We’ve had our Hyundi 100 van conversion a little over 2 months now, giving us plenty of time to take it on some adventures! Initially we’ve only taken the van out locally in Cornwall so we can get an idea of what to expect when we go away for longer trips. The last thing we want to do is find out that we’ve got some kind of problem when we’re thousands of miles away from home. It’s also good to get an idea of temperature so we don’t end up overheating or freezing, which might result in a trip being cut short.
Another reason we’ve not taken it out as much as we hoped, is we still have a few jobs to do. We’ve pretty much got the van ready to go now though, and as I’m typing this, I’ve just received word that our lovely handmade curtains are ready to be fitted. This means we’ll have grey curtains that are both black out and thermal lined, which is going to make a huge difference compared to the blinds we have at the moment.
Luckily, Cornwall has a lot to offer and we’ve had plenty of fun being tourist in our own county. There are so many places we haven’t been that we want to explore. I couldn’t list everywhere we’ve been because we take it wherever Magicseaweed says the surf is (Perranporth, Polzeth, Praa Sands, Newquay etc). But here’s a round up of some of our trips exploring the Cornish coastline beyond the surf!
St Agnes Head, St Agnes
When we first picked up the van in March we were eager to take it out as soon as possible. It was a little bit chilly but we decided to head up to St Agnes, pull back the sliding side door and enjoy the view. Thanks to the previous owner, Boris has a great sound system, so we put on some Bon Iver and watched the sunset with our dog.
There’s nothing better than being able to watch the sun go down over the sea whilst being cuddled up in bed. I can see us spending a lot of time up in St Agnes in the warmer months. It’s so quiet and peaceful, and you don’t get other people in camper vans up there. There is a height restriction to get into the carparks overlooking the headland but Boris just managed to slide under the barrier.
Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
If you live in Cornwall, as soon as the weather starts to warm up, you’ll notice your feed covered in pictures of Porthcurno. I’m ashamed to admit that before May, I’d never been to this scenic village on the coast.
Desperate to go, we packed up the van with our dog on the first sunny morning and headed down towards Lands End. We left our van in a nearby carpark and followed the coastal path from the beach over to the Minack Theatre, taking in the incredible views on the way.
The views were breath-taking, just as we expected. I’ve got so much GoPro footage to sort through, I don’t even know where to start. We were blessed with sunshine all day which made such a difference.
We soaked up the sunshine at the Minack Theatre and ate our packed lunch before heading back along the beach.
Of course, dogs aren’t allowed on the beach during the summer but we recently discovered a little loop-hole… Nobody minds where you take your dog if you carry him in a backpack. In matter of fact, it’s actually encouraged.
Everybody swoons over how cute our scruffy little Jack Russel is, when they see his happy little face poking our of our K9 Airsack. I don’t blame them – he looks absolutely adorable! It’s also really handy if we’re going over dangerous bits of loose rocks or if he gets tired after a long day of walking.
St Michaels Mount, Marazion
The first place we slept in the van was overlooking St Michaels Mount from Marazion. We arrived with plenty of time after our trip to Porthcurno so we could get a good spot. There’s so many great places to park up but we had to make sure we could stay somewhere it was legal to sleep.
First, we headed over to a carpark that was right next to the beach. We reversed into a space in the quiet carpark before popping the back door. When we were laying on the bed drinking a cup of tea, all we could see was the calm sea and hear the waves gently crashing, bliss!
We spent a couple of hours enjoying the view before moving on to somewhere we could sleep, because we didn’t know how easy it would be to find somewhere. We drove a little bit further down the road and found Slipway carpark, located right opposite St Michael’s Mount. We pulled up and made a beef stew with dumplings and had our dinner whilst the sun went down. We couldn’t believe we got such a good spot with toilets nearby!
Surprisingly, I slept like a log and we didn’t wake up until 10am. It was so nice being away from technology (although we do have electrics, chargers, lights etc in the van). The distractions of televisions and laptops were left at home so we could just be in the moment. We had a slow morning with the doors open, having hot drinks, chatting in bed and letting the dog play on the nearby footpath.
Somebody came past our van at about midday, just as we were about to leave for a day out at the castle and said we shouldn’t have slept here, but it wasn’t a problem and he was really understanding. Oops!
We walked across to St Michael’s Mount and had a lovely day out, capturing even more amazing GoPro footage!
Tintagel Castle, Tintagel
North west Cornwall is an area we haven’t explored much, so I was really excited to visit Tintagel a village situated on the Atlantic coast. Tintagel lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), with the same status and protection as a National Park. I didn’t know much about Tintagel but I was aware the area was associated with the legends surrounding King Arthur.
We parked in a field near the coastal path to Bossiney Haven overlooking panoramic ocean views.
There were 3 other campers parked up in the field and the adjacent fields were empty, so it was really quiet. Once we got settled we walked into the village and had a drink in a nearby beer garden just a short 10 minute walk from where we parked up.
We headed back to our van and warmed up our smoked beef cheeks and macaroni cheese before having an early night so we’d be full of energy to explore in the morning. We woke up roasting at about 9am which soon got me out of bed and out in the sunshine. I must have spent about an hour throwing Alfie’s kong in the field before we got ready and headed to the castle.
If you’ve never been, then you should definitely go! We spent hours just walking around in awe of the scenery and learning about the history of Tintagel. I couldn’t recommend it enough. Especially Bossiney Haven carpark (if you’re vanning it!) because it’s only £1 and overnight sleeping is legal. There’s also clean public toilets at the top of the field, just next to the coastal path.
As you can see from our pictures, Tintagel is BEAUTIFUL 👇😍
Arizona Birkenstocks from Footway
Next stop: Snowdonia 🏔