Motor camper, caravan and camping around Sidmouth. Also information on Sidmouth FolkWeek festival bus services. Updated August 2011. You are advised to read this page carefully: there are many options.

For people who don't fancy risking the 'official' (Bulverton) Sidmouth Folk Week
campsite in bad weather, details of alternatives are given on this webpage.

There are many options - please read this page carefully and notify me if you think there are any errors.

Alternative campsites in the Sidmouth area.

The main 'folk festival' campsite, which has space for a limited number of caravans and motorhomes, is the Bulverton site (some photos here).

There is however an exception to this: you are allowed to use the official campsite if you purchase a 'Camping Passport' for the current year - this 'concession' is an anachronism based on the old 'Supporters Club' scheme which offered similar benefits. Buying a Camping Passport can be the most cost effective route for people wanting to camp on the official campsite and/or attend some Ham evening concerts but not buy a season ticket.

For the historical record, details of the old Supporters Club scheme are given below. Just to confuse you further, from 2011 you can become a Friend of Sidmouth FolkWeek - which was the central idea of the Supporters Club in years past!

All other campsite options are not affiliated to FolkWeek. There are therefore no ticket restrictions - you pay just for the camping and facilities you use. More details are given below.

Festival shuttle buses.

Two quite distinct special festival buses operate shuttle services between campsites and the town centre during Sidmouth FolkWeek. Each operates into the small hours and serves late night revellers. For the official site, there is the festival bus and this operates on a circular route taking in the primary venues of the Bulverton campsite and the town centre, via the seafront area (near the Bedford Hotel). The cost is about £2 per trip or you can buy a weekly buspass.

The other (and quite separate) festival bus, the 'Alpha bus', serves several of the 'unofficial' commercial campsites. It is not associated in any way with FolkWeek. The Alpha bus serves Thorn Park, Salcombe Regis, Oakdown and Kingsdown Tail camping and caravan sites and terminates in Salcombe Road, Sidmouth by the entrance to the Byes (at the end of Millford Road). Here are some comments from the 'mudcat' forum website from past years.

We camped at Salcombe Regis Camping and Caravanning and it very good. Excellent showers and constant hot water + electricity for the motorhome was a boon. (Not up to Caravan Club standards but still very good).

We used the Alpha Bus service which was basically hourly (with a meal/rest gap at lunchtime and evening). Last bus at 1.00 am which to be honest was a bit too early for a night owl like me).

Some of the Alpha services in the evening (late evening they are every 30 minutes or so) could be very crowded. But everyone got on and there was often some singing (generally "The Wheels of the Bus.......). The two drivers (husband and wife) were very friendly and the cost was £1.50 in each direction which was reasonable. No season ticket.

Within central Sidmouth, both Sidmouth Rugby Club and Cricket Club rent out pitches for motorhomes only during FolkWeek but those on the Rugby Club are usually booked up in advance by people who return year after year. Contact the club(s) to be put on their waiting list - and expect to pay about £30-£35 per night. Apparently the Cricket Club operate on a first-come first-served basis and don't take bookings. Showers at the cricket club are communal but apparently 'OK', those at the Rugby Club are rumoured to be 'passable'.

One small alternative site which has good access by bus into Sidmouth is the Corehill campsite. It is operated by Mr Burrough, owner of Thorn Golf Centre which in 2008/2011 hosted an alternative Sidmouth Fringe Festival: 01395 579564 but please try the mobile number below first. Prices are around £10 per night. Contact Craig on 07779-504-866 (please let me know if this number no longer works). One advantage of this quiet site is that you can stroll down the hill to Waitrose (which has plush toilet facilities!) Recent road alterations have made access from the A3052 more difficult if travelling west along the A3052. You can easily clip the new central reservation with a caravan. The location of the Corehill campsite is shown on this map.

Full details of the excellent camping available at the Thorn Park site are available from the fringe website. See also my own photgraphs from 2011.

The Caravan Club (CC) operate their Putts Corner site (6 miles from Sidmouth along A375 towards Honiton). Tel 01404 42875. The CC also have a number of 'CLs' locally but officially you need to be a member of the CC to use these. Details are in the Caravan Club handbook and on their website.

Kingsdown Tail is a large site a few miles outside Sidmouth along the busy (and noisy) A3052 towards Seaton. It is operated by Ian McKenzie-Edwards (a conservative councillor for Sidmouth). 01297 680313. The whole site is quite flat.

Salcombe Regis Camping and Caravan park is very popular with folkies but gets booked up a year ahead. Tel: 01395 514303. Some camping pitches have a slight slope. It is 'a bit plusher' than Kingsdown Tail but apparently more crowded.

Berry Barton Caravan park has static holiday caravans for hire as well as a separate field for camping. Facilities for campers are basic (and pitches are expensive) but the views are good. 01297 680208. This is on the outskirts of Branscombe and very quiet. The static caravan field is near the edge of the cliffs and can be windswept at times - as well as foggy with thick sea mist. The site is close to the Fountain Head pub - just walk up the steep hill by the pub car park. Public transport from Branscombe village is very poor.

There are several camping sites around Branscombe. You are advised to view recommendations on the internet - one social dance caller at Sidmouth in 2010 had a poor experience at what he termed 'Branscombe Farm' - there is no such farm as far as I know and the description could apply to several in the area. He said there were 60 or more units, a couple of toilets and an inadequate shower block - so be warned. Not everywhere in East Devon is welcoming!

Remember that if you camp outside of Sidmouth and use your car for daily journeys into town you will have to pay to park either at the long stay Manor Road site (west side of Sidmouth) or on the official FolkWeek car park (which is some distance from the town) or at the cricket club (typically £10 per day but it is open only if the ground is firm enough for cars). There are other alternatives - all of them pricey. When you factor in the cost of bus passes and the inconvenience of camping in wet weather, a cheap B&B near to the centre of Sidmouth (if you can find one!) starts to look more attractive. Prices are typically £30 to £50 per night. More details of hotels and B&Bs.

Alternative campsite at Sidford.

In August 2004 I provided 'emergency camping' for a couple of families who wished to visit the 50th Sidmouth Festival but who could not gain access to the official camp site because it was full. The arrangements worked so well I decided to offer space on a year round basis but again primarily to people with motor campers or caravans that have all their own facilities for washing etc and who, for some reason, prefer to be by themselves rather than on one of the local campsites. However, please read the conditions carefully.  A deposit may be required. If you break the rules, you leave. The principal advantage of my garden is that it is easy and safe to cycle into the centre of Sidmouth. It is also a pleasant walk into town (25-30 minutes) and a convenient location for shops and buses. In 2009 I had two camper vans - I was due to have a third but they cancelled owing to the weather!

My garden is flat overall but a little bumpy. You stay AT YOUR OWN RISK! Mains power available (at 13 amp only) via extension leads, again at your own risk (and via a dedicated 32 amp ELCB). If you trip the ELCB you may have to wait until I get back to switch everything on again.

Public toilets (locked up between 10 pm and 8 am) are available in the village centre two minutes walk away. A disposal point is available on site for your own chemical WC or similar system which would be essential. Two pubs nearby. Cold mains water, recycling bins and landfill waste containers on site. There will be no access to facilities in my house but showers may be available from 2012.

24 hour free car parking available. All cars must be left on the road, not on the driveway - cars can be left by tents on my front garden if the ground is OK - and if there is room. They must not leak a lot of oil onto the road - the neighbours would complain. Village shops are a minute away, Waitrose is a 20 minute walk away. There is a regular bus service into the centre of Sidmouth from the village centre.