Cornwall

Last checked November 2026.

With miles of beautiful coastline and endless sandy coves and beaches, Cornwall is an ideal place to visit in a campervan. Darren’s long van trips started from here. The catch is overnight parking. Cornwall Council bans sleeping in its car parks, except in eleven where a self-contained motorhome can pay to stay the night; the National Trust doesn’t allow overnight parking anywhere; and many of the old free spots, from Hayle’s car parks to Lizard Point, are now off limits at night. Plan your nights on campsites or in the council’s overnight car parks.

The summer school holidays (late July and August) are extremely busy. To stay during this period, book ahead and plan your travel well to avoid delays and traffic queues. If you can, visit in quieter times such as June and early July, or September.

A good guidebook helps you get the most out of a trip to Cornwall.

Guidebooks

Image	Title	Price	Link
	DK Eyewitness Top 10 Cornwall and Devon An intensely picturesque and idyllic corner of England – Cornwall and Devon encompass a landscape layered with beautiful moorland, quaint villages, white-sand beaches, and ruined castles.	Check price	Buy
	Cornwall : 40 Coast & Country Walks (Pocket Mountains) With over 400 miles of mainland coastline and an excellent public path network, Cornwall is all about rugged shorelines, gorgeous sandy beaches, turquoise waters, meandering rivers and wide open countryside.	Check price	Buy
	Lonely Planet Devon & Cornwall (Travel Guide) Up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you.	Check price	Buy

These are affiliate links: Campervan Life may earn a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, Campervan Life earns from qualifying purchases.

Where you can and can’t stay overnight

There’s no general law in England against sleeping in a legally parked van on a public road, but local rules are common and you have to read the signs. Car-park orders, traffic orders and public spaces protection orders can all ban it, and a council can direct people living in a vehicle on a roadside or other land to leave; ignoring the direction, or coming back within three months, can mean a fine of up to £1,000. There’s no right to wild camp in a vehicle anywhere in England: you need the landowner’s permission. More in wild camping and free camping.

Cornwall Council car parks. The council’s car-park order, in force since 1 April 2026, bans using a car park, or a vehicle left in one, for “sleeping or camping purposes” or for cooking, unless the council allows it. It counts any vehicle built or adapted for sleeping in, or being used for sleeping, as a motorhome or camper, so a small campervan is covered too. Many of the car parks also ban motorhomes and campers altogether between 11pm and 8am. Parking a van in one of those during the ban can get you a £70 penalty charge notice (£35 if paid within 14 days); sleeping or camping in a car park can get you one for £50 (£25).

The exception is eleven car parks where a self-contained motorhome, meaning one with its own toilet and tanks for grey and toilet waste, can stay overnight. You buy a motorhome overnight ticket for each night, covering 6pm to 9am; ordinary 24-hour, weekly, season and rover tickets don’t count. The signs set the rules, such as a maximum of two nights in a row. There are no special motorhome bays (except at Gyllyngvase in Falmouth and the marked areas at the Crescent in Bude), and if your van covers two spaces you pay for both. Prices are for 2026; summer is 1 April to 31 October.

Pay at the machine (some council car parks went cashless in August 2026) or with the JustPark app. A campervan without a toilet can’t use these car parks.

National Trust. The Trust doesn’t allow overnight parking at any of its places, and it looks after a lot of the Cornish coast, including Lizard Point.

Forestry England. Overnight parking isn’t allowed in its car parks. In summer 2026 it ran a trial of booked overnight stays in seven forests, including Cardinham Woods near Bodmin (16 July to 14 September, £16 a night or £14 for members, vans up to 6.5 m long and 3.5 tonnes, up to 48 hours). The trial is over, and it isn’t yet known whether it will return in 2027.

Bodmin Moor and other open country. The right of access on open access land is on foot: it doesn’t cover driving or camping, so you can’t park up on the moor for the night without the landowner’s permission.

