Where in Cornwall?

MrsSpw3 wants to go to Cornwall for a week in the spring. Apparently we ‘always’ go to North Devon and we need to be more adventurous.

Oh well.

Just us two but it would be nice to be close enough to the coast to surf, close enough to trails to ride. I know this is possible in North Devon (note to self: don’t start) but any good places in Cornwall?

Idly prefer renting a place for the week but would go for a hotel. B&B not do much.

Cheers all for any suggestions you may have.

My recommendation would be somewhere on the Lizard. The best place for a week would be a cottage at Trelowarren, its pretty idyllic. There’s the Penrose Estate trails within a 15 minute cycle and also plenty of coastal trails to explore. In terms of beaches, the highlights are Gunwalloe and Kynance Cove in Particular.

Fowey is brilliant. We stayed in an apartment in Fowey, it was a new build, quite a way back from the town, but not too far. Easily walkable.

Lovely town, nice pubs, nice restaurants, quite a few things to do.

Noted, cheers guys.

Idiotic question but is Cornwall as bereft of bridleways as Devon?

We have stayed in Polzeath for the last 2 summers. Surf beach, on the coastal path ( ridden every day early morning, no issues) 30 min drive to. Cardinham woods.

Any specific cottage or hotel recommendations?

I have to say the two most relaxing holidays I have ever had were in rented places in the South West.

St Ives without doubt

Vellendreath at sennen. Not cheap but awesome spot.

Idiotic question but is Cornwall as bereft of bridleways as Devon?

Only 396 miles (637 km) of Bridleways in Cornwall (1376sq miles), where as (say) Worcestershire (672sq miles) has 435 miles (700km) of them.

*Edit – Devon 734 miles bridleways,

In my experience bridleways in Cornwall are not evenly so distributed/criss-crossed as might be in many other counties so you really have to do your work on maps beforehand.

Used to be a lot of good trails in Trelowarren estate woods on the sly, and around Constantine.
St Agnes or Porthtowan for a bit of surfing and biking. Coast path always used to be fair game.

Idiotic question but is Cornwall as bereft of bridleways as Devon?

Assuming you mean North Devon, then West Cornwall has a pretty similar level of MTB trails. The rest of Devon is very different to that bit of the A361 between Barnstaple and Braunton.

Loads of stuff to do in SE Cornwall too, especially as it’s easy to access Plymbridge and Dartmoor for riding. Polzeath was a good idea too.

Another vote for St Ives, I love the place. Better for road riding than MTB though.

we stayed in Devoran (soley because of a cheap cottage off ebay, have blokes dets I think), turned out it was (*imho) ‘well bridled’ *by Cornwall standards, doubt if there is surfing (*there seemed to be at Portreath) but Falmouth (maritime museum), Truro are an easy nearby bus ride, Roseland Peninsula – good walking/great scenery, ability to take bike on boat ferries (and trips) and a great pub a short drive (Pandora) and an ok pub a very short walk away – place had a very mellow feel.

we did Devoran to Portreath (mainly off – see link) and there are bits there you could play on, made up via tracks etc route – Devoran Westish then Nish to Truro to Malpas, boat, Trellisk Gardens (*lots of other gadens) and road/tracks back then Feock/riverside (didn’t have time to do Penaleck bridleway by river)

we both enjoyed it more than we expected (but did well with weather …)

http://www.cornish-mining.org.uk/sites/default/files/Mineral_Tramways_Mining_Trails.pdf

*also found bimbling on narrow quiet roads much more fun than SE cycling …

This is great guys, keep it coming. I know next to nothing about Cornwall but She Who Must Be Obeyed has decreed it must be so.

@Gilo has to be MTB I’m afraid.

Crantock is really good, have stayed there a few times now. Has the benefit of being walking distance from the local beach (which is excellent) and has a couple of decent pubs.

St Ives for us, going again at the end of the month. Staying in a apartment overlooking Porthmeor Beach.

Spw3 – what’s your budget?

