Cool Cow Camping

No availability at present on Pitchup.com 8.9 132 reviews
Views from the site (added by manager 21 Apr 2022)
Cool cow camping
Grassy pitches
Coastal views

  • Family camping right by the beach on the South Devon Heritage Coast
  • Five minutes' walk to South Milton Sands; 10 mins' drive to Salcombe
  • Use the coast path to get to the beach, village stores and pubs
Well, this is a cool location indeed… Cool Cow Camping is part of a working dairy farm in the stunning South Hams, with views out to sea and the lovely beach of South Milton Sands about five minutes’ walk away. Cows get a mention in the site’s name as they’ll be your nearest neighbours, living in the next-door field. As for your own field, it’s got spacious pitches measuring 10 square metres and access to simple (and eco-friendly) facilities including compost toilets, gas-heated showers, a washing-up station and a rubbish/recycling area. There’s also a spring water supply that guests can use (but please note that it’s untested and therefore not proven to be safe for drinking). Picnics, takeaways and other alfresco meals on site come with sea views as standard, but you may also like to explore some of the area’s other options for local food and drinks – perhaps ambling along the scenic coast path to the neighbouring villages of Hope Cove and Thurlestone for pubs, cafés and village shops or setting out for the longer walk to Bolberry or Bantham for more great dining options (and more gorgeous views along the way). For days out, activities and yet more places to eat, you might like to try Kingsbridge and Salcombe (both about 10 minutes’ drive) or seek out city attractions in Plymouth (45 minutes).

Campground type

Rent a tent 4
Tent sites 25
RV sites 25
Opens
Please note
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
  • Twin axle vehicles are not permitted on site.
  • Units longer than 6 metres are not allowed.
  • Guests are advised to bring a good quality flashlight with them as parts of the park are unlit.
  • Please note that the toilet/shower facilities are unisex.
  • There is no reception building on-site: on arrival please contact the number provided on your booking confirmation.
  • Pitching is permitted only along the hedge boundary.

Languages spoken

English

Reviews

92%

would recommend this campground to a friend

89%

would stay here again

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Only showing reviews for the last 30 months.

Clean compost toilets

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 6
Accommodation 6
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service 6
Child friendliness 6
Cleanliness 8
Wifi 8
Lindsey C. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent, campervan or trailer tent campsite

Liked: We arrived and just drove in a pitched where we wanted ! There were no allocation pitches! Everything was done on trust!

Disliked: There were not really any flat pitches that were free luckily it wasn’t too busy so we found the flattest pitch and set up there! We have a tent box so need flat for that!

Recommend to friends Visit again

Plenty of room to pitch tent. Everything you need is there.

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service 8
Child friendliness 4
Cleanliness 6
Wifi 8
Deb B. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent, campervan or trailer tent campsite

Liked: Hot showers. The view.

Disliked: Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great laid back campsite

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 6
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 10
Customer service 6
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Rebecca M. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent, campervan or trailer tent campsite

Liked: I liked the laid back attitude of the campsite. We just turned up and pitched up, didn’t have to check in anywhere. The toilets and showers were also nice and modern and clean. I also really liked the honesty shop as I was able to purchase a bottle of water late at night without disturbing anyone.

Disliked: There was very limited availability of pitches, which is our fault as we arrived fairly late. We ended up pitching up near the top of the field by the bell tents, although we weren’t sure if we were supposed to pitch up here, but the bell tents were empty. We noticed that although the signs said to only pitch up around the edges of the field, two people had pitched up in the middle (probably due to not finding a space around the edges)

Recommend to friends Visit again

Beautiful location, felt you were really in the wild being in that…

Overall 8/10
Location 10
Value for money 8
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 6
Customer service 8
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 10
Wifi No rating
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent, campervan or trailer tent campsite

Liked: Beautiful location, felt you were really in the wild being in that valley with the long horn cows and horses nearby. I also loved being so close to the sea; being able to hear it at night as we sat round our campfire. We loved the simplicity of the site, it had everything we needed - lovely hot showers and good compost loos etc. It was also useful to have the horse box with handy extras in case you needed them too.

