Camp Kovva

7 16 reviews
Canvas Cabin (added by manager 07 Jul 2022)

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  • Simple and scenic site with a family-friendly summer camp vibe
  • A 35-minute walk to Portreath beach and the South West Coast Path
  • Kiosk selling supplies and a pub down the road; firepits permitted
This Cornish site might be no frills, but it’s got tons of character. Simple and scenic is how Camp Kovva likes it – and they’ve got you covered with shower blocks, earth-friendly composting toilets and a kiosk that sells essential supplies. Think wild summer camp vibes combined with grounded, off-grid living… It’s a chilled-out base here, tucked away in the Cornish countryside but just 35 minutes’ walk from the closest stretch of sand. Portreath beach is a popular one for families, as well as those looking to catch some sweet swells (there’s a surf school that’ll teach any beginners the basics or let you out surfboards). Firepits are permitted on site for those wanting to warm their brews (and if you’ve forgotten tea bags, just head to the site’s kiosk). The site is very much a wildlife haven, and a relaxing one at that, but if you fancy a little pampering session or a swim, there’s an indoor pool half an hour’s walk away and a spa a short drive away. If you’ve got any kids to think of, there’s also a huge soft play area at Base Camp, five minutes’ drive away. Where else might a walk take you? Well, there’s a pub just five minutes’ walk down the road and if it’s Cornish pasties you’re looking for, you’re bound to find some in Portreath (half an hour’s walk), where there are bakeries, more pubs, cafés and restaurants. This is a good spot to stroll right onto the South West Coast Path, which heads over the St Agnes Heritage Coast.

Site type

Tent pitches 4
Rent a tent 5

Languages spoken

English

Want to know more about camping in Cornwall?

Features

Leisure on site

Bar or club house

Cycle hire

Evening entertainment

Fishing

Fitness centre

Games room

Indoor swimming pool

Kids' club

On-site restaurant/cafe

Outdoor swimming pool

Play area

TV room

Take away

Tennis

Watersports

Amenities on site

Bath available

Car parking by pitch/unit

Composting toilet

Disabled facilities

Dog park

Drying room

Food shop

Free wifi

Ice pack freezing

Internet access

Launderette

Parent & baby washroom

Pick-up from public transport

Portable toilet

Pub toilets

Public telephone

Shower available

Toilet block

Washing-up area

Wifi

Groups welcome

D. of E. welcome

Family friendly

Motorcycle friendly

Single-sex groups welcome

Student groups welcome

Rules

Barbecue provided

Barbecues allowed

Campfires allowed

Commercial vehicles allowed

Dogs allowed

No dogs allowed

Themes

Forest

Peaceful

Spectacular scenery

Wild camping

Utilities

Charging facilities

Chemical disposal

Electric car charging point(s)

Gas cylinders available

Recycling available

Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby

Dog walk nearby

Public transport nearby

Shop nearby

Type

Farm

Pop-up campsite

Small (11-25 pitches)

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby

Cycle hire nearby

Indoor pool nearby

Restaurant nearby

Surf school nearby

Watersports nearby

Location

Camp Kovva

Bridge Hill

Portreath

Cornwall

England

TR16 4QP

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London GMT (GMT+00:00)

GPS

50.25501°N
-5.26272°W

Nearest transport

Coach
2 mi Cornwall College
2 mi Cornwall College
2.2 mi Alma Place
Rail
2.2 mi Redruth Rail Station
3.4 mi Camborne Rail Station
7.2 mi Perranwell Rail Station
Ferry
10 mi Ponsharden Ferry Landing
10.6 mi Flushing Falmouth Ferry Landing
10.7 mi Trelisick Ferry Landing
Airport
14.3 mi Penzance Airport
17.5 mi Newquay St Mawgan Airport
20.9 mi Land's End St Just Airport