From my experience I prefer the north coast for the beaches and surfing and the south coast for places of interest. A bit of a generalisation I know but have been going for years now and just what I feel. That said never had a bad stay in cornwall yet, would , love to retire there one day.

Love north Cornwall, I was lucky enough 2 summers ago to have both boards and bikes with us, the coast path is incredibly cheeky riding but some breathtaking scenery and should be attempted with care in parts and either early or late in the day.

@dantsw13 – pretty relaxed about budget to be honest. We dodged going snowboarding this year so we have some cash on hand*

*slightly less since I accidentally bought a SH Knolly Delirium frame…

Sennen is amazing, stayed at a STW’s holiday let, didn’t take the bike though.

The recommendation for Vellandreath above is a lovely spot. It’s a little fold in the dunes above Sennen Cove. Literally a 2 min walk to the beach and a beautiful spot. We stayed in a White Rose Cottage there.

In Polzeath, have a look at Moyles Farm – a few different properties there.

Ok chaps, a thousand thanks for your suggestions. I will google them tomorrow. But it’s time to turn in.

So it’s goodnight from me…

We stayed in Penrose through Friendly Holidays, chap who runs the cottage really friendly and will advise which break to surf at depending on conditions (ex-lifeguard), and his lad is a Lifeguard now so he gets updates straight from the beach.

Cardinham woods are just the other side of Bodmin, about thirty minute drive, Padstow just up the road, Newquay just down the coast.

Only down side is no pub in the village.

Riding isn’t blow you away amazing but there is enough to make it worth taking the bike.

Tehidy woods – xc
Idless woods – xc
Wheal Maid – xc/mini dh stuff
The track – DJ
Bodmin – waymarked stuff at Cardinham/Lanhydrock or Grogley woods if you want some really good off piste stuff.

There’s some interesting riding around if you know where to look. Early morning coast path is a winner, along with the Poldice Valley, Cardinham, and other bits and pieces. As mentioned above bridleways are not very well interlinked and require some map work beforehand. Hook up with the Cornwall Mountain Bike Club V2.0 or Penwith MTB Facebook groups and post up when you’re coming down and hopefully somebody will be able to show you around.

Beach wise do not go to Chapel Porth at low tide (it’s near St Agnes) and the Hedgehog Ice-creams are rubbish.

The coastal bits of Cornwall (particularly North Coast) aren’t that well served by bridleways but given I live on NE Dartmoor and am only an hours drive from the North Cornwall coast, and Cardinham is just down the road there is plenty of riding within striking distance if you don’t mind a bit of a drive… In my experience cheeky riding is a bit more tolerated generally in Kernow, especially if it’s early morning / evening 😉

Some good recommendations above. Polzeath is a good holiday base and has a great beach which is a safe choice for surfing – lovely walks on the coast path out to Pentire Point and beyond too, but it does get rammed during the holidays.

Our favourite beaches on the North Coast are Trebarwith Strand, Crackington Haven and Widemouth.

Further West, St Ives is lovely, with loads going on and great beaches. Sennen Cove is stunning – somewhere like St Just is central for that area and may be a good base if you want to avoid the crowds and also get some riding in – there are a few routes (some cheeky) around the Penwith peninsular.

St Agnes area also recommended – some great beaches nearby and handy for the Mineral Tramway which runs from coast to Coast from Portreath to Devoran and apparently has some off-piste stuff to explore in the old workings.

Some lovely spots on the Lizard (Kynance is gorgeous), and bits of it can get EPIC surf, but conditions can be a little inconsistent at the intermediate / beginner friendly beaches.

Have a look here for cottages: http://www.helpfulholidays.com/

Go to Tenby instead. 🙂

blatant plug as its mine, but… http://www.littlebeachhouse.co.uk in sennen cove itself.

west cornwall is the best part of cornwall, ideal for surfing down at the tip with beaches on both coasts covering most wind/swell directions, great road riding and a fair few trails around. up on the west penwith moors is fun.