Mrs O and I have often travelled down to Cornwall rushing through Devon either on the A30, the A38 or by train. This year we decided that we should stop this and see a bit of Dartmoor. Strangely heading west from Exeter to Launceston you see very little of Dartmoor from the A30 as the views are obscured by nearby small hills and hedges. We decided to stay a few nights at Woodland Springs that is located a short distance from the A30, East of Okehampton.
The following is our quick review:
Situation and Layout
The campsite is about 100 metres from the A382 in the tiny hamlet of Venton. As such it is easily accessible from the A30, you are aware of some traffic noise but nothing disturbing. There are about 60 pitches laid out around 3 roadways generally separated by trees or hedges.
The site is well located for getting onto the moor and for walks in the Okehampton and Chagford areas.
Facilities
There is a reception/shop which sells basics and some local produce. There is a centrally located toilet/washing block that was build in November 2008 and is immaculately clean. Showers have a good pressure but work off push buttons about 10 s at a time. The campsite is obviously trying to mimimise its envirnonmental impact by having no night lighting and by clear separation of recyclable rubbish from the rest.
There were plenty of taps around the site.
There was a wireless internet service that cost about £8 for two days. The signal was very good indeed and much appreciated when there was limited mobile phone coverage; O2 worked well, but neither Orange nor 3 had a signal.
Pitches
There are a variety of pitches with grass only, half grass and gravel. We had a tent and used a grass pitch which was fairly waterlogged. In fairness July 2009 has had torrential rain and other people have said this is typical for Dartmoor. There was no evidence of waterlogging with the pitches for caravans with gravel.
Tarifs
Full informaiton is given here.
We paid £19/night for a "standard pitch" with electricity and found this OK.
Overall
We were happy with our visity despite the wet ground underfoot. It is a good location for doing Dartmoor walks. An environmentally friendly place.
One point I have not mentioned is that it is "adults only". With our first holiday without kids this was not an issue. However many visitors had 2-4 dogs! You miss the sound of kids playing but must be prepared for barking dogs. However overall it was a quiet site apart from the "dog moments".
