Cornwall in winter

[Uncertain111]

Kids have flown the nest and I’m retiring, husband works from home. Plan has always been to relocate to west Cornwall - our favourite uk place. But we’ve only ever been in spring and summer.

We’re happy with winter cliff walks and roaring fires in winter but given we’ve never even visited then, I was wondering if it’s actually just unpleasant in winter and rarely the cold but blue skies that make winter walks worthwhile?

Just wondering basically whether our relocation plan is flawed! Thanks

I used to live in St Ives, now live in Falmouth. Much, much prefer Falmouth. Lots going on - I am never bored. I have lived in lots of other places in the UK btw.

Cornwall is fantastic in the winter if you like storms. However… it can be grey for days on end in the winter. I miss frost! And snow. I am lucky - I can afford to go somewhere sunny for a fortnight or more in the winter.

I’ve lived in lots of really nice places, but Falmouth is my favourite. The people are lovely. But god I miss frosty mornings.

I think St Ives is lovely in the winter! Yes you will probably find a number of things shut through January (many tourist businesses take their hols abroad then) but it’s quiet and nice and much better than it is in the summer. Penzance is really getting good at the moment and has the mainline train station if that’s important to you.

Outside towns it does get very very muddy though. Very. There’ll be days and days of horizontal mizzle. But then you’ll get a breathtakingly warm day even in winter sometimes and you’ll be sitting outside thinking this is the best place on earth.

I haven’t lived in Cornwall but have visited at all times of the year, often doing ‘non tourist’ activities.

I do think there’s a particular kind of damp chill that occurs in Cornwall, due to the combination of wind and rain. But on the other hand aren’t temperatures a bit higher and, if you’re retired, surely you can just pick your days for coastal walks or staring at the sea?

Distances are long but I would also say that money and a ‘can-do’ attitude towards driving helps. A friend always seems to be zipping from Bude to Fowey to Penzance and really makes the most of living in Cornwall. But being in walking distance of some amenities would also be a good idea.

I think also join clubs and societies. Those stormy nights are a lot less bleak when you have a gardening club, choir, bowling or whatever to look forward to after it’s all blown through. And it’s helps with meeting new people which I think in rural
communities is particularly important but hard to do.

also go to the fairs, fat stock shows, the weird quirky days like flora day, Trevithick day etc in Falmouth there’s so many festivals and things.

You should definitely visit the locations you’re thinking of in the winter. But I love Cornwall (& Devon) all year round.

How does the rain compare to Scotland? As wet as Dumfries & Galloway or Ayrshire?

Dumfries and Galloway rain is, I believe, very similar to Cornwall. Logan and Castle Kennedy Gardens could be in Cornwall, and the plantings are similar for acid soil and high rainfall. We just came back from Portpatrick and we could have been in Cornwall... but the food is massively better in Cornish pubs!

I live in a village 6 miles from St.Ives. I rarely go there in summer because parking is a nightmare but the town is lovely in Spring and Autumn. It livens up considerably at Christmas and New Year and is really lovely, January can be grim, February less so. Personally, I wouldn't live there but there are galleries, shops, a cinema and leisure centre and it's much easier to socialise in the Winter months Wherever you live down here, you will need to make the effort and build a circle of friends. I wouldn’t live anywhere else.

As others have suggested, it would be worth doing a long let. Memories of my Cornish childhood feature as many glorious, bracing walks on the beaches as they do sitting in the car watching the rain hoping for a break in it at some point.
When you’re down there, take a look at what is on and think about what you day to day life would be like. Retirement is very different to being on holiday. If you have friends down there, then you will be able to visit each other, meet up for coffee, lunch or dinner, go to the cinema etc regardless of the weather. If you don’t have those established friendships already, how are you going to make them? Probably through joining some groups - but are groups you are interested in on at times which would be convenient to you and in a convenient location. If you’re based in a village, you might not want to be driving to & from Truro twice a week for choir practice for example if that drive is on narrow, twisty roads in pouring rain.
Also, what are you used to having around you now? What can you walk to? What is a 5 min drive or a 30 min drive?
At my parents’ house, nothing is in walking distance and the nearest village shop is a 10 min drive away. It is 15 mins - or 20/25 mins in the summer - to a town. Where I live now, I have a village shop, coffee shop, pub & various other amenities within walking distance, an out of town shopping centre and leisure centre less than 10 mins drive in one direction, a market town less than 10 mins in another direction and two university towns 30 - 40 mins drive. There is no way I could go back to Cornwall as I am used to the ease & variety of where I live now.

I'm in south Devon and yes winter nights, narrow lanes and rain really put me off going out. If your retiring think about the future, I'm in my 70s and those dark lanes bother me a lot more than they did ten years ago.

Thanks so much all. I honestly think some of you have given me the reality check I needed and some excellent pointers about changes as I age, the roads in winter, and the realities and hindrances to making new friends. I’m definitely feeling this might not be such a good idea after all! I’ll just keep it as a special place for holidays

Long term Cornwall resident here, agreeing with PPs. Winters tend to be relatively mild but grey, gloomy and rainy for weeks on end. Sorry!