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River Valley Holiday Park
London Apprentice
St Austell
Cornwall (East) (Browse area)
PL26 7AP
Tel: 01726 73533
Visit their website Check Digital TV coverage See Weather Forecast
This site has an availability calendar. You can check for availability here
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Pitches: 45
Open: 19/04/2026 to 10/10/2026
30/04/2027 to 08/10/2027
Rating: 
   
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Photos (15)
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 Tent Pitches |
 Caravan Pitches |
 Motorhome Pitches |
 Small Campervans |
 No Glamping Units |
 Holiday Homes for Hire |
 No Statics for Sale |
 No Seasonal Pitches |
 Electric Hookups |
 Hardstanding Pitches |
 No Fully Serviced Pitches |
 Show Full Facilities |
| Who's it for |
 Families Welcome |
 Not Members Only |
 Rallies Welcome |
 Not Naturist Site |
 Dogs Welcome |
 No Dogs Allowed |
 Groups Welcome |
 Motorbikers Welcome |
| Facilities |
 Toilet Facilities |
 Hot Showers |
 Washing Up |
 Bathroom |
 Baby Changing Facilities |
 Laundry On Site |
 Drinking Water |
 Disabled Friendly |
 Chemical Disposal |
 No Battery Charging |
 No Gas Exchange |
 Recycling Facilities |
 No Kitchen Facilities |
 Freezer / Fridge |
 No Motorhome Point |
 Wifi Access |
 Shop On Site |
 Bar <5 miles |
 Restaurant or Cafe or Takeaway <1 mile |
| Activities |
 Kids Playground |
 No TV Room |
 Games Room |
 No Evening Ents |
 Fishing <10 miles |
 No Wild Swimming |
 Indoor Pool On Site |
 No Outdoor Pool |
 Horse Riding <5 miles |
 Cycle Hire <5 miles |
 Golf <5 miles |
 Tennis <5 miles |
 Beach <5 miles |
 Watersports <5 miles |
 Boat Launch / Mooring <5 miles |
| Other Features |
 No Sea Views |
 Not Working Farm |
 No Campfires Allowed |
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 No Waterside Pitches |
 Public Transport <1 mile |
 Offroad Dog Walk On Site or Direct Access |
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Reviews:
119 in total, now showing 106 to 119
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| Date of Visit: April 2008 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: DeeD |
10 reviews from this member |
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 I stayed at this site with a friend for a week & the facilities there were immaculate. You even have music while you wash up & use the toilet. The only complaint about the music was that it was one tune on a continual loop. Make sure that you are a fan of the Wizard of Oz, because it is the tune of Yellow Brick Road that continually plays & becomes annoyingly stuck in your head. It's not even Elton John's version. It's a tinkling piano that sounds rather like supermarket music. When I was on the toilet having my tinkle, I wasn't sure which tinkle sounded the best.
As we were backpacker's, the bus from St Austell is pretty good & stops just up the road. There is a nice cycle trail to walk if you are not loaded with gear. It is just over a mile to walk & takes about 45 minutes. Also there is a great camping warehouse just up the road, which stocks some reasonably priced stuff. My sleeping bag zip broke. I am not a person who likes the cold so I had to urgently buy a new one & this place sold exactly what I wanted. The campsite recommended the shop which was extremely helpful of them. They also recommended a non-existant pub. Don't go to the Treehiggle Pub which was supposed to be Just a short walk. It ain't there! In fact there aren't any pubs nearby for anyone on foot, unless you are willing to walk about a mile. But the tiny shop across the road stocks beer & wine. Very Useful. All in all, we had a lovely stay here. Very handy for Heligan Gardens & Eden Project. 
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| Date of Visit: August 2007 |
Unit: Trailer Tent |
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| Reviewer: Jayney27 |
4 reviews from this member |
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Sorry for leaving the review so long. My excuse is that I don't want other people to know how lovely this site is.
I think the other reviews cover everything on this site. This is the only site we have booked to go back to in our 14 years of camping and the only time we've booked while we were there to guarantee a pitch.
All pitches are flat and I understand that for the 2008 season they will all be gravelled. The only word of advice is to take strong pegs.
There was never much of a queue for showers even thought there were only two. This is probably because unlike other sites, the owners haven't crammed you in to get more people and give you plenty of space.
The peace and quiet on this site can not be understated. It is clean, well run and spacious. The swimming pool could get busy but never crowded. This site seemed to be enjoyed by everyone from the couple with small babies to the more mature camper.
