Why is everyone obsessed with Cornwall?

[thefoggiest]

Disclaimer: I've never actually been!

But why traditionally cornwall and not say the isle of wight, or sussex, or east Anglia?

I guess I can understand flocking to the southernmost tip back in the 60s when there would be washout summers but (thanks global warming!) isn't it time to branch out a bit now?

Stunning sunsets. Beautiful in June and September and they allow dogs on the beaches. Love it.

Oh my god it's just so beautiful and lovely. We're in Polruan at the moment and it's not crowded. We've been kayaking, there are beautiful beaches and places to eat.

We went to Pembrokeshire a few years ago. Lovely beaches but that's it. Any of the pubs were swirly carpet hell holes with godawful food.

Scotland is gorgeous, but after an epic journey to get there (giving Cornwall the advantage) there tends to be a lot of driving once you're there too, so it's not somewhere I've prioritised since having DCs. Oh and midgies. So many midgies. And the A82

I think if you avoid the summer months and go in May or September, you can avoid midges.

But I agree there is so much driving; driving from ruined castle to castle in the rain doesn't always appeal. But when the weather is good it's heaven!

And I raise your A82 to the appalling A9.

Northern Ireland is a hidden gem but you have to be lucky with the weather.

I don’t generally like going to the same place every year. I do love Cornwall / Devon but I also love some of the beaches we’ve found in Wales, Scotland and Northumberland.

Good to experience a mixture I think.

We used to go in June before the DC started school and it was idyllic. We stopped going when they started school as school holidays are very expensive and everywhere is rammed. Wales has beaches which are just as beautiful with a fraction of the people. We've just come back from the west coast of Ireland which is absolutely stunning and the beaches are gorgeous (and free to park and mostly empty).

Pembs has the beaches and the walks, but far fewer pretty towns, nice shops, good hotels when compared to Cornwall. Far less to offer on a rainy day too.

North Norfolk is far more my style, all those endless skies and beaches that go on for miles, but I’m not sure there are any fewer SE England tourists there. Tennis week in Hunstanton is walking along Clapham High Road.

No idea as it's so over crowded and far too touristy now.

I was going to move to Cornwall but have ended up on the Isle of Wight. The beaches and cliffs here are as beautiful.

But good god, I'm surprised we don't sink into the sea during the summer due to the amount of tourists! 😆

Out of season it's beautiful.

I've lived in Devon and spent a lot of time in Cornwall. It's fine. Nice, pretty, good beaches etc. but I live elsewhere now and enjoy Norfolk just as much. Don't tell anyone though, it's much less touristy!

I really like Cornwall & the lovely rugged coastline. We did lots of walking and visited many beautiful beaches where we went surfing and paddle boarding.

We’ve been several times and have always enjoyed where we stayed. My favourite areas were Carbis Bay and Bude. I liked Penzance too, I’ve heard negative things about it but we found it really nice, quite artsy and interesting. Some nice pubs and restaurants in the town too.

Never felt like an ‘outsider’
Locals have always been chatty and kind.

Like anywhere, theres busy & quieter parts. If you time it right, you can avoid the crowds.
St Ives is pretty, usually very busy but we go during term time & visit in the morning, so we get to walk around & enjoy it without the mass crowds.

Weather is quite unpredictable. We went in May one year and it was sunny & hot for the whole week. Another time we went late June and it was cold, windy & rained every day for 7 days.

Having said all the above - we moved up north a few years ago & decided to go to Northumberland for a week this year, in all honesty, it was just as beautiful & lovely (plus points for being much easier to get around, I don’t like driving on some of those narrow back roads in Cornwall!)

We really enjoyed it and it’s practically on our doorstep! ( well, 2.5 hours away, but a lot closer then Cornwall)

I’ve never encountered a Cornish person who is rude to me because I’m an outsider. Maybe they have moaned behind my back but tbh, I don’t care as I don’t know about it!

It’d be pretty boring (and overcrowded) if we all liked the same places. I’ve visited Wales numerous times and it’s always left me cold but the south west of England never fails to give me a good feeling when I’m there.

Shh. Keep it quiet but I do agree.

Because of ferry fares maybe?

That made me laugh out loud.

You do know working class people also live and visit Cornwall?

I think it’s mostly nostalgia. Lots of people revisiting their childhoods. It has changed though. It is busier and things aren’t as quaint as they once were but tbh most know change was needed to keep tourism profitable.

We go to Cornwall every year. Lovely beaches but good variety of indoor activities too if it rains. My dog is allowed with us everywhere, no problem. Very geared towards tourists and families, particularly the accommodation. We can find lots of cottages with modern decor, on site pool, high standard etc. Really struggling to find this elsewhere. Would love to try Norfolk or Pembrokeshire as I hear the beaches are beautiful there too. HOWEVER, whenever I look at cottages they seem to be decorated by a granny with net curtains and doilies everywhere, not a v high standard, very few have pools or good amenities. Can anyone recommend particular beaches in Norfolk or Wales to stay near, or even better a lovely collection of cottages with a good pool??

All of you saying “it’s so far away” it really depends on where you live. We’re just over the border in Devon and every other family we know has been to Cornwall this year. We bucked the trend and went to Norfolk- that really was so far away! (And not worth it for the coast - beaches are much nicer down here).

I fully recommend North Devon as being less crowded and less expensive than Cornwall.

It’s the British holiday of choice for a certain class of person because there are better things to spend money on there than in eg, Pembrokeshire. There are many high end accommodation options from luxury cottages to hotels, gastro pubs and seafood restaurants in abundance. You can just be a bit extra there more easily than in most other U.K. destinations.

Yep, Aidan Turner scything a field topless, or brooding in his tricorn can't have harmed matters.

Of course they do. We also have huge deprived areas where the children have never visited the beach. However that doesn’t mean the county doesn’t have tourist appeal.

I live in Wales and agree that the coast line is as beautiful. But there are less in the way of beautiful fishing villages/harbour towns then in Cornwall so I still visit every couple of years, albeit out of season. I particularly love Porthleven.

We mostly holiday in the UK, haven’t been abroad since 2018 and that was to Ireland 😂 we’ve visited many different UK holiday locations, but I still love Cornwall. It feels like another world to me. Every time I go I find myself thinking through the logistics of moving there! And people who criticise the weather - the rain is a lot warmer than the soggy bit of England I live in…🤣

Two of my best breaks have been Cornwall in December - I swam in the sea, kayaked and walked and it was incredible.
I expect many other places might feel similar though.
I find it mizzles for days but that doesn't bother me.
IMHO it's pants for road cycling though - lots of narrow lanes and steep inclines make it too dangerous for me.