Help me make my DH birthday trip to Cornwall a good one.

[Whatjusthappenedthere]

Shamelessly posting for traffic.

I lived in Cornwall for 15 years but that was 17 years ago. Pubs and restaurants change.

We are taking a camper van down there for 10 days to celebrate his 50th ( the Van was an early gift last year and we have hardly used it ).

I remember my favourite places but I want to avoid a trip down memory lane for me and make new memories with DH. Obviously we will end up at the big beauty spots so if anyone knows a good pub / cafe / activity nearby that would be great.

Can any one recommend the not so well know things to do and see?

Would be interested if anyone knows good places to park a camper with a good sea view while we have a coffee.

We are basically hugging the coast from the lizard in an anti clock wise direction to Tintagel.

Thanks.

I live in Hayle and always wondered who lives in the houses at the Towans .

The Salt Bar in Hayle is really good followed by Mr B’s ice cream. Also the Blue Bar at Porthtowan.

Kynance cove
If you've got a clear night park up at Beduthren steps, it's a dark skies sites. We sat there half the night last year, the amount of stars you could see was incredible. I don't think you can overnight pair there but just down the road there's field camping overlooking the sea.

We enjoyed a walk to St Nectan’s Glen near Tintagel. The woodland walk is lovely. At the top you can pay a bit extra to walk to the waterfall. You are given wellies to wade through the river. There’s a nice cafe at the top.
Over the road there is Rocky Valley, where you can follow another path down to the sea. This goes past some ancient labyrinth carvings in the rocks.

If you’re within driving distance of Padstow you must, must must go to Prawn on the Lawn. Teeny tiny 20 cover restaurant with the freshest fish/seafood I’ve ever tasted. There’s a wee open kitchen so you see all your food being prepared and it’s just delicious.

The wine list is excellent too.

Charlestown has a new tall ship, and the Longstore Rest also has an outdoor BBQ area tucked on the harbour. Wonderful ice cream from the Tall Ships Creamery. (This was Truro in Poldark series) Heligan always lovely has evening events where they sell BBQ food

There is Polkerris where you can eat at the Rashleigh Arms or Sam's on the Beach. In Fowey you can get fish and chips from Sam's and eat overlooking the estuary.

It's worth getting a NT membership for the free parking and admission, you've got St Anthony, St Michael's Mount, Lanhydrock, Trelissick,etc. Again look for their eve events. Going from Trelissick on the ferry and down to St Just.

The Headland at Newquay has panoramic views, and you can sometimes park at the hotel which they charge for in return for a voucher to use in the hotel. Wonderful watching the surfing on Fistral from there.

Have fun

Another vote for the little place at Godrevy. Absolute gem of a place.

Mevagissey, widemouth bay, looe harbour....

Cornwall is heavenly.

If you want to visit a stately home then Lanhydrock in Bodmin is a must!

We love Mevagissey. Also, if you end up in Padstow the Padstow Brewing Company have a sweet little bar worth popping into, both beer and local fizz is lovely. The ferry to Rock is nice too. We stayed at a campsite that was walkable into Padstow at Easter which is fab if you like to eat out as you can go for nice meals with a few drinks and then walk back to the van.

Living in Cornwall I can safely say that if the weather is good, you'll love it regardless :)
If starting at the Lizard, you could try Sennen Cove for lunch/dinner. There's also a lovely couple of places in Perranuthnoe. The cabin which is a little cafe on the cliff overlooking the beach or The Victoria Inn which is a bit of a gastro pub. Minnac Theatre in Porthcurno with stunning views. No bad place to visit for a bite in St ives. Also the Tate gallery which is lovely for a few hours of beautiful art. Maritime museum in Falmouth with more lovely places to eat. (Rick stein has a restaurant there but to be honest, it's mainly just fish and chips!). St mawes does a ferry service which is lovely. Witches museum at Mevagissey is good for a bit of time killing :) Fowey Hall Hotel (inspiration for the wind in the willows) is beautiful and has some wonderful views. Not a great deal to do in the town but some lovely little trinket shops and cafes. If the weather is nice I cannot recommend the Camel Trail enough. You can either start at Bodmin or Wadebridge. There are bike hire places. End up in Padstow which is lovely!!
Port Isaac is beautiful and the setting for ITVs Doc Martin with lots of little nods to the tv show as well as nice cafes. Tintagel is steeped with medieval history and lots of lovely views.
Might be worth having a look at the national trust website as we have some beautiful places; st michaels mount, mines, gardens etc

Sorry for the rambling, just very proud of the wonderful county :) hope you have a lovely time

@transformandriseup I'm in Hayle too!!

