[Closed] Whoooo....going on holiday to Cornwall. What to see and do.

Sunset at Lands End (dont go in the day).

Minnack Theatre even if you dont like plays, setting is amazing.

Surfing.

Look for dolphins, seals & whales.

Visit Saint Michael's Mount.

edit- and visit Mousehole in the evening (pronounced Mowzul)

In fact, visit everywhere in the evening.

All sound great. That outdoor theatre looks ace.

Sunset at [s]Lands End[/s] Cape Cornwall

Land's End is a tourist hole. Cape Cornwall is much better. Coast from Botallack to Pendeen Watch is very special. Walk (almost) down to the Crown's Engine House at Botallack and along the coast path to Levant Mine

You can walk away from it all (literally) at Lands End but whatever.

Witch Museum at Boscastle. Not sure how much got swept out to sea though.

Minnack is cool.

You should also check out the Seal Sanctuary if it's sill there. There's nothing more soothing in the world than watching seals, otters and/or penguins mucking about.
It's also in the best-named location anywhere in the world: Gweek!

EDIT: Ooh, ohh! And St Michael's Mount! Not sure how I forgot that - given I used to look at it from my living room window every day. It is a little touristy and crowded sometimes, but it's completely unique place. You can walk across at low tide, or get a ferry when the causeway is covered.

Warning note though - do [i]not[/i] try to race the tide...

Mousehole's nice. An ex-girlfriends dad had a place there and I remember having a great time - that was the last time I went to Cornwall - just seems too much hassle to get there from the NW now 🙁

Mousehole's Christmas lights are awesome. I miss the place 🙁

Lost Gardens of Helligan are worth a visit too.

If you have young kids there is a farm place just outside Newquay*

*Do not, under any circumstances go INTO Newquay, especially after dusk...

Is it worth going to the Eden Project?

We're heading to Cornwall with our 3 and 6 year old boys this summer 🙂

BAAAAAA! NEWKEY! WOOOOOOOOO! *vomits*

You can get Eden Project tickets with Tesco points, Flambards tickets too. It'll save us a fortune when we are in Looe for 2 weeks in the summer.

Can't wait.

Went to Newquay with the lads 20 years ago. Inadvertently ended up featuring in a documentary about naughty boys on holiday. 😳

Some lovely walking and (road) riding around Helford river (sth of Falmouth) or you could do a big ride from Falmouth to St Mawes and St Just in Roseland Peninsular (using ferries obviously), then back over King Harry Ferry further up the Fal estuary.

Lots of great surfing beaches to choose from e.g Portleven, Sennen, Gwithian, St Ives.

My kids didn't like the seal sanctuary but couldn't say why not & it was a bit pricey.

Rock climbing - some brilliant places on great rock.
Coastal path runs at either end of the day when they're quiet.
Porthcurno telegraph museum
Tate in St Ives
Chip shop at Sennen Cove is good.

All this is great thanks.

No kids btw. Just me the wife, two road bikes and a couple of pairs of walking boots. Oh and shed load of beer in the back of the van too 😀

Tate in St Ives

Really? Each to his own I suppose. We thought it was a vast empty space designed to take money off people. St Ives Town Museum is very good.

Also Shanty Babba's ghost walks in St Ives are good fun. The other bloke who does ghost stuff takes it all very seriously and as a result comes across as a bit of a prat. Shanty is a bit like Eddie Izzard (when he was funny).

Thought Eden Project is must maybe linked in with a trip to Padstow on the way back to sample Rich Stiens finest food.....

To late to get Tesco voucher exchanged...D'oh!

Easy then. Get pissed up and go and watch some otters for a few hours. Unbeatable entertainment.

Aye, Tate St Ives has been grim, but also really enjoyed it on other occasions. Just like most galleries in that sense.

Surely if you're going to Cornwall you'll spend the week inside your cottage waiting for it to stop raining?

Something a bit different (niche even). If you like your (pre-)history then there are a few cool sites worth a visit.

Chysauster
Carn Euny
Boscawen-Un

And then all the more famous ones like Men-an-Tol, Lanyon Quoit and Chun Castle/Chun Quoit.

Like everywhere in Cornwall, all these are nicer to visit early morning or evening to avoid any 'crowds'.

slainte 😀 rob

slainte rob

Nice one lad - they look great and we go past most of them on the bike rides.

