Cornwall with toddlers - where to go?

[Concordia]

Hi, DH wants to go to Cornwall as he has never been. I am a bit sceptical about it. We are thinking of going next april / may / june, DH and i and DCs aged 4 and 2.

we like
beaches with proper sand that aren't too crowded
where the children can paddle safely
DS likes rock pools
a few other things to do in wet weather

we want to avoid
expensive restaurants and delicatessens (we won't be able to afford them and i will just be of boden wearing london types)
expense in general as we are very short of money atm
crowded beaches
beaches with lots of shops selling useless plastic items and take aways within a few feet of them (i am a snob despite the lack of money)
sewage outflows
dangerous currents
drunken 17 year old public schoolboys

have done some reading and searching but all i seem to read about is surfing. none of us will be surfing, so any suggestions?

Wow, Cornwall is (IMO) one of the best destinations for this age.

Beaches with proper sand:
Holywell Bay, just south of Newquay. It's a VAST beach, it has sand dunes to sled down (should you be so inclined), and there is a little stream running the length of the main beach, perfect for rockpooling and sandcastle building.

Kynance cove, Sennen Cove, many beaches on