If you're from Cornwall, how do you personally feel about tourists and second home owners?

[Beerlovingwalker]

Genuinely curious really, as an outsider that loves Cornwall.

On the one hand, it must be nice to know that so many people love the beauty of your county and I'm sure it's nice to share it. However, it also must be difficult to adjust from living fairly quietly in the Autumn/winter months, to suddenly have to share your space with so many million tourists and second home owners in the summer.

While families relocate to Norfolk just like that... sounds like a clearance.
Most of my dh family emigrated to Australia in the 60's probably because these problems.
The Cornish have always got off their arses and travelled. They were sailors, miners it's why you have a Bolivian pasty.

@eliope and Mexico! Cracking play by Knee High about it toured a few years ago

You'll find a Cornishman at the bottom of a hole anywhere in the world

MrsSteveMcDonald The Cornish language is also similar to the Briton dialect. I really object to the notion of Cornwall as an insular place, historically The Cornish rocked, rebellions, a fierce independence.
I recommend everyone who's not read it to read Mary Bryant, to me it sums up the Cornish spirit and strength.

@ThursdayLastWeek

I have never seen as many threads about Cornwall on this site as I have in the last 12 months.

This place is totally fetishised, it’s so weird.

Agreed. I have been many times (visiting a friend who lived there). Nice enough to visit for a few days if you get decent restaurant bookings in advance and a pretty landscape but waaaay overhyped and overpriced, much too busy, and food and service and hotels and the beaches nowhere near the standard in Brittany for example. Plus more expensive! Madness. Same journey time from here. Thank goodness for the channel tunnel!!

I'm sure all the fuss about Cornwall will die down somewhat when we're released from UK quarantine. I think a lot of the legacy fuss must be based on some weird nationalism by certain types trying to pretend the UK is as good as other easily accessible places. Or people trying to convince themselves that UK holidays are as good as going abroad (spoiler: they aren't!)

No, we didn’t know about Cornwallian because there’s already a perfectly accurate term - Cornish.

Walesians, Scotlandians, Francicles, Irelanders.
Oh this is fun!

I don’t want to move from Cornwall because my family & friends are here. It’s my home. I like the vibe, the landscapes, the lifestyle.

I am not blind to its limitations and flaws. They just don’t bother me.

And I will repeat, for the posters determined not to hear - I think owning second homes anywhere (including London) is unethical.

@MrsSteveMcDonald

I think many people on here are classing us in with the English as if we have the same issues and backgrounds. The Cornish are legally classed as an ethnic minority the same as our Celtic cousins in the rest of the UK. We're closer to the Welsh in culture than the English and our language is similar due to developing from the same language.

Our culture is supposed to be protected, that isn't going to happen by telling us to live elsewhere.

Oh come off it. Any person in the UK if you test them with any random person on Earth has a common ancestor as little as 20 generations back. The culture of a place isn't determined by genetics. You're not some unique class of people.

Cornwallians

That is quite literally not a word.

Please don't tell people in Cornwall they are doing it all wrong if you don't even know the name for people who are from there.

We have a second home in a coastal village which we use every weekend. We are at home mon - thurs. and spend fri - sun at our second home. It works well for us. It is a luxury but one we have worked hard for.

Way to read the room.

@HesterShaw1

Cornwallians

That is quite literally not a word.

Please don't tell people in Cornwall they are doing it all wrong if you don't even know the name for people who are from there.

And what qualifies them for that status? Being born there? Living there for X numbers of years? Owning a house there, having a business there, having family connections there?? Who the hell are you to judge and put people into categories or "where they are from"?

@ultrababy

We have a second home in a coastal village which we use every weekend. We are at home mon - thurs. and spend fri - sun at our second home. It works well for us. It is a luxury but one we have worked hard for.

That's lovely for you.

Have you read the thread? What do you think about the issues raised, other than the fact that you "work hard"?