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Local attractions

Where to set down on the Cornwall coast, aside from pretty Portreath beach? Perhaps Chapel Porth Beach (15 minutes’ drive), a small but sweet sandy beach at the bottom of a valley with caves, rockpools and splendid surf. The Towans (20 minutes) beaches are a well-known surfing hotspot, but non-surfers will also like the fine, white sand and dunes. Perran Sands beach (25 minutes) has more dunes and great swells. Those of you looking for some scenic stretches along the South West Coast Path will be set with the gorse and World War II lookouts along St Agnes Head (20 minutes). Further afield, lively St Ives (25 minutes) is a destination for all things art galleries, fishing trips and beach days. As for spectacular spots on the south Cornwall coast, which is also within driving distance, St Michael's Mount (half an hour) has to be high up there. You’ll cross the causeway to this castle island when the tide’s right, so bring a picnic and prepare for an insight into older times.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020 2019 2018 2017
Portreath 1.4 mi Sea N/A Excellent Excellent Excellent
Porthtowan 2.4 mi Sea N/A Excellent Excellent Excellent
Chapel Porth 3.4 mi Sea N/A Excellent Excellent Excellent
Trevaunance Cove 5.3 mi Sea N/A Excellent Excellent Excellent
Godrevy Towans 5.9 mi Sea N/A Excellent Excellent N/A

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Cornwall Industrial Discovery Centre 1.9 mi

Truro Cathedral 9.4 mi

Tate St Ives 10.1 mi

Flambards 11.3 mi

National Seal Sanctuary 11.3 mi

National Trust

Cornish Mines and Engines 1.9 mi

Godrevy 5.8 mi

Godolphin 9.1 mi

Trelissick Garden 10.4 mi

Penrose Estate: Gunwalloe and Loe Pool 12 mi

Cycle routes

Find local routes on the National Cycle Network - over 12,000 miles of cycling routes.

Other

Circular walk Portreath - Tehidy Country Park - Reskajeage Downs - Coastal Path 1.4 mi

Porth Towan - Towan Cross - Chapel Porth 2.4 mi

Hell's Mouth 3.2 mi

St Agnes Beacon 4.4 mi

Hanover 6.6 mi

Local events

  • Boardmasters (Wednesday 7 August 2024 – Wednesday 7 August 2024)

    Newquay, Cornwall 15.9 mi

  • Eden Sessions (Wednesday 12 June 2024 – Wednesday 12 June 2024)

    Par, Cornwall 24 mi

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Reviews

63%

would recommend this site to a friend

56%

would stay here again

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Only showing reviews for the last 30 months.

Nothing…

Overall 2/10
Location No rating
Value for money No rating
Accommodation No rating
Facilities / Activities No rating
Customer service No rating
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness No rating
Wifi No rating
Jenny T. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Nothing

Disliked: The campsite messaged on the morning of our stay to say they had closed the site

Recommend to friends Visit again

Unable to comment

Overall 2/10
Location 6
Value for money No rating
Accommodation No rating
Facilities / Activities No rating
Customer service No rating
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness No rating
Wifi 2
Rachel R. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Nothing

Disliked: That they cancelled my booking for the bank holiday weekend, due to “water” issues. I appreciate that things happen and luckily found somewhere else to stay. I was promised a refund & still have not received it… It’s frustrating, to say the least and the correspondence has not been good.

Recommend to friends Visit again

WARNING DO NOT BOOK THIS CAMPSITE – SCAM

Overall 2/10
Location 2
Value for money 2
Accommodation 2
Facilities / Activities No rating
Customer service 2
Child friendliness 2
Cleanliness 2
Wifi 2
Lewis C. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Canvas cabin

Liked: Absolutely nothing.

Disliked: WARNING DO NOT BOOK!!! Camp Kovva cancelled our reservation the day before our stay and promised a full refund. On 26 August, the campsite confirmed all refunds had been processed, I'm still yet to receive my money. I tried numerous times to contact them direct, but they never answered the phone. Pitchup.com offered no help and just kept confirming that Camp Kovva had to issue the refund, so I don't se the point of why they exist. I personally will never book through Pitchup.com again and will do my best to warn other people of the poor service they provide. All and all, a horrendous experience with Camp Kovva and Pitchup.com, do yourself a favour snd book through Hipcamp or Booking.com.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Charming small campsite with with warm eco shower and kitchenette.

