To not get Cornwall?

[LarrysNewOwner]

Staying in St Austell.

Last few days we’ve been on the beach which has been lovely.

Now it’s clouded over, not really sure where to go.

Have 2 DC DS8 and DD4.

kids love theme parks. We like pretty towns to walk around etc. Maybe a boat ride.

wang are we missing?

Thank you but I googled and woodlands is over a 2 hour drive from here

House exchange. Cant afford to pay gor
accommodation this year.

thw owner is staying at our place in London.

We went to Tintagel today as we have English Herotage passes.

that was great.

Just been to the little aquarium in Fowey today. What a strange place! Loved it though. Fowey is a very pretty place with some lovely little shops

Has anyone mentioned Dingles? Old fairground rides all under cover with a museum. Bit expensive if you want to go on all the rides but takes care of half a day and only about 45 mins from St Austell.

Philps pasties in Hayle was the place to get pasties when I was a kid. You'd go there at lunchtime and there'd be queues down the street! But that was 40 years ago 😂

The one food I do miss that I can't get in London is saffron cake/buns. There's plenty of places to get clotted cream, pasties (although I make my own) scones etc but never found anywhere for saffron cake.

But also yes to Trago Mills! I am definitely going next time I go down to see family. As a kid it was a huge treat! From (admittedly hazy) memory, it was the closest thing we got in Cornwall to some kind of shopping centre.

Having had many wonderful holidays in Cornwall as a child, I couldn't wait to take my own children for a holiday. It was such a letdown. Flambards was an expensive half day out - I was amazed we managed to spend as long as that there, most other places were ridiculously expensive and crowded. The one place we all enjoyed was The Hidden Valley. This was around 20 years ago and none of us have been back since. Both DC's have taken their partners and children to holiday destinations from their own childhood, but they haven't bothered with Cornwall.

Blooming love a Philps pasty, it's still mega!!

OP we really enjoyed the Hidden Valley puzzle park, which isn't far from you. Lots for all ages, cute train ride. We though it was good value, took a picnic and had a lovely day if you like a puzzle/escape room type thing

In my experience Cornwall is lovely in theory, but in practice it's overcrowded and overpriced in the summer holidays. Great if you love sitting in traffic jams on narrow, winding country lanes and then circling car parks looking for available spaces.

Have you thought about an all inclusive in Spain, Portugal, Canaries etc etc. We used to love these when kids were little - guaranteed sun, pool, entertainment, good food, good fun. Happy kids = happy parents

LOL, i was just winding up my husband to go there

tintagel or Pendern for the mines and Poldark connection.

Dingles is set to close soon 😪

I see your problem there- you drove into St Ives 😬
But I agree-it is horrifically crowded, and although the setting and arguably the light (due I think to the light reflecting off the white sand of the beaches and harbour) are very special, the town itself isn't all that.

Anyone suggested Bude tunnel yet?

Most people here aren't Cornish me ansome, some up country folk moving down and creaming off everyone.
Cornwall is beautiful if you know where to go, won't say where as us locals can't enjoy it. Not the likes of Eden and Heligan 🙄

Have booked Camel Creek for today. I hope kids enjoy it. They are more used to Thorpe Park.

@Smilersam Can't work out if you're joking or not with your remark about most people not being Cornish anymore. I hope so.

As long as people get stuck in and contribute in any way they can I'm happy with all-comers. How else will we staff our hospital and frankly everything else?

Born in PZ, moved away for opportunities at 18 like many of my contemporaries, but lucky enough to be able to move back. Some of my friends did the same with <shock> wives and husbands from up country!

I agree though that there are plenty of places where the crowds can't be arsed to trek which are beautiful

I’ve taken the train into St Ives and driven. It’s still horrific. No amount of special light is worth the hell that is St Ives in July and August.

Same! Left Pz in 2000 for uni, stayed away for 15yrs, can't afford to move back to Pz but am in SE Cornwall (barely the right side of the Tamar 😂).

Couldn't tell you the last time I went to a touristy beach. Only do St Ives for work, Looe for meals out (highly recommend The Sardine Factory!), and am hoping the new A30 will make it quicker to see the in laws in Pz. We avoid visiting them in silly season as it can be a 4-5hr round trip on a Saturday....

St Ives is absolutely beautiful. Between September and June and outside school holidays.

As many posters mentioned, lots of nice beaches, towns, walks. Very fond memories of the area as went there with family many times growing up. It's been many years since I've been there, but even 20 years ago traffic was a problem even then. You can't be certain of nice sunny weather. You'd need to go somewhere else.

Can someone explain Jidden valley to me? I’ve looked it up but don’t get it

Haha!

They've started calling it a puzzle park, which is a good description. It's honestly better than it looks from the website.

The main attraction is the Forbidden Mansion- there are lots of escape room type puzzles to solve across multiple different rooms. There are also lots of hidden passageways/ tunnels/ secret doors which are great fun for kids (and adults!) to go through- you can always go another route if you don't fancy them. It does work for a range of ages.

There are gardens with puzzle trails to solve, and activities for young children like a train and play area. There used to be a little hobbit house that children could go into.

They've added a couple of extra things since we were last there, so not sure about those. The cafe was quite nice.

It's one of the places that we went back to a few times over the years, even when our kids were teens.