Goonhilly Down if its wet .
Coverack harbour as its very pretty and my 'happy place' if im feeling v. low .
Boat trip from Looe or Falmouth maybe wreck fishing or a couple of hrs mackeral bashing
Sharps Brewery or St Austell brewery tour?
Sennan Cove ,i think they filmed the guiness ad there 'tick follows tock'

I wasn't blown away by the Eden Project. Except maybe by the admission charges. Apart from the tropical dome, it felt like a rather preachy garden centre.

Preferred the existing great gardens, designed over decades rather than thrown together in a pit - Helligan, another one up by Mawnan Smith (forget the name). Combine the latter with the kids crab fishing over the ferry jetty at the beach down the road, a pint at the Ferryboat Inn, maybe an ice cream...

There's a nice maritime museum in Falmouth if you're out that way.

If you can get a day's coastal walking in, then do it. Some unforgettable sea-cliff landscapes, finished off with a pint, maybe an ice cream...

Pasties from the 'Chough' bakery in Padstow.
Charlestown to see the tall ships.
Pendennis castle in Falmouth.

Kynance Cove on the Lizard is good with brilliant tea-shop, although it sounds as if you may already be there - just keep an eye on the tide with its many coves.

Head up the west coast of Lizard to Church Cove. Pub in Halzephron is good for eating and if you keep following the coast, so is the Ship in Porthleven.

Tregonning Hill is a great place for a view over the north, west and south coasts down to Lizard and up to clay pits and even Bodmin Moor when it's clear - nice trail over the top.

Minack as mentioned before and Porthgwarra.
In fact, just about any bit of coast path, especially between Falmouth and Godrevey.

Tintagel
Mevagissey
Polperro
Men-an-tol stone circle

Port Isaac is nice, especially if you are a fan of Doc Martin.

We've been to St Ives 6 times in the last 12 years. For pubs and retaurants it is hard to beat. All of the NT gardens in the area are worth a look, so are the EH castles and ancient sites.

Can't wait to get back. Shame we have to take the kids.

Mynack for me. We took the kids to a kids performance in the morning last summer. Absolutely ace to watch a performance.

Kynance Cove is a brill spot too, specially when its quiet (bar the choppers from Culdrose that constantly clatter around).

Trebah Gardens near the Helford Passsage is good too. Fascinating to think the yanks went to Normandy from there - you assume channel crossings tend to aim for the narrow bit.

Minack is very good- wish we'd been able to see a show there.

I'm not sure if the Porthcurno Telegraph Museum's actually as good as I remember, but I loved it... Fascinating place.

Pasty, Horse & Jockey, Porthleven.
Go for a walk down to Gurnards Head.
Porthkidney Sands.
Gwenver.

Spending a day rock climbing on the sea cliffs of Bosigran and then going to the Tinners Arms in Zennor, for dinner and a pint of the local brew is on its way to being Utopia.
The Japanese gardens near Newquay are worth a visit.
I always make a slight detour and stop off at Glastonbury and go up the Torr on my way there.
Can't wait to go back!

got to sennan, park the car and get the bus to lands end and walk the couple miles along the coast back to the car... sunning walk.

google:

Men-an-tol
lanyon quoit

go eat in the gurnards head (book a table)
eat at trelowarren
visit port leven when the surf is big.
walk around The Loe
visit Kynance cove at low tide

Second Wallop and;

Pasty from Horse & Jockey

Got shops in Helston and Porthleven - they are the standard against which I judge all pasties, rarely bettered. Skirt Flakey, mmmmmmm.

Padstow...to sample Rich Stiens finest food.

In Padstow, [url= http://number6inpadstow.co.uk/ ]Paul Ainsworth No.6[/url] is well worth a vist and its a lot easier on the wallet than either of the above. Also in Padstow, [url= http://margotspadstow.blogspot.co.uk/ ]Margot's[/url] is a charming, unfussy bistro serving great food.

When it comes to pasties, I'm a cheese, potato & onion man and the best I've found are from [url= http://www.pengennapasties.co.uk/pages/location/contact_details.htm ]Pengenna Pasties[/url].

I'd take Helligan over the Eden Project any day...Helligan is for garden lovers, Eden is a visitor attraction...if that makes sense.

two road bikes

I don't ride a road bike-but I do live in Cornwall. I reckon a perfect day out would be to ride out to Men-an-Tol, Lanyon Quiot and the other ancient monuments already mentioned-find somewhere to park around St. Ives and go along the coast road. Really nice country roads and stunning scenery around the Penwith moor.

