About Winscott Camping
A little bit about what to expect..
Your booking confirmation email will provide you with a what-three-words directions to our gate. The directions will bring you up a narrow winding single track road (Welcome to Devon!) and you will arrive at the campsite gate. Please close the gate behind you once you have driven through. Follow the track up to the campsite and admire the views on either side of you. Hopefully, bathed in glorious sunshine.
You will see 5 parking areas marked out. Pick the one for your pitch and park up. You will need to walk into the camping field on foot, but it is a very short walk. We only have car parking spaces for one car per pitch. We do not have space for any more cars. If in exceptional circumstances you need to bring more than one car per pitch then please contact us and we will see if we can arrange additional parking elsewhere.
You will already know which your pitch is from the booking app. Set yourself up. If you have pre-booked a fire pit and logs and firelighters, these will be waiting for you in the honesty shop.
The little stone building at the end of the track contains an honesty shop, a book swap and a games chest. Please feel free to come in and have a browse, borrow what you need and if you would like to buy anything, scan the QR code and make your payment via your phone.
Any issues then please call Katie or Shaun on 07901686967.
There is no electricity on site so at night it is dark and there is absolutely nothing to do. Except for staring at your campfire, or talking to each other, or gazing up at the sky and the moonrise over Dartmoor, and the stars. Or reading a book (by lamplight) or playing games (again by lamplight). Or going to bed. And finally getting a really good nights sleep.
Disclaimer: the campsite is surrounded by Devon wildlife and wildlife is really, really noisy. The Tawny Owls hoot. A lot. You might hear the horses galloping around in the next field or snorting at each other. And you will wake to the sound of woodpeckers in the trees and the dawn chorus making an almighty racket. Welcome to the deep peace of the countryside.
A little bit of history...
There has been a settlement at Winscott for centuries, and it was the ancestral home of the Stevens family with an Elizabethan Manor House where the barn now stands . The Manor House made way for a grand Victorian mansion called Winscott House, built in 1865 by Mr George Stevens, from yellow Peters Marland brick. This grand mansion was surrounded by parkland with many specimen trees brought in from around the world, including Cedar and Monteray Pine.
The house was shut up by the family in 1920. It lay empty until it was sold and then demolished at some point in the late 1940s.
The camping field is on the site of the old walled garden, although the walls have long since disappeared and been replaced by hedge. The only remains of this once grand walled garden is the part of the potting shed that still stands and makes up our honesty shop.
A little bit about the team..
Katie and Shaun moved to Winscott in 2022 from Scotland bringing with them their horses, dogs, cats and goats. They lived in a converted vintage horse lorry called Doris in the camping field while they renovated their house. They really enjoyed their time living in the camping field, and have lovely memories of sitting watching the moon rise over Dartmoor and being amazed at how bright the stars were.
They were visited by Hamish and Alice, their son and daughter-in-law, who loved the peace and quiet and the fact that they could spend their day surfing and come back for a relaxing evening around a camp fire.
Hamish and Alice came up with the idea of creating a small campsite run on eco-friendly principles. The sort of place that they would like to stay with their friends, with a calm relaxed vibe but within driving distance of the beaches.
Katie, Shaun, Hamish and Alice now make up the team that runs Winscott Camping.
Campsite rules.
We appreciate that holidays are about relaxing and enjoying time away from the daily routine. In order to ensure that everyone can have the most positive experience the Greener Camping Club and ourselves do have a few campsite rules. These will hopefully let you and the other campers have an enjoyable holiday.
- No dogs are allowed on the property (we have our own dogs on site)
- Noise must be kept to reasonable levels. The campsite should be quiet between 10pm and 7.30am
- Generators and amplified music, including car stereos and Bluetooth speakers are not permitted
- We are unable to take stag or hen parties
- There are no cars allowed in the camping field, parking spaces are just outside the field. There is a maximum of one car per pitch
- At least one member of your party must be a member of the Greener Camping Club. You can join the club when you book a pitch
- Please use the recycling facilities provided and follow the instructions for using the composting toilets and the shower and washing facilities
- Children must be supervised by a responsible adult at all times
- Please do not enter any areas other than the camping areas clearly signposted, please respect the private, no entry signs. These are for your safety and the safety of our animals
- Please do not feed or touch the horses or goats. This is for your safety and theirs. They are fun to watch but like all animals they can be unpredictable and could bite.
- Campfires are only permitted in firepits which you can hire from us and these must be placed on the stone slab on your pitch. Do not light any fires outside of these firepits. Fires must not be left unattended and must be supervised by a responsible adult.
- If the behaviour of a Member, or that of their children, causes nuisance to other Members, or there is persistent violation of Greener Camping Club Rules herein, we have the right to instruct the Member to cease the behaviour/violation, or leave the site immediately without refund.