DH wants to go to Cornwall - Advice please

[grouchyoscar]

I do too but

We live in West Yorkshire
We have no car and do not drive
I have MS and walking distances can be a tad tricky

Can it be done? what is the public transport like in the South of the county?

we can get there via train but what next? Any pointers would be greatly appreciated

[grouchyoscar]

hopeful bump

[Fennel]

There are places in Cornwall which are fine to get around without a car. St Ives is on the train, has good beaches, lots going on. There are nice places around Penzance too which is on the train. Or stay somewhere near the southerly train route - Looe, Golant, Fowey, all round there is lovely and there are lots of things to do.

I'm not too sure about the buses but there are some, but certainly Cornwall is quite possible without a car. we take one but my sister goes without, using train and bus with two small children.

we are coming to West Yorkshire for our holidays next week

[Drayford]

Could you fly to Newquay Airport? www.airsouthwest.com/

Watergate Bay is quite fun (although can be full of "just down from London"ers) and there's quite a few cottages and hotels there (Watergate Bay Hotel or this www.ivycottagecornwall.co.uk/ which I have stayed in with my DC a few times and is really handy for the beach and Fifteen Cornwall & speaking as a very very fussy holiday cottage owner is quite nice). Public transport from Watergate towards Padstow or Newquay is vv good.

[cheesesarnie]

public transport is shit here.and its more than pissing down.

depends what kind of holiday your after.beach fun,shacked up in cosy cottage,in your face kids entertainers,camping?

[JoesMummy09]

We went to Cornwall with 2.5mo DS. I was fab. We had a self-catering cottage, did a Tesco shop with delivery for all the bits we'd need for the week (there were shops nearby for extra bits like milk and bread etc)

We flew to Newquay and got collected. There are cabs at the airport. You could get the train, there is a cross country that goes from Leeds to Plymouth and then you could change for Cornwall... but that would be v long.

We hired a baby cot, 3 wheeler buggy thing and a baby car seat so we wouldn't have to lug our own.

Stayed near Polzeath on north coast, v picturesque. There are buses that go to Wadebrige and pos Rock?? Not sure. It is a bit hilly in places... fine going down hill but can be a bit steep going up.

If you go to that bit of the world you can get a ferry from Rock to Padstow which is def worth doing.

My MIL has a rental if you're interested. It's not massive though so you'd have to have DC/s in with you or in the living room. Really lovely though (actually nicer than where we stayed!)

[JoesMummy09]

sorry it was fab. I was merely slightly above average...

[grouchyoscar]

Thanks muchly for the fantstic tips and ideas
Very much appreciated

Joesmummy09 I would be interested in MIL's rental. We just need a base to stay and cook a few meals. There's only 3 of us so we don't need that much space

[Fennel]

My sister stayed, when there were 3 of them without a car, at an apartment in Carbis Bay, just outside St Ives, beautiful sandy beach, with a train station making easy access into St Ives. It was called something like Carbis Bay Apartments.

[JoesMummy09]

grouchyoscar I've CAT you with my details.

[grumblinalong]

Fennel - where about in West Yorkshire are you staying? I'm from there (well north/west yorks border) I can recommend some places for DC's if you like. We're going to Cornwall wk commencing 08/08/09 but as we are slackers we haven't booked accommodation as yet - have our eye on somewhere though!

[mollyroger]

fennel whereabouts are you coming to?
Do you know the area?

[Fennel]

hi thanks for the offers we are staying near Hebden Bridge, we do know the area well as all DP's family live around there and we lived in Manchester for years so used to go to the area a lot. But would be happy to have ideas for children as we've never stayed there for a week before as a "holiday" so this feels a bit different.

I was thinking of Yorkshire sculpture park and Eureka and Hardcastle crags and possibly the Forbidden Corner but that's quite a trek I think.

[mollyroger]

I love Hebden Bridge - very cool place

forbidden corner is ACE but not brilliant for very little children (not pushchairable and qute scary in places. And yes, a pretty long drive from west yorks.

[Fennel]

my dc are 9,7,5 so no toddlers or buggies. I think they would like Forbidden Corner but it does look a bit of a trek.

Are there any good swimming pools around? We've been to mediocre ones in Rochdale and Halifax, years ago. maybe there's a new exciting one since then?

[mollyroger]

dunno about pools, sorry. But if you were feeling adventurous, Ilkley has a Lido outdoor one which is lovely.

[llareggub]

We go to here and it is fab. There is a pool, animals, games room etc and the owners are very happy to advise on public transport to Cornwall. We've been there twice and going back next month.

[Fennel]

Brrr to the Lido in Ilkley, sounds a bit bracing in this weather .

[grumblinalong]

There is an excellent swimming pool in Nelson (bit of a trek though) it has a really good wave machine. Skipton pool is ok, but I'd avoid Keighley pool at all costs.

We LOVED forbidden corner. It's a brilliant day out if you've got DC's who are quite imaginative and like fantasy type stuff though.

Haworth is worth a look - a trip on the steam trains is great but quite pricey. Cobbles and Clay cafe is on the main street it has lovely food and paint your own pots.

Eureka is brilliant for all ages. Bolton Abbey is very picturesque - good walks and nice for a picnic by the river weather permitting. Halifax has also got Manor Heath park and jungle experience. Enjoy your trip.