Start Bay Club Campsite

Rated 5 of 5

Overall rating

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 3 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Great location, lovely site. Dated facilities.

Just back from 3 nights at this site. On arrival, I was greeted by a lovely lady who was thoroughly friendly and helpful. The site is beautifully tidy and well kept. The pitches are all of a good size - you have a choice of either grass or hard standing. I chose a pitch towards the rear left of the site (when looking at the map) which benefits from a stream running behind it and a fair amount of grass space. I am in a camper van, so do not have onboard toilet or washing facilities and rely entirely on those provided by the site. Unfortunately, the toilet/shower block at start bay is very dated - unlike other CMC sites I have stayed at before. Terracotta floor tiles, beige tiles with flower pattern. It feels a bit like an old leisure centre. There are 4 showers (plus 1 disabled) I did have to wait for a shower on a couple of occasions, even with the site at approx 70% occupancy. However I must say that the facilities, while very dated (please CMC, send some funding their way) they were VERY clean and tidy. There are paths in two directions out of the site - one leads to the local village with two pubs, you will need to book in advance if you want to eat at The Tradesman’s Arms, we ended up driving to Beesands to The Cricketer’s Arms which was excellent. The other path leads towards the farm shop which has a great selection and is very reasonably priced. The seaside is a 10-15 minute walk. Overall a really nice site in a good location, however I would be put off returning because of the facilities.

jbenekeorr

Campervanner

Reviewed on 15/09/2018 16:45

1 review

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

What a gem

We stayed here for 6 nights from 1st September in our motorhome. The road from Kingsbridge to the site is tight in a few places, but having read the reviews and approaching with trepidation it was not as bad as we thought. Would agree with the suggestion to avoid the buses so had downloaded the timetable and planned the trip from Kingsbridge. A lot of school buses use the route too so avoid school in and out times. The site itself was beautiful and we had a nice level pitch so didn't need our levelling blocks. The facilities are spotless and the wardens were probably the friendliest we have met. It's a very easy downhill walk to beautiful Slapton Sands but we took our bikes so it only took 5 minutes. There is a pub, tearoom and fish and chip shop on the front and a well stocked farm shop adjacent to the site selling almost everything you might need. Otherwise you will need to shop in Kingsbridge. Good bus service and we visited Plymouth and Dartmouth by bus. Couple of pubs about 10 minutes walk into the village. Such a beautiful location and ever thing immaculate.

grettor

Motorhomer

Reviewed on 11/09/2018 19:48

7 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 2 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 3 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Spolit by Noise!

We arrived at this lovely location on Sunday 3rd Sept for an overnight stay in our VW California Campervan. We know the area well & had always wanted to stay on this site. We weren't disappointed as the site is laid out beautifully & the wardens were very friendly. Having set up on a good sized pitch we sat outside enjoying the views. Having settled off to sleep around 11.00pm we were later awoken by our inconsiderate neighbours (also in a campervan) at around 4.00am as they proceeded to pack up & leave the site at approx 4.30am. To top it off the Bin Men arrived at 6.00am & spent a good 20 minutes clattering & banging with the engine running. A great site spoilt by noise including quite a bit of road noise too. Surely if you are going to be leaving a site so early it would be better to pitch by the exit! Unfortunately we wont be returning.

VeeDub

Reviewed on 06/09/2018 21:31

4 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

A superb site

The previous reviews of Start Bay CMC site certainly make me smile with their comments about the narrow roads. This is a site in Devon, a county renowned for its narrow roads. It is true that access from Kingsbridge is a little tight in places, but if you take it easy, and position your unit properly it is not a difficult journey. I have always found that the locals, including the bus drivers to be very helpful. Now for the site. A nice wide entrance to turn into. Pitches are generally large and level unless you are on the middle field where levelling blocks may be needed. The wardens policy of letting you position your unit sideways on some pitches is eminently sensible. Traffic noise passing the site is never intrusive as there is not that much, especially with Slapton Ley Road being shut.. The facilities, whilst being a little dated are spotlessly clean. The wardens, Tina and Chris are probably two of the very best that the club has! They along with their assistants keep the facilities and the whole site pristine.. when you speak to them nothing seems too much trouble. The local area is beautiful with plenty of lovely walks. as for the pubs we prefer the Cricketers at Bee Sands, or the Tradesmans in Stokenham. Stokenham church is also worth a visit.. The shop at Torcross is unfortunately closing in September, however the farm shop at Stokeley, a few minutes walk from the site is very well stocked and has a superb butchers. The cafe is also well worth a visit!. All in all a wonderful site, in a superb position, and run perfectly. Well worth a visit! PS. However if you are not a confident driver it may not be for you!

PR1

Caravanner

Reviewed on 30/08/2018 08:34

17 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 4 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Wonderful site

Spent 5 days here in July. Absolutely loved it. The nicest lady warden ever. Fabulous location. Lovely walk to 2 very nice local pubs in Stokenham - both are dog friendly. The whole area is spectacular and we can’t wait to return. Everything was immaculate.

