Is there anywhere in Cornwall that is better than St Ives?

[LemonCake91]

We are planning a UK holiday with the dog and our favourite place in Cornwall is St Ives. Is there anywhere that might be better that we haven’t discovered?

Penzance was lovely but didn’t match our expectations after being to St Ives. We didn’t like Newquay.

For context, two youngish adults and a dog, we love food, nice beaches and that small village feel. Plenty of walks and things to explore.

We have started to look at Fowey, Looe, Padstow, Port Isaac, Mousehole, Porthcurno.

Fowey and Polzeath and Padstow we all loved

We holidayed in Polruan which is across from Fowey. It was fun taking the boat ferry to Fowey but staying in a quieter, less touristy car free village.

Falmouth is fun. It’s not a small village but gets nowhere near as packed and busy as St Ives in the summer. I live in Cornwall but rarely go to St Ives, find it too stressful!

falmouth? But that area doesn’t have the best dog friendly beaches

Porthleven is lovely.

Hayle has lots of expansive dog friendly beach areas i think and is up and coming

for dog friendly beaches the area we love is the 7 bays around Harlyn and trevose head as so much choice. However, it would mean Padstow is the nearest town.

honestly in the summer most Cornish towns are pretty hideous

https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/environment/animal-welfare-and-enforcement/dogs-on-beaches/
this website is worth checking out to see where dogs are banned and work from there

We would be going late June so not during the school holidays - we didn’t find St Ives busy at all when we went early July!

I liked Bodmin. Hear me out. It's more of a real town. Has great proximity to Padstow, Rock, Camel Trail ( cycle path by winery to Padstow), Tintagel and the moors. Visit the Bodmin jail. It's so well done and creepy and bizarrely a highlight of our trip. We stayed in a nice cottage in Bodmin with a hot tub so when weather was British, it still felt very special.

Ok great! I live in Cornwall and June is my favourite month down here. It’s the best time of year weather wise for a start. Also a lot more beaches allow dogs then a lot of beaches just have a ban for July and August

We were there a couple of weeks ago and went to St Ives one day and Padstow the next - Padstow is very similar and you can get the ferry to Rock which was beautiful.

@CrushingOnRubies good point, I don’t have a dog myself so forget which beaches can have doggy visitors.

We loved Padstow and Polperro too.

I’d avoid Bodmin like the plague, over the last couple of years it’s become a pretty violent place.

Really?? That's too bad! We were there in 2021 and hadn't noticed anything too sketchy. I live in London, mind you.

We like Perranporth, nice beach, beach cafe and nice walks and cafes. We are going back for the third time this year in September though so hopefully not too busy. Booked a cheap caravan for £250 for a week.

Porthtowan! Many happy memories of swimming in the tidal pool as a kid.

This one :)

Wreckers and smugglers?

St agnes is a lovely little town/ village. Quite central for the rest of Cornwall but easy access to the beach if you just want a relaxed day on the beach

perranporth beach is just about the best! Stayed in St Agnes which was close and very small/villagy. Beautiful beach at Crantock. It’s a must visit. Not much of a village feel but awesome beach

Thinking about it, it was probably rougher back then than it is now.

I agree Padstow and Fowey. Also St Mawes is pretty lovely.

Looe is very day-tripper touristy. Very pretty out of season but full of the world and his dog during summer months.

I love Padstow. It does get busy in town but the beach is amazing (it’s about 10-15 mins walk, there’s no facilities there though so you have to take everything you need)
I have to admit though OP, although there are other towns as pretty as St Ives, and other great beaches, I can’t think of anywhere else I’ve been in Cornwall that has both.
I’m a big fan of Salcombe in Devon - that also has a pretty little (expensive) town and some lovely beaches across the estuary (there’s a little ferry that goes back and forth)

Per the above poster, I personally preferred Salcombe and that whole south Devon area. Also further north around Saunton sands.

I’m saving my last stick of dynamite for Padstow - absolutely haunching with badly behaved dogs, feral children, and lagered-up men with their bellies on full purplish display. To say nothing of the acres of Rick Stein overpriced grift. Count me out.

I live near Salcombe and yes it's stunning all around here but Salcombe itself becomes very crowded once the independent schools break up for the summer.

Polperro popped up during my googling earlier. It looks beautiful. We are planning a week - is that too long for the one place? Maybe we could do 2-3 days for a couple of areas.

This is exactly what I want to avoid! Hated Newquay for similar reasons whereas St Ives felt like we were in Portugal! Just a lovely stroll around the beaches and lovely walks all day and a nice meal or two out. I’m hoping by going late June we will avoid the summer holiday chaos 🤞🏻