Don't know when you're down but [b]the[/b] way to do Eden is to find out if there is any decent bands you like playing there over the summer. Your ticket gets you in for the whole day, go mid afternoon and you'll get to park fairly close to the entrance and have time for a good look around then stay on for the gig. Arguably best live venue in the world -when they do the light show in the bi-omes behind the band it will blow you away. Screamadelica live there was fantastic last summer (Goldfrapp in the Supernature era still been the best one tho!)

EDIT: Bear in mind the roads down here aren't fantastic Eden, Padstow, Looe etc. are a fair old drive from the Lizard - In fact anywhere is a fair old drive from the Lizard!

Oh- and as far as pasties go - Philps in Praze. Those two old ladies have worked there since I was a lad -I'm now 42- they Know how to heat up a pasty!

2nd Edit. Just read Rusty's post - Cheese and onion are not proper pasties 😯

The beach at Sennen Cove is top notch . . . Stayed there last year

Just to add I cant stand theater so when my wife dragged me to the Minnack I ignored the performance whilst watching an amazing sunset, then the moonrise right over the sea whilst a basking shark swam around the cove. i then got peesed in some pub on Doom Bar.

Cornwall's my favourite place to visit, apart from the emmets 😛

Spent a week at Pendeen beginning April.
Agree that Cape Cornwall is preferable to Lands End.
Geevor & Levant mines worth a visit. Former will easily fill an afternoon. Don't miss the mine ruins on the coast path below Botallack if you're over that way.
St Ives very pleasant, but Penzance seemed very run down compared to our last visit 7 - 8 years ago.
A couple of sections of the coastal path if the weather is half decent? Porthcurno and Minack section is nice with some secluded little coves.

Cheese and onion are not proper pasties +1

For pasties, there can be only one.

[url= http://hampsonsofhayle.co.uk/ ]http://hampsonsofhayle.co.uk/[/url]

Philps is a good 2nd tho.

Today I have had a med steak for lunch and stake pie for dinner from Hampsons.

Slight thread hijack so apologies. We are looking at heading to Cornwall in June for a week. Where would you guys recommend staying, Padstow or St Austell? I went to Cornwall many times as a toddler but haven't been for 30 odd years so would appreciate some suggestions. If you recommend places to stay too all the better, budget would be about 1k for accommodation. Also which part of the county gets better weather the North or South coast? Advice appreciated as always. Thanks. Juan.

which part of the county gets better weather the North or South coast?

Water's warmer on the South coast. Weather is the same everywhere (i.e. pissing down). All of it is warmer than Yorkshire (especially the water).

If you can get a day's coastal walking in, then do it. Some unforgettable sea-cliff landscapes

Start at Treyarnon Bay and head East and you can grab a swim in the giant natural rock pool on the way..

Tregonning Hill is a great place for a view over the north, west and south coasts down to Lizard and up to clay pits and even Bodmin Moor when it's clear - nice trail over the top.

our maths teacher at school was a Miss Tregonning..

Don't know when you're down but the way to do Eden is to find out if there is any decent bands you like playing there over the summer.

agreed.. Primal Scream last year.. or was it the year before..?

Rik - Member
slainte rob
Nice one lad - they look great and we go past most of them on the bike rides.

slainte 8) rob

Cornwall- it is amazing. Looking through the suggestions above I find it hard to add anything apart from a C2C from Portreath to the South Coast, via Redruth and the various mining remains.

Land's End IS tourist central. Cape Cornwall is far more betterer!

I grew up in Hayle, I am made of Philps pasties.

Pair it with a bottle of orange lucozade and there you have the world's best hangover cure.

My Mother In Law lives in St Austell. Can't say I'd recommend it as a holiday destination...

I stayed at the Fowey hotel in Fowey (spoken Foy).
The fine dining restaurant regularly wins culinary awards and is definately worth a look. The meal we had there was fantastic.
They also have a quality bar menu.
Even if you don't eat there go and have a pint in the bar. It sits high on the cliff top and has stunning 180 degree views of the estuary and Polruan village on the opposite side.
There are some stunning coastal walks from Fowey and you can take the ferry over the estuary for 2 quid and have a little walk around Polruan fishing village which is charming and very "Cornwall" without the tourist swarms.

To be honest, most of the pasty shops in the west are pretty good, rarely found anything decent east of Truro though.

Cheese and onion though? Not a Cornish pasty.

Juanking - North coast tends to be better sheltered from the breaking weather, Praa will be wet and stormy whilst Gwithian is dry and clean. When the south coast works though, it works real good. Head to Crantock, St.Austell is pretty industrial and not much of a beach area if you're looking for a beach holiday.