Bay View Farm is an ideal location for exploring the coastal paths and nearby beaches.
From our entrance bear right to walk down to the South West coastal path to Millendreath beach. For the more energetic, continue on to the fishing village of Looe with its quaint, hideaway streets, harbour, beach and cafes offering delicious cream teas.
During your stay, get acquainted with our magnificent prize-winning shire horses - they are a real pleasure to see.
From our entrance turn left and a short stroll will bring you to Bodigga Cliff which offers a peaceful setting with seating where you can absorb the beauty of your surroundings amid spectacular views, bird song and an abundance of wild flowers.
From Bodigga Cliff you can take the coastal path leading you to Seaton beach - an excellent walk for dog lovers as dogs are welcomed on Seaton beach. There are many attractions to visit in this part of Cornwall including Polperro, Lanhydrock and other National Trust properties, the ever popular Lost Gardens of Heligan and the acclaimed Eden Project.
It's easy to see why guests return to our peaceful and relaxing location, the views across Looe Island, the beaches, the famous ‘Banjo Pier’ and beyond are amazing. As you relax at the end of your day when darkness falls and the fishing boats return with their catch, the evening lights reflect on the water and sparkle like stars in the night sky.
Bay View Farm have on site Touring Caravans for hire please ring
for details
Touring site at Bay View Farm, we have new shower & toilet facilities.
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view of bay View Farm 
Bay View farm has storage facilities for caravans please ring for details
Mike & Liz Elford
Bay View Farm
St Martins
Looe Cornwall
PL13 1NZ
Tel / Fax 01503 265922
Mobile: 07967 267312
Directions
From Liskeard or Plymouth take the A38 to Trerulefoot roundabout, follow the signs for Looe on the (A387) B3253 until you reach No Mans Land where you will bear left following the Monkey Sanctuary signs for 2 miles. Bay View Farm is signposted.
The following is an extract from Cool Camping on 40 exceptional campsites in England, you can visit Cool Camping at www.coolcamping.co.uk
The story of Bay View Farm begins way back in 1971. A young Cornish cattle farmer called Mike was in need of a decent bull for his herd. He learned of a strong, sturdy specimen for sale at a farm near Looe and went to have a look. When he arrived, he was bowled over - not by the bull, but by the location. The farm and adjacent camping field were perched on a cliff to the east of Looe commanding outrageous views of the coast and across the sea to nearby St George's Island . The place was overgrown and run down, but that just added to its charm. Mike was smitten.
That evening he returned to his young bride Liz to tell her he hadn't bought the bull, but had found a place he could retire to. She gently reminded him it would be 30 years before they could think about retirement, and not to talk such nonsense. Both the bull and the farm were quickly forgotten.
Fast forward to 1999 and the same, slightly older cattle farmer, now sporting grey whiskers, was leafing through The Cornishman newspaper when he happened across the very same farm for sale. The auction guide price was too high, but when it didn't sell under the hammer, he approached the vendors.
Call it fate, good fortune or serendipity, Liz and Mike are now the proud owners of Bay View Farm. You can tell they absolutely adore this place by the passion with which they speak about it and the care and attention that goes into its upkeep. For them, it's not a chore to run this campsite, but an opportunity to share this delightful spot with others.
When you see the view, you realise why. It's about as good as it gets on the south coast of Cornwall , with vistas across to West Looe on the far side of Hannafore. You can also see across the water to St George's Island , which has a similar story to that of Bay View - someone fell in love with the place and bought it to retire to, in this case a schoolmistress from Surrey and her sister. Although not the most likely candidates to live on a weather ravaged and remote island with no running water, electricity or other inhabitants, they threw themselves into life on St George's and lived there for many years until they died. Thankfully, they turned down multi-million pound offers for the island from developers and it has now passed to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust who maintain it as a nature reserve.
Back at Bay View, Mike and Liz keep everything just so, from the brand new amenities block to the prize winning shire horses in the adjacent field. It's not a large site: there are just 12 pitches available to tents, motorhomes and caravans in the camping field, which tilts at an increasingly steep angle towards the sea. Sleep the wrong way and you'll have blood rushing to your head, sleep the right way and you'll be able to enjoy the view in the morning without getting out of bed.
Nearby attractions include Polperro, a quaint and picturesque fishing village with tea rooms, fudge shops and galleries in a car-free higgle-piggle of alleys and narrow lanes. You can also find fresh fish for your barbecue, or if cooking sounds too much like hard work, head to the oldy-worldy Three Pilchards pub by the quay for locally caught fish and tasty ales.
Mike and Liz are certainly very happy at Bay View Farm and are happier still when sharing it with guests. So the story has the perfect ending: two happy semi-retirees, a campsite and a field full of shire horses. No bull.
© Copyright Jonathan Knight/Cool Camping: England (2006)