I find it bizarre the stance people living in Devon/Cornwall can have in on tourists. Very much a ‘this is our space not yours’ kind of vibe. Never heard of residents of places like Hunstanton etc have such an odd attitude. Understand tourists could be irritating but it’s weird to be so angry over it constantly, to the point last year it was all over the news about Cornish residents damaging tourists property etc to force them into leaving. Strange. I live in the countryside inland so maybe I don’t get it

Tbh I really hate tourists! It makes it hard to enjoy most places in summer due to no parking and over crowding. I avoid places like st ives in the summer as they’re just jam packed and not enjoyable. Also most tourists can’t drive

When staying in a b & b in Falmouth goer my daughters degree show some local, we suspect who saw us waiting for their parking space on street opposite the hotel, smashed our passenger side wing mirror right off and into pieces. Haven’t gotten rounds to mentioning that on the hotel review yet but I will. Complete bastard thing to do and in line with ithe car vandalism we heard of there.

And what qualifies them for that status? Being born there? Living there for X numbers of years? Owning a house there, having a business there, having family connections there?? Who the hell are you to judge and put people into categories or "where they are from"?

I don't judge anyone on "where they are from". You misunderstand me spectacularly.

I find it funny when people come down here and say they are local because their grandad was from Redruth and they visited him as a child and they love Cornwall and spend all their spare time here. No one gets local points. It doesn't make anyone a better person if they live or were born west of the Tamar.

I'm just saying if someone goes on a public forum and essentially parrots Norman Tebbit to the lazy "Cornwallians" (a word that she just made up), not to be surprised if people assume she knows fuck all about local issues.

Interesting views. So to the individuals who live there. If all the second home owners were taxed extra. There wouldn’t be as many second home owners which would bring the price of your property down. Would you be happy with that??

This attitude really annoys me... no-one ‘owns’ an area. If people want a second home there, then if they pay the money they are as entitled to live there as anyone else.

There is a real snobbery emulating from this area which is really unappealing. I do understand the upset about first-time buyers- but this is happening everywhere now, not just Cornwall. Stands to reason that their parents have made a decent amount on their own property prices alongside this?

@yellowmuma

I find it bizarre the stance people living in Devon/Cornwall can have in on tourists. Very much a ‘this is our space not yours’ kind of vibe. Never heard of residents of places like Hunstanton etc have such an odd attitude. Understand tourists could be irritating but it’s weird to be so angry over it constantly, to the point last year it was all over the news about Cornish residents damaging tourists property etc to force them into leaving. Strange. I live in the countryside inland so maybe I don’t get it

I think if that happened it was because of the pandemic with so much fear around. The South West had very low infection rates and people were scared of it being brought into the area. Fear does funny things, (plus there are always arseholes looking for an excuse, anywhere).

I think everybody does what is right for their family and their situation. We pay full council tax. Use all the local shops and restaurants and consider it to be our home exactly like the first one. We choose to live in two different locations over the space of a week.
I did read the room. It's full of people who hate second home owners. I'm a second home owner and I don't consider myself to be a hateful person. We had a choice. That's the choice we made.

Apologies for the crap typing. Can you tell it still pisses me off?

@DaddyCool60

When staying in a b & b in Falmouth goer my daughters degree show some local, we suspect who saw us waiting for their parking space on street opposite the hotel, smashed our passenger side wing mirror right off and into pieces. Haven’t gotten rounds to mentioning that on the hotel review yet but I will. Complete bastard thing to do and in line with ithe car vandalism we heard of there.

But you know, Cornwall does have vandalism and petty crime just like anywhere else.

We’ve been to Cornwall twice and stayed in cottages. I’m confused. It seems like Cornish people are unhappy about this? Some have specifically said they don’t want homes to be used for letting out to tourists.

What’s the alternative?? Hotels?

Also sorry to say both times we found locals to be fairly unfriendly and yes a little racist. (Not all racism is shouting p**i at someone. It was a lot of uncomfortable moments and staring at times, sullen service or seemingly delayed compared to others etc 🤷🏽‍♀️ Veiled and covert). One time someone actually spoke to me in an irritated slow loud way as though we were in the 1970’s and I had stepped off a boat from India 🙄 so not very veiled there actually! We wouldn’t go again.

But every UK holiday we’ve been on we’ve booked a home as opposed to a hotel. I didn’t realise it was so resented.

Tourists fine. Sometimes we Cornish go on holiday elsewhere!
Second home owners. Nah. It's obv a feee country and people can spend their money as they wish but there needs to be a mechanism whereby those buyers input something into the economy. Paying council tax would be a good start!!