Overall 10/10
Location 8
Value for money 8
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 8
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
hannah e. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Small intimate campsite, beautiful scenery, warm shower

Disliked: Close to road so you hear a little traffic at night but not too bad.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great little site very nice and quiet. Great communal camp fire in…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Nathan C. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Great little site very nice and quiet. Great communal camp fire in middle of field and probably no more than 15 pitches maximum so never going to be too busy. Facilities all nice and clean Great washing up area with some tea and coffee available too.

Disliked: Unfortunately no water left in the morning for drinking/washing up

Recommend to friends Visit again

Gorgeous location, small site and clean facilities.

Overall 10/10
Location 8
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: The location, short walk to portreath on a lovely wooded path. The off grid nature of the site. The cleanliness of the facilities.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Would advise wild camping rather than stay here save £20

Overall 2/10
Location 2
Value for money 2
Accommodation 2
Facilities / Activities 2
Customer service 2
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 6
Wifi 2
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Nothing

Disliked: No staff on site no answer to phone calls or text message no drinking water on site shower was small wood cubicle with cold water pumped by car battery from plastic container very expensive at £20 for nothing but a over flowing compost toilet the 2 pubs they refer to one was shut the other doesn’t do food on a Sunday night there is a Morrisons so had to haul water and food well over 2 miles there and back also no electricity on site so no recharge for phones

Recommend to friends Visit again

From the manager: Thank you for taking the time to review your stay, we're really sorry to hear you were so disappointed. Our site is completely off-grid, which is detailed in the description, so I apologise if you were expecting something different. Like the rest of our site, our showers are off-grid however they are lovely and warm, I apologise if this was not the case when you used it, but I will look into this for you and for future guests. This also explains why you were unable to charge your phone - It sounds like you may have been expecting a typical campsite with electric hookup and flushing toilets, so we're sorry that this isn't something we provide. We are really disheartened that you have given such a negative review, as we received a glowing review below from guests who were on site at the same time as you, and particularly mentioned that everything ran smoothly and they loved that our camp manager was so present on site. I am really sorry to hear that you couldn't get food at the pub on a Sunday night, and that you had trouble getting shopping from Morrisons, however I'm afraid this is out of our control. We'd be happy to welcome you back to camp in the future, but please be advised that we are completely off-grid and we sadly have no control over opening times or offerings of local businesses. Team Kovva

Teething problems as they are newly opened

Overall 6/10
Location 4
Value for money 4
Accommodation 4
Facilities / Activities 4
Customer service 6
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 4
Wifi No rating
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Level pitches and they are trying to be eco friendly

Disliked: Ran out of water every day and toilet roll and toilets needed emptying more often

Recommend to friends Visit again

Excellent site, clean quiet and everyone is very friendly.

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 10
Child friendliness No rating
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
lizzie m. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: The camp is amazing. It is set in a wonderfully quiet area of cornwall with fantastic views of the stars at night. We stayed in our own tent for two weeks, Rob (the camp manager) was fantastic. As it is an off grid camping site, he was on site in the mornings and evenings making sure everything was running smoothly, greet guests and trouble shoot anything. This campsite is fantastic for anyone who wants a break with minimal environmental impact, and minimal people (very small site but perfect for peace and quiet). Also great fun to watch the bats fly around the trees at dusk. The site is close to local shops etc. We have already started to plan our next weekend away to come back but to stay i their fixed canvas tents.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Very relaxed atmosphere, very quiet. Good location.…

Overall 10/10
Location 8
Value for money 8
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service 10
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked: Very relaxed atmosphere, very quiet. Good location.

Recommend to friends Visit again


  • Does Camp Kovva have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Camp Kovva dog friendly? No View all features
  • What attractions are near Camp Kovva? Where to set down on the Cornwall coast, aside from pretty Portreath beach? Perhaps Chapel Porth Beach (15 minutes’ drive), a small but sweet sandy beach at the bottom of a valley … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Camp Kovva?
    Camping and touring
    Arrive:  2 p.m. –  6 p.m.
    Depart by:  10 a.m.
    On-site accommodation
    Arrive:  2 p.m. –  6 p.m.
    Depart by:  11 a.m.
    Read more