Lynda and Chris

Caravanner

Reviewed on 28/08/2018 10:46

11 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 4 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 4 of 5

Location

Rated 3 of 5

Good for families

What a hidden gem

Wonderful welcome from really helpful Wardens..never visited this beautifully kept site before but it is going to be a site we visit again..be glad when the coast road is open again as it is a fair old track to Torbay. Highly recommend this pretty site.

linniepink

Caravanner

Reviewed on 18/08/2018 16:16

1 review

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 3 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 4 of 5

Location

Rated 3 of 5

Good for families

Really, really excellent warden.

This is first time I have ever been in a CMC site and witnessed a warden on 3 separate occasions helping both caravan and MH owners to get their rigs pitched and level. The site was full and his help was invaluable to the clients. The site is noisy from the road and it’s a challenging drive from Kingsbridge, the only way in at the moment as the road to Dartmouth has been washed away. That said it’s a fabulous area, lots of walks and gin clear sea. My personal pet hate was the ghastly loo seats. Like something from a geriatric home with the front section removed. Why???

Bundi

Motorhomer

Reviewed on 17/08/2018 21:52

3 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 4 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 3 of 5

Location

Rated 4 of 5

Good for families

An OK site

We have visited this area for 4 years but this is the 1st time we have stayed at Start Bay, we stayed here for 10 nights from 29th July. Our friends arrived a few days prior and when a pitch next to them became available they asked if they could pay for the pitch overnight in order to reserve it for us. They were told that was against procedure, so we were off to a good start!! I dont see why they couldnt as the site was not full. Anyway, we arrived and the lovely Chris helped us position our van, in the pouring rain. Now, they allow people to position their vans either in the traditional way or sideways on in the pitch, as long as you park in front of your van. This was ok until our neighbour, who was parked traditionally, started trying to park his car in front of his awning and partially in front of ours! He parked that close one day that we couldnt get between the cars as we left our awning! He obvs had issue with the way you are now allowed to park, didnt complain to the warden but was very annoying! The site is down some very narrow pinch points from kingsbridge (approx 5 miles) and the pinch points tend to be between houses, so no room for error. My tip - arrive on a sunday as there is no bus service! Other than that you risk coming up against double deckers! We checked the bus timetable and left the site when we knew the bus wouldnt be coming down the roads in our direction. The site feels very closed in, and we were asked to keep the noise down after 10.30.... We were surprised at how many older people were there esp in the school holidays. Come approx 9.30pm its pretty much silent on the site, so although we arent raging alcoholic party animals - we felt we couldnt sit out under the stars and chat! The road noise was an issue for me & I was aware of it on a number of occasions. The local pubs are v expensive but a walk to torcross and the seafront - there are 2 places to eat in the evening. The start bay inn is extremely reasonable and the fishcakes are amazing. The seabreeze cafe is lovely too in the daytime. The water is very clear at the beach but its stony so sea shoes are a must & be very careful if you visit the little cove at the side of Torcross Post Office. As you go down all the steps please be very aware that the concrete slope onto the beach is extremely slippery. My hubby fell on it and thought he had dislocated his shoulder! There were a lot of jelly fish near the shore too - so be warned. The road that is washed away did make a big difference to our plans. As you cant access Blackpool Sands, Torquay or Paignton easily. You have to go back to kingsbridge to go back to the coast. So Torquay was then over an hour away etc. We love this part of the country but would not return to Start Bay, we have stayed at Ramslade and feel it is easier to access amenties and the approach isnt as worrying.

salboandmikey

Caravanner

Reviewed on 08/08/2018 19:50

5 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Lovely

We stayed for 1 week in late July 2018 with our 3 young kiddies. The site is beautiful, lovely surroundings & very quiet. We loved almost everything about the site apart from entrance / exit. The site has a separate entrance & exit that are next to each other, making it a wide space straight out onto the main road. We were almost about to pitch next to the children's playground, before realising just how close the kids would be to the main road. This would be very dangerous for small children. We switched pitches to the back of the site, and would advise anyone with young children to avoid the pitches near the park / main road. Once we switched pitches, we had a lovely holiday. Make sure you visit the beach 2 minutes away, it is beautiful & the water is so clear.

juk387

Caravanner

Reviewed on 01/08/2018 17:30

8 reviews

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Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 3 of 5

Good for families

Don't be put off by Negativity

We have just returned from a fabulous weeks holiday here,it is the third time we have been to Start Bay and enjoyed all the 3 visits. The wardens are great friendly people who work tirelessly to keep the site spotless and pretty. Yes it does have narrow roads as do many sites in Devon & Cornwall.............that's why it is a pretty place!. The Start Bay Inn a matter of a mile away serves excellent Fish & Chips and competitive priced drinks..check it out you will not be disappointed. If there was one thing we had to complain about and this applies to all caravan club sites is the irresponsible dog owners who take their dogs for walks on 100 feet leads and allow them to foul other peoples pitches.......DISGUSTING and the bane of wardens working life. Wardens thank for a great holiday and we do appreciate you.

ADP1963

Caravanner

Reviewed on 25/07/2018 10:32

16 reviews

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