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| Date of Visit: June 2007 |
Unit: Touring Caravan |
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| Reviewer: Tin tent matt |
2 reviews from this member |
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Just spent a wet week in Cornwall on this site and have nothing but praise for it. All the pitches are level and private. There a 2 pubs within walking distance and a restaraunt next door. We didn't try any of them but talking to other people on the site all were nice. The cycle to Pentewan & Mevagissey is worthwhile. There is a computer room and guests are entitled to 1 hour free internet use per day - that kept our 15 year old happy. We would definitely go back.
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| Date of Visit: June 2007 |
Unit: Motorhome |
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| Reviewer: Wishfull_thinka |
3 reviews from this member |
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I agree with everything said in the last review and what a review! Only to re-iterate it is a family owned site and they all make you feel very welcome. They have a chalk board up at reception with idea of places to go and give out helpful information like 'how to locate the back door to the eden project to avoid the queues'. Also definitely worth a visit.
lovely holiday and would definitely go back.
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| Date of Visit: May 2007 |
Unit: Tent |
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| Reviewer: Ailish |
2 reviews from this member |
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One word describes this site: Fantastic. But my partner thinks I should use two words: Absolutely fantastic.
To say it was clean is an understatement. No litter anywhere ever. Basic needs like drinking water points, waste water and
bins are conveniently located no matter where you are pitched. We were impressed with how they were designed, easily
accessible but tastefully fenced or hedged off. There were glass and paper recycling facilities too.
Electric hook up is included in the pitch price. The pitches are decent size, most with hedges or knee high fences to mark them out.
The toilet/shower blocks were pristine - my partner nor I never saw a stray piece of toilet paper on the floor. The music
and fresh flowers mentioned in a 2005 review are still a feature. And oh! those showers! Talk about power shower! It was
almost like a massage! There is a notice that women can use the disabled facility during busy periods if it's idle but
frankly. There was never a queue problem so I never tried that. There is a family bathroom with facilities for baby
bathing which my friend used and found great.
The toilet block is cleaned daily by the owner's own family - I met one of the daughters doing it several times - so it's
done to the standards you'd only get from someone with a vested interest in the site's reputation. They even had a
contingency plan for the occasional 'yeuch' situation you are bound to encounter in any communal toilet block, especially
when young children use it. Once I found a mysterious puddle in front of the loo. I was desperate to 'go' and all the other
loos were occupied at the time - the only time that happened all week - but no bother. There was a mop and bucket left in
the loo presumably for just such situations. A quick swish round and I could dangle my jeans with some peace of mind. There are hooks and towel rails everywhere you could possibly find a need for one and free hair dryers. And did I mention the
cleanliness? I did but it's worth a second comment - you could almost eat your dinner off the floor!
The heated indoor swimming pool area is equally immaculate. Clothing lockers require a returnable £1 deposit. Parents are
required to accompany any child under 15. There is no lifeguard and no phone but there is an emergency button to press which
I saw one 5/6 yr old mistake for one of those buttons that open automatic sliding doors. He set sirens ringing all over the
site. Reception staff responded appropriately because they could see via webcam what was going on - reception is manned most
of the time and but the ultimate responsibility lies with parents, which is as it should be really. Showering kids after a
swim with the all the roof veluxes in the shower area open and gale force north winds blowing was a very, very chilly
experience but how often could that happen in Cornwall? Some means of closing the veluxes would have solved that problem but
I don't expect freezing gales are a normal part of a Cornwall summer.
There is an excellent dishwashing area. Right beside it there is a deep freeze where you can freeze your ice packs. Whilst
they are freezing, there is also a notice saying that you are welcome to borrow any ice pack marked with green and yellow
electrical tape - another thoughtful touch.
The laundry block is newly built. 2 of everything: washing machines, tumble dryers, irons, ironing board. A wash costs £2,
takes 30 minutes and the dryers cost 50p for 15 minutes which was cheaper than the 20p for 5 minutes that I have encountered
elsewhere - you can add 5 x 50p pieces at a time so you can go away and come back later. Ironing is free. Again there are
nice little touches. Washing baskets to unload unattended loads into, folding shelf, radio to listen to, a little library
of books to pass the time and best of all. No queues! We had lousy weather so the kids got very mucky. I had to go to
the laundry on three days and never had to queue. It seemed to stay open late - I never found it closed.