Other car parks and roads. Some car parks are run by town councils, harbour authorities or private owners, each with their own rules; read the tariff board before you settle in. Lay-bys are fine for a rest unless signed otherwise, but on roads with a speed limit over 30 mph you must leave your parking lights on, and at night you must park facing the direction of the traffic.

Vans used to stay overnight in car parks in Hayle, Tintagel and Mevagissey, by the lighthouse at Lizard Point and at Rough Tor on Bodmin Moor. Cornwall Council’s car parks in all three towns now ban sleeping (Hayle’s Commercial Road car park and the Tintagel Visitors Centre car park also ban motorhomes from 11pm to 8am), Lizard Point is looked after by the National Trust, and Rough Tor is on open moorland.

Campsites

Cornwall is a busy place to camp all summer long, especially during the school holidays, so book ahead to be sure of a place. Many sites close from October or November to March or April; Ayr at St Ives, Wheal Rodney at Marazion, Trevedra Farm at Sennen, Carnon Downs near Truro and Treloan at Portscatho are open all year. You can also book campsites in Cornwall online.

The Caravan and Motorhome Club has eight club sites in Cornwall and the Camping and Caravanning Club has four. Members of either club can also use their small certificated sites, which take up to five vans and are often on farms. Since 2023 pop-up sites in England can open for up to 60 days a year and take motorhomes and campervans as well as tents. Brit Stops members can stop a night at farm shops, pubs and other places that host self-contained vans.

Seasons are for 2027 where the site has published them.

Getting there and driving

Main roads. The A30 runs from the M5 at Exeter down the spine of Cornwall past Launceston, Bodmin and Redruth to Penzance and Land’s End. The stretch between Carland Cross and Chiverton Cross, near Truro, opened as a dual carriageway in June 2024. The A38 comes in from Plymouth over the Tamar Bridge to Liskeard and Bodmin, and the A39, the Atlantic Highway, runs down the north coast from Devon through Bude to Wadebridge.

Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry. Coming into Cornwall is free. The toll is only charged on the way out, from Saltash to Plymouth on the bridge and from Torpoint to Plymouth on the ferry. A vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes with two axles pays £3; over 3.5 tonnes it’s £7.30 with two axles and £12 with three. Pay by cash or card. A TamarTag, linked to a prepaid account, halves the tolls if you cross often. The Torpoint Ferry runs across the Tamar between Devonport and Torpoint, handy for Rame Head and the south-east corner.

King Harry Ferry. The chain ferry across the River Fal between Feock, near Truro, and Philleigh on the Roseland saves a long drive round. It runs every 20 minutes, seven days a week; in winter the last sailings are at 19:20 from Feock and 19:30 from Philleigh. A car is £8 single or £12 day return, and large campers £11.50 or £17; pay the crew on board, and have cash ready. There’s a height limit of 3.7 m (12′ 3″) because of a low bridge at Trelissick, and a 16-tonne weight limit. The approaches have tight corners and steep slipways, so a motorhome with a long rear overhang may ground; small motorhomes are fine.

Bodinnick Ferry. The small car ferry across the river from Fowey to Bodinnick is run by C. Toms and Son. The operator says it takes motorhomes, but there’s a tight bend in the road on the Bodinnick side, so it suits a smaller van best.

Narrow lanes. Away from the main roads, many Cornish lanes are single track between high hedges, with passing places. In a big motorhome, stick to the A and B roads, don’t follow the satnav down unsigned lanes to the coves, and use the car parks on the edge of fishing villages such as Mevagissey, Polperro and Mousehole rather than driving in.

St Ives. The streets in the centre are narrow, and since November 2025 a council traffic trial has changed the one-way system, closing Tregenna Hill to inbound traffic; follow the signs. Park at the council’s Trenwith car park, above the town, which takes self-contained motorhomes overnight and has a shuttle bus into the centre in summer, or at St Erth station and take the St Ives Bay Line train along the coast.