Someone already mentioned Lusty Glaze; it's worth looking at their calendar online as they do music events there which are brilliant fun. We saw morcheeba there last year which was pretty magical right on the beach watching he sun go down.

The coast between Newquay and Padstow is some of my favourite coastline. Porthcothan has a great basic campsite (south of the main porthcothan beach and static campsite) with beautiful coastal walks and fantastic beaches accessed through conservation fields full of flowers and ground nesting birds.

Trevone is also fab. The sea pool is idyllic to swim in

Oooh!!! Get me back to Cornwall!

Perranporth hasn't gone posh, they've built swanky appartments overlooking the beach and a bistro type place named Alcatraz pretty much on the beach but the town's the same.

They've got the Watering Hole pub on the beach which is lovely to sit by and watch the sunset, we used to buy a pint of Rattler from there but it's £5 so we now take our own and sit in exactly the same spot!

Have you got National Trust membership? There's a few houses you can visit plus some of the beach car parks are owned by them so you can park for free, we went to St Michaels mount which was lovely.

This thread is awesome, thank you so much. I used to work in Hayle as a dental hygienist but it was a long time ago so I’m not outing myself to you . We have just spent the night half way down in a beautiful hotel as it’s DHs 50th today. Can’t wait to get on the road!
Someone up thread mentioned a water fall at Tingagel. I’m hoping we do this!

We were saying we wanted some live music. Thanks for the info on Lusty Glaze Beach. Found two events we can go to.

The Lizards awful these days, don't go. its all mine

St Ives really is dire, too many visitors.

I recommend a trip to the Minack theatre.

Geevor Tin Mine (yes, it is a tin mine... not sure when it's in steam tho I'm afraid!)
The last time we were there we sat in the NT car park and watched peregrines on the cliffs. The mine itself is a bit meh - understaffed and under-resourced - but the view from the cliffs is beautiful.

Also, dunno if it's your kind of thing, but it's the Kernow Old Vehicles Club rally this weekend at Penhallow, so if vintage tractors and shiny Buicks float your boat :-)

If you want a lovely morning coffee, Birdy's caff at Hayle, watch the birds on the estuary, park & ride on the train to St Ives.

How about a surf lesson? These guys are very good and have great reviews, they also give lessons to lots of different ages. I think they had someone in their 80’s a while ago, although don’t take that as gospel but I’m sure it was on their FB.

www.biggreensurfschool.com/

Yes, definitely do St Nectans Glen the waterfalls are lovely. Although I realised I had a hole in one of my wellies so soggy walk back to the car... we went to the Towans for the first time last week (live on the south coast of Cornwall) and it was STUNNING! Wish we'd had more time to explore further.

St Michaels Mount - the house on the top is lovely but walk around the gardens at the bottom. Looking at the house at the top through the gardens and trees it looks just like a fairytale castle. Romance!

Climb down to Porthcurno beach. Actually Porthcurno in the early hours of the morning when no-one else is around is like a secluded tropical paradise. More romance

Walk through the ancient woodlands to Madron Well and ancient chapel? So still and quiet and timeless and magical.

Sennen is one of my favourite beaches. Massive and beautiful and fun to walk up the dunes at the back. Also can get a nice pasty at the little shop at the end.

But then those are my favourite things. It depends what he enjoys.

Kynance cove is just spectacular, and beautiful beaches. You have to time it right for the tide.

If you like beaches Pednvounder is fantastic. It's awkward to get to requiring a bit of a rocky scramble down, which means a lot fewer people there than other beaches.

Depending on when you're going and where you'll be, try to get tickets for a Hidden Hut dinner - amazing experience!

Visited Cornwall last month

Fowey, park at top, walk down
Get ferry boat to other side
Small museum in Fowey

Charlestown, park at top
Shipwreck museum & boats
Pleasant walk round harbour

Jamaica Inn & museum, free parking !

St Ives Tate gallery
Park at Rugby club at top of hill, bus down
Great view over roof tops in cafe
Good selection of art

Jamie Oliver 15 restaurant for lunch near Newquay, pre book table
View of beach & surfers

My favourite was visit to St Michael's Mount

There is plenty to see & do in Cornwall

We spent lots of money paying for parking every where !

Don't know how long you are staying or budget
Can get day return to Scily isles or go for longer ( still on my to do list)

I've also previously visited some of the gardens, like lost gardens of Heligan

Tintagel

Look up places used as sets for Poldark

Is he a daredevil? Whenever we go to Cornwall we always factor in a trip to adrenaline quarry to do the massive zip wire through a quarry. I realise that’s not for everyone though