For the children, there is a good playing area. Mine are aged 7 - 12 so the most popular things were the zip wire and the
nightly game of football from about 7.30 - 9pm. After that the camp quietens down a lot with only the hoots of owls to be
heard. There is a games room where a game of pool costs 50p and a gaming machine which I didn't realise existed and
apparently paid out £4.40 when my 7 year old ignored the over 18 notice and his mother's rules and put his 50p in. I just
hope he doesn't end up a gambling addict now!
I was told there is a computer room offering direct or wireless internet access. I meant to check it out but I forgot.
Other rules state that you can only put up a gazebo if you have a campervan or touring caravan but seeing other tenters with
multiple tents on pitches gave us a bit of courage to chance putting up our day room. Sshhh! Nobody asked us to take it
down.
There is also a regulation about eco groundsheets. I was aware of this and shelled out a lot of money on one but again,
nobody came to check. As I said above we had some awful weather, torrential showers and winds up to severe gail force 9
(according to BBC Radio Cornwall). River Valley site is surrounded by trees that are clearly well-maintained by some tree
surgeon. We felt quite safe and were sheltered from the worst. Down the road the Pentewan Sands campsite had mangled
gazebos draped over the fences. Our ground got so squelchy underfoot that we used our ordinary ground sheet inside the tent
to keep our feet dry and,thinking it would prevent the rapidly developing quagmire in the heavy traffic area outside the tent
doorway, we laid some of our eco ground sheet there - I hope they will forgive us for that bit of damage to the grass because
it has left a patch of mud that looks like it will take a lot longer to recover than the yellowed grass that was under the
ordinary groundsheet. Eco friendly? Really??
As other people said, there is no shop onsite but there is a shop just across from the gate with yummy Cornish pasties and
there is a good quality camping shop in the village - I got a good discount on the marked price of Delta ground anchors - I
don't quite know why, it just came up on the checkout computer - maybe it likes fat Irish women with wild hair or something.
There is also a huge Asda and all the take-away outlets you could desire in St Austell - 5-10 minutes drive up the road, less
if the traffic is light.
Touristwise, there's lots to do in the area - we couldn't fit it all in. We seemed to be the only newbies there. Everybody
else I talked to had felt the site was worth returning to sometimes repeatedly so that says a lot.
I fell totally in love with Mevagissey (3-4 miles away) - sitting in the harbour area in the evening sunlight felt like I was
part of a living jigsaw picture. Next time we'll bring our own bikes by hook or by crook. There are bike hire places
around, including on-site but - if there was any downside at all, it was that I couldn't afford the prices for a family of
five and the kids kept pestering me because every other child had a bike there to zoom around on.
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| Date of Visit: June 2006 |
Unit: Trailer Tent |
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| Reviewer: Jac.e |
2 reviews from this member |
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This was are second visit to this site & will be going back next year! the best site so far, great showers & toilets , big pitches, the owners & staff were really help full .the kids loved the swimming pool & park. It hasn't got a shop but there is a shop & fish & chip shop just across the road. It is in an ideal area to see all the sites of cornwall
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| Date of Visit: September 2005 |
Unit: Motorhome |
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| Reviewer: Mick-e |
2 reviews from this member |
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WHAT A GREAT SITE!!!!!!!
We arrived from a pretty basic, expensive site in Bath to this wonderful site. By the side of a river, with walks/bike-ride down to the beach. Heated covered swimming pool, individual, large, marked pitches, quiet, secure, clean, warm toilet/shower block (with piped music)childrens play area ( with "death slide")dog walk. Close to Lost Gardens of Heligan and Eden Project. Will visit again next year.
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| Date of Visit: May 2005 |
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| Reviewer: DENISE MASTERS |
15 reviews from this member |
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Just returned home from this site, would like to add its well worth a return visit. It was well maintained, the shower blocks were immaculate even had fresh flowers and music! friendly staff and plenty of room on site. Added bonus is that it seems to be quite central for touring all of Cornwall.
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| Reviewer: Laurie118 |
28 reviews from this member |
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August 2004
we have stayed at this site three times,the toilets etc are the best you will find anywhere. Great under cover swimming pool and friendly staff. I would highly reconmend this site to everyone. Close to beaches and eden project. No shop or bar but supermarket not faraway and pubs and rest close by
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| Reviewer: Karenjg |
3 reviews from this member |
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August 2004
I would like to say what a lovely site this is. Nicely laid out with large pitches. Immaculate toilet/showers which were new last year.Staff at site were very helpful. Children loved the pets paddock and play area.The indoor pool was great and never very busy.
