Jennica & Matthew Geddert's Ramblings

Jul 19 Driving With Moor Care by Jennica

Looking for a campsite in Dartmoor and Cornwall was an adventure in itself. The map claimed a campsite existed just outside the town so when we arrived in town, we duly headed off the highway and off along the road into the moors. The road was walled on each side with gorgeous vine-covered stone walls that were about seven feet tall. It was fantastically beautiful.

As we progressed, however, the road narrowed… and narrowed. Now a road that narrow with stone boundaries would intimidate me on the best days if it were one-way traffic and straight. Factor in that it was two-way traffic, left hand driving in a right-driving standard-shifting car on a curving, hilly road, and it was rather terrifying – and I didn’t have to drive. All I had to do was keep my eyes glued to the road to warn of approaching traffic because I was on the “driver” side and was the only one who could see and (without looking at the map as eyes glued to road) navigate.

When we survived the drive up, we were quite disappointed to find a big sign for “River Dart Adventures” and a barred gate instead of a campground. Out of sorts from our drive, we returned down the hill for some gas. I asked the attendant about nearby camping and he directed me back up the road. We decided to try again – for surely such a difficult to find place would be quiet and private. We drove right up to the unattended security gate and were about to turn back again when the security guard drove up.

“Do you have camping here?” we asked.

“This is a camp,” he assured us.

Confused, we clarified, “We have a tent.”

“You head up to the warden and he’ll get you sorted.”

Nervous about the language differences and somewhat concerned that we would drive into some boy and girl scout-type adventure camp complex, we followed the guard in.

The extensive grounds of a manor house had been converted to a family-friendly campground. It was perfect… except that we ended up in a huge field. Apparently if you want shade or privacy you need an electric “pitch” for 3£ more, which everyone else was willing to spring for. It was a splendid spot to base out of as we drove about in the moors of Dartmoor National Park.

By the time we headed to Land’s End (Dulock from Shrek minus the castle – yes, it’s really that cheesy) on the furthermost tip of Cornwall, we were pretty good at driving on the roads of terror.