Isles of Scilly. The Isles of Scilly Steamship Company’s ferry from Penzance to St Mary’s runs from March to November and takes about 2 hours 45 minutes; you can’t take a vehicle. Leave the van at the company’s Scillonian Park and Ride outside Penzance (TR20 8TH, book at least 48 hours ahead and ask first if your van is bigger than 5 m by 2 m) or in the council’s Harbour or Wherrytown long-stay car parks in Penzance. There’s no parking on the South Pier.

Clean air zones. There are none in Cornwall or Devon. The nearest are in the centres of Bristol and Bath; the M5 doesn’t go through either.

Speed limits. A motorhome or campervan up to 3.05 tonnes unladen can do the same as a car. Over 3.05 tonnes, it’s 50 mph on single carriageways and 60 mph on dual carriageways, with 70 mph on motorways.

Ferries. Plymouth, just over the Tamar, has Brittany Ferries sailings to France and Spain; Darren came home that way from Santander in 2007. See ferries.

North Cornwall

Bude and Widemouth Bay

Bude has big surf beaches at Summerleaze and Crooklets, and Widemouth Bay, a few miles south on the coast road, is a favourite with surfers. Self-contained motorhomes can stay overnight in marked areas of the council’s Crescent car park in Bude, which began as a trial and is now permanent. Stay at Wooda Farm or Penhalt Farm.

Tintagel and Boscastle

A pretty village, with the clifftop ruins of Tintagel Castle, the castle of the King Arthur legend. The council’s car park on Bossiney Road doesn’t allow motorhomes or campers between 11pm and 8am. Trewethett Farm, between Tintagel and Boscastle, reopens in June 2027; until then, the Camping and Caravanning Club site at St Gennys and the Camelford club site are the nearest.

Bodmin Moor

A vast area of outstanding beauty. Just east of Camelford, a narrow road runs up to the car park below Rough Tor and Brown Willy, the highest hills in Cornwall, with great walks up to the tors; take it slowly and make sure the road is clear. Much of the moor is open access land, which is for walking, not for spending the night. Bodmin’s Victoria Square car park and Launceston’s Cattle Market car park take self-contained motorhomes overnight, and the Camelford club site is open from March to October. Cardinham Woods, east of Bodmin, has forest walks and cycle trails.

Padstow and Polzeath

Padstow is a busy fishing port on the Camel estuary, and Polzeath, across the water, has a great family and surf beach. Park in the council’s Link Road car park, which takes self-contained motorhomes overnight, rather than driving down to the harbour. Tristram Caravan Park sits on the cliff right above Polzeath beach.

Newquay

A busy surf town, with Fistral beach on the edge of town and Watergate Bay a few miles up the coast. Darren lived at Cubert, just south-west of Newquay, before setting off in the van in 2006. The council’s Watergate Bay car park takes self-contained motorhomes overnight, and the Tregurrian club site is under a mile away.

Perranporth, St Agnes and Porthtowan

Perranporth has a huge beach backed by dunes, and St Agnes and Porthtowan are smaller surf beaches in old mining country. The council’s Wheal Leisure car park in Perranporth takes self-contained motorhomes overnight, but it has a 3,050 kg weight limit.

Portreath and the North Cliffs

The B3301 coast road from Portreath to Hayle climbs the big hill out of Portreath and runs past the entrance to Tehidy Country Park and along the North Cliffs, with very good sea views from the car parks along the cliff top. Porthtowan Tourist Park is the nearest campsite.

Hayle

Hayle has miles of sandy beach at Hayle Towans and Gwithian, looking across the bay to St Ives, and the Copperhouse Pool in the town. Vans used to stay overnight in the town’s car parks, but Cornwall Council’s car parks here ban sleeping, and since April 2026 motorhomes can’t park in the Commercial Road car park between 11pm and 8am. Godrevy Park is for Caravan and Motorhome Club members only; otherwise stay at St Ives.

St Ives

A beautiful harbour town of narrow streets, artists’ galleries and sandy beaches. Don’t drive into the centre in a van: use Trenwith car park, or park at St Erth and take the train. Ayr Holiday Park, the closest site to the town, is open all year.