Disliked: It was a shame the website didn't alert you to the fact that there was no drinking water! The water is from a local spring which is untreated so if you didn't bring your own water you had to buy theirs which ended up being quite expensive. Would definitely go back, and intend to next summer but would bring own water supplies.

Recommend to friends Visit again

We travelled with our two dogs and stayed in our roof tent.…

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 10
Facilities / Activities 6
Customer service 2
Child friendliness 10
Cleanliness 8
Wifi 2
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent, campervan or trailer tent campsite

Liked: We travelled with our two dogs and stayed in our roof tent. We loved the trailer on site which provided use of a freezer and fridge, as well as an honesty shop for your essentials like water and eggs. The showers were a plus too! The field was large and everyone staying there was friendly. The stars at night were amazing. The walk down to the beautiful beach was easy going and we would definitely stay again if/when back in the area.

Disliked: The rules stated clearly that campers had to set up along the hedge line. However, there was one or two that did not follow this. The compost toilets were also not pleasant (but they never are). They were clean enough for what they are!

Recommend to friends Visit again

Good, simple, easy

Overall 6/10
Location 8
Value for money 6
Accommodation 6
Facilities / Activities 6
Customer service 6
Child friendliness 6
Cleanliness 4
Wifi No rating
Anonymous The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent, campervan or trailer tent campsite

Liked: Simple, good views, walking distance to a favourite beach. Proper camping, slopey field with loos, showers, wash up and honesty shop.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great facilities and atmosphere. Super close to the beach.…

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
Barbara G. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent, campervan or trailer tent campsite

Liked: Great facilities and atmosphere. Super close to the beach.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Excellent basic site with big pitches.

Overall 10/10
Location 10
Value for money 10
Accommodation 8
Facilities / Activities 8
Customer service 8
Child friendliness 8
Cleanliness 10
Wifi 2
Michael G. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent, campervan or trailer tent campsite

Liked: Great views. Short walk to the beach. Nice big pitches. Toilets fine and showers great. Honesty shop with a few supplies including bottled water. They are very up front about not having fresh drinking water on site. We brought ours with us

Disliked: Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

We had a great stay at Cool Cow Camping - fab location…

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

Primitive grass tent, campervan or trailer tent campsite

Liked: We had a great stay at Cool Cow Camping - fab location near the beach and other lovely villages nearby. There are long drop / compost toilets which took us a bit of getting used to but they were maintained every day. The showers were lovely and hot. The only thing that was a slight bother was the lack of drinking water on site but there was an honesty shop which sold bottled water. Would have liked to have reduced my plastic intake. Otherwise, we had a lovely time!

Recommend to friends Visit again

Excellent chilled out site close to the beach

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
Mary Diana M. The reviewer booked through Pitchup.com

Primitive grass tent, campervan or trailer tent campsite

Liked: Beautiful setting, very peaceful campsite with plenty of space. We loved the fact that the water supply was from the local spring, and that there is an honesty shop with milk and other basic supplies. Very chilled out atmosphere. Short walk (10 mins) to the local beach which has a lovely cafe and when we were there in the summer, a big open-air beach bar. In the other direction Hope Cove is 3/4 mile down the coast path. Amazing views and sunsets.