If you don't take any bikes then thats fine as you can hire them and go on the cycle trail from site down to Pentewan beach. Its a very well kept site for people who want a relaxing holiday. We found this area to be fairly central for visiting tourist attractions.Bowling and cinema nearby and Asda 2 miles away.
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| Reviewer: NELL |
2 reviews from this member |
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July 2004
Family owned static caravan park & touring camping/caravans. We arrived here early evening during the “July shocker” weather having been unable to pitch our tent elsewhere, the children were extremely upset & we were lucky to get the last static caravan available. The resident caretaker couple who live onsite could not have been more helpful getting cots/highchairs etc. (even supplying us with a few teabags & milk to tide us over until the next morning). Nicest caravan I have ever stayed in extremely clean & well maintained also useful folder in caravan with info on places to visit & family friendly restaurants.
Quiet but friendly site. Shop for necessities and so/so takeaway just across the road. Decent children’s play area, games room & nice warm pool (usually indoor but the terrible weather had blown the bubble cover off) Walks & cycle paths from the site (site has a few bikes for hire & a kiddy trailer)
Had a look at the touring facilities: field sheltered & level. Washing up area (incl a freezer for your cool packs), laundry room, toilets, showers, the family bathroom accessed via female facilities had bath & baby bath - all fairly new & really clean when we were there (out of season) - could get busy in high season.
Would not usually go to a site with no club/bar but decent pubs not too far away, such a nice site with welcoming staff & owners we would DEFINATELY go back if we were returning to the area.
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| Reviewer: MAJORS |
1 review from this member |
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21/07/03
Just spent a few glorious days with relatives staying at River valley and had to write and say what a lovely site, the staff were really helpful and friendly. The indoor pool and childrens play are are ideal, so too were the toilet/shower facilities very clean and very tidy!, we all had a very relaxing and enjoyable stay, a highly recommendable place to holiday for all ages.
Look forward to returning again sometime soon
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| Reviewer: Deborah |
24 reviews from this member |
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July 2003
Just got back from a curtailed trip to this site.
Site was ok, weather was awful. Rained a little too often and trying to find things to do indoors in Cornwall when you've gone to get some beach action is a bit frustrating. Then you end up at Trago Mills and it all goes a bit odd.
'nuff about the trip. The site, well, it was ok really. That's pretty much all I can say. It's a small site (45 pitches) between St Austell and Mevagissey. It's very handy for facilities such as supermarkets and good road networks.
The site was quiet and there were quite a few vacancies. Pitches were spacious enough, grass neatly mown, bins empty, taps / drains all clean etc.
Shower block new this year only there are two showers in the ladies (yet three in the mens!) which meant I had to queue every morning. One shower had a toilet and wash basin in the same cubicle which meant the lucky person in there was seemingly in forever. It's a nice luxury but doesn't really work when you've got a queue of people. There is also a family bathroom (sitz bath but no shower) but cunningly this is contained in the ladies loos area and so I am not sure quite how many men would be happy to go in there to see to their children because of this. There is also a disabled shower room which I had to use once due to the queues.
There is an undercover dishwashing area with two sinks and a freezer for ice packs which seemed to take forever to freeze things.
It doesn't have a shop but there is one just accross the road. Didn't see much of the site staff but it appeared very well maintained.
So, an okay site, would suit mature couples in caravans I think although it is geared for kids too but for me, well it just didn't have a soul. Sorry.
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| Reviewer: Janehd |
5 reviews from this member |
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May 2003
Although quite busy for the half-term week, this was a quiet and friendly site. It has plenty of space, with permanently marked pitches, and hook-ups available for tents. There is a good children's play area with cable slide, and space for ball games, and a covered heated swimming pool.
The toilet blocks are new this season - very clean and tidy. There is one family bathroom, and a family shower cubicle with toilet and basin in both ladies and gents, plus a smaller shower cubicle each side. Our only concern was that there was no temperature control on the showers and the water was too hot at times, particularly for the kids. However, it did run out late morning and some evenings.
The site is very handy for attractions such as Eden and Heligan, and there are Tesco and Asda supermarkets within a few minutes drive. There is a small general shop just across the road.
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Common Questions
Is River Valley Holiday Park child friendly? YES, it accepts children & has a playground View all facilities
Does River Valley Holiday Park have a swimming pool? YES, there is a pool on site View all facilities
Where is the nearest shop to River Valley Holiday Park? There is a shop on site View all facilities
Is River Valley Holiday Park dog friendly? YES View all facilities
Other Sites Near St Austell Other sites within 10 miles - All Sites in Cornwall (East)
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