West Cornwall

Penzance and the Isles of Scilly

The biggest town in the far west, and the port for the Isles of Scilly ferry. The coast road from Penzance to Marazion has outstanding views to St Michael’s Mount.

Marazion and St Michael’s Mount

At low tide you can walk the causeway across to St Michael’s Mount. The council’s Marazion Station car park takes self-contained motorhomes overnight, and Wheal Rodney, under 20 minutes’ walk from the causeway, takes motorhomes and campervans all year.

Lamorna Cove

A spectacular spot, with parking on the edge of the harbour wall, great views and walks along the coast path either side. It could be fantastic in a winter storm. The lane down is narrow and the parking area small, so it’s no place for a big van. Tower Park at St Buryan is the nearest campsite.

Land’s End and Sennen

Sennen Cove, just north of Land’s End, has a long sandy beach and good surf. Trevedra Farm, just off the A30 at Sennen, is open all year, and the Camping and Caravanning Club’s Sennen Cove site is a few miles inland near St Buryan.

South Cornwall

The Lizard

Lizard Point is the southern tip of mainland Britain, with the lighthouse and a lovely stretch of coast path. The National Trust looks after the point and doesn’t allow overnight parking. Stay at Chy Carne at Kuggar or Little Trevothan at Coverack.

Falmouth

An historic and pretty town on the south coast, with a big natural harbour and beaches at Gyllyngvase and Maenporth. Self-contained motorhomes can stay overnight in the marked bays of the council’s Gyllyngvase Beach Coach Park on Queen Mary Road; the main Gyllyngvase car park on the same road has a 3,050 kg weight limit and bans sleeping. Carnon Downs club site, between Truro and Falmouth, is open all year.

Portscatho and the Roseland Peninsula

An idyllic small harbour with pubs. Come in on the King Harry Ferry from Feock, or by road through Tregony. Treloan, a short walk from Portscatho, is open all year, and the Merrose St Mawes club site is just outside the village.

Mevagissey

A beautiful and historic Cornish fishing town. The roads are very narrow, so don’t try to drive through: park in the big car park on the left as you come in. The council’s car parks in the town don’t allow sleeping. Heligan Caravan and Camping and Pentewan Sands are close by.

Eden Project and the Lost Gardens of Heligan

The Eden Project, near St Austell, is a fantastic biological attraction, with its giant biomes in an old clay pit. The Lost Gardens of Heligan, near Mevagissey, are gardens that were lost and have been restored: a great place to visit. South of St Austell, the lane to Trenarren leads to Black Head, with superb walks out to the headland and great views over St Austell Bay towards the Gribbin and Fowey.

Fowey

A lovely old port town on the Fowey estuary. The council’s Main car park takes self-contained motorhomes overnight. Penhale, just outside the town, takes big motorhomes; Polruan Holidays is across the river.

Looe and Polperro

Looe is a fishing town either side of its river, and Polperro, a few miles west, is a tiny harbour village with very narrow streets. Camping Caradon is between the two, and the Looe club site is at St Martin, just outside Looe. East of Looe, the council’s Seaton Bridge car park takes self-contained motorhomes overnight (3,050 kg weight limit).

Darren’s trips from Cornwall

• Cornwall to Bath (2006)
• Back home in Cornwall after 9 months on the road (2007)
• Cornwall to Portsmouth (2011)

More on England

• England by campervan
• Devon, the next county east
• Britain by campervan
• Campsites
• Wild camping and free camping
• UK campervan hire
• Surfing in Europe

Sources: Cornwall Council (Off Street Parking Places) Order 2026 and the council’s motorhome parking and car park pages; Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994; Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000; Highway Code; gov.uk speed limits and clean air zones; National Trust; Forestry England; Tamar Crossings; King Harry Ferry; Isles of Scilly Steamship Company; Cornwall Council St Ives transport project; Visit St Ives; National Highways; Camping and Caravanning Club; Caravan and Motorhome Club; Natural England; Brit Stops; campsite websites. Checked November 2026. Know of a change? Tell us in the comments below.