Recommend to friends Visit again


Features

Leisure on park

Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Playground Recreation room/arcade TV room Takeout Tennis Watersports

Amenities on park

Bath available Car parking by site/unit Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Free wifi Grocery store Ice pack freezing Internet access Laundromat Local produce Parent & baby washroom Payphone Pick-up from public transport Picnic table Portable toilet Pub toilets Restrooms Shower available Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

Family friendly Motorcycle friendly Scouts welcome Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcome

Rules

Barbecue grills allowed Barbecue provided Campfires allowed Commercial vehicles allowed Dogs allowed Dogs allowed all year

Themes

Hikers’ paradise Remote location Spectacular scenery

Utilities

Charging facilities Dump station Electric car charging point(s) No drinkable water point Propane/gas cylinders available Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Dog walk nearby

Type

Medium (26-50 sites) Pop-up campground

Accessibility

Disabled facilities

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby Cycling nearby Restaurant nearby Sailing nearby Surf school nearby Watersports nearby

Location

Cool Cow Camping

Huish House

South Huish

Kingsbridge

Devon

England

TQ7 3JY

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London +0100 (GMT+01:00)

GPS

50.25555°N
-3.85234°W

Route directions

The postcode will take you to South Milton Sands; from there, follow the Cool Cow Camping signs.

Nearest transport

Bus
9.7 mi Town Hall
9.7 mi BP Garage
13.9 mi Plymouth Road Superstore
Rail
9.8 mi Ivybridge Rail Station
14.4 mi Totnes Rail Station
15.4 mi Plymouth Rail Station
Ferry
1.8 mi Bantham Ferry Landing
2 mi Cockleridge Ham Ferry Landing
3.7 mi South Sands Ferry Landing

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

First stop from here should surely be South Milton Sands – it’ll take you only five minutes or so to stroll down there to relax on the golden sands or poke around in the rockpools. There’s a watersports centre down there too, so you can hire paddleboards and kayaks or have someone give you lessons in how to use them. Elsewhere along the coast there are of course some excellent walks to be had on the South West Coast Path, and it’s worth planning visits to Bigbury-on-Sea (25 minutes’ drive) for a visit to Burgh Island and Salcombe (10 minutes) for a gin tasting and a tour of Overbeck’s Garden. Nearby Thurlestone (15 minutes' drive/half an hour's coastal walk) has a golf course and a lovely spa too. Away from the coast, you may like to take the kids to Pennywell Farm (25 minutes) for activities like lamb feeding and goat milking, or to spy more exotic beasts at Dartmoor Zoo (40 minutes). Meanwhile, Plymouth (45 minutes) has attractions like the National Marine Aquarium and The Box interactive museum.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020 2019 2018 2017
Thurlestone South 0.4 mi Sea N/A Excellent Excellent Excellent
Thurlestone North 0.7 mi Sea N/A Excellent Good Excellent
Hope Cove 0.9 mi Sea N/A Excellent Good Good
Bantham 2 mi Estuary N/A Excellent Good Good
Bigbury-On-Sea South 2.6 mi Estuary N/A Excellent Good Good

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Dartmoor Zoological Park 12.3 mi

National Marine Aquarium 14.5 mi

Buckfast Abbey 16.7 mi

Paignton Zoo Environmental Park 16.8 mi

Living Coasts 20.1 mi

National Trust

Overbeck's 3.8 mi

Wembury 11 mi

Salcombe: Thurlestone to Torcross 13.3 mi

Saltram 13.3 mi

Greenway 14.7 mi

Cycle routes

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

Other

Ringmore Round 3.4 mi

Ringmore - Kingston - Erme Estuary - Ayrmer Cove 3.4 mi

Salcombe North Sands CP - Combe - Rew - Soar 3.6 mi

OVERBECKS (SHARPITOR) 3.8 mi

Salcombe Cannon 5.6 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.

Nearest campgrounds

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable campgrounds.

Want to know more about camping in Devon?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Cool Cow Camping have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Cool Cow Camping dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Cool Cow Camping? First stop from here should surely be South Milton Sands – it’ll take you only five minutes or so to stroll down there to relax on the golden sands or poke around … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Cool Cow Camping?
    RV, travel trailer and tent sites
    Arrive:  11 a.m. –  Anytime
    Depart by:  10:30 a.m.
    On-park accommodation
    Arrive:  2 p.m. –  Anytime
    Depart by:  11 a.m.

    On arrival please check the notice board to find your allocated pitch.

    Read more