lies Cornish Tipis, a magical hidden valley near the north Cornwall coast. Across 20 off-grid acres those namesake white tipi tents, some in a large meadow, some in their own private forest glades, encircle a glassy green quarry-turned-swimming lake. This is the perfect spot to escape from real life (and from WiFi connection), sleep under the stars and simply slow down.
Half the fun of a stay here is deciding how you want to camp. The main field is home to larger tipis, ideal for groups, and there’s a field for campervans and a meadow for tent campers. Hidden in the woods are private tipis in their own little clearings, and there are also ‘wild camping’ pitches – these are in secluded glades where you’d be forgiven for thinking you were totally on your own in the great outdoors.
I stayed at Cornish Tipi Holidays over a balmy September weekend. My tipi, in its own little woodland clearing, came complete with a fire pit, a picnic table and washing line. This is not luxury glamping, but the tipis are still kitted out with basics, including cooking kit, stove and Turkish rugs. You’ll need to bring your own bedding, and I also recommend bringing lanterns and fairy lights for night-time. It’s good fun DIY camping in your own tipi, and at 18ft tall they’re a relaxing space to hang out in in bad weather. That said, regular campers might prefer to bring their own tent, and camping rather than choosing a tipi is a far cheaper way to stay in this wonderfully wild valley. There are also smart shower blocks complete with every camper’s dream – piping hot water. Oh, and there’s no Wifi, so there’s nothing much to do once you’ve unrolled your sleeping besides relax.
The tipis and camping glades are lovely places to while away time in the sunshine, but the best spot of all in this lost valley is the swimming lake. Once a working quarry, this deep cool pool, fringed by ferns and tall trees, is now a wild swimmer’s dream. Go for a lazy swim, row one of the boats or canoes that are tied up and waiting for guests, dive off a floating pontoon, fish for your supper or just sunbathe on the deck and watch the dragonflies that whizz over the surface of the water.
It’s tempting to spend all day at the swimming hole, but if you do want to explore further afield, Cornwall’s coastline is ten minutes away by car. When I stayed at Cornish Tipi Holidays we walked across the fields to Port Gaverne for a swim in the ocean, and then on to the fishing village of Port Isaac for a pasty and a coffee by the sea. We made it back to the valley just in time for an evening swim in the last of the sunshine and a glass of wine by the fire pit. Lazy days outdoors really don’t get much better.
Stay there: Cornish Tipi Holidays is currently accepting bookings from 26 March – 15 October 2021. Wild camping from £18 per adult per night, tipis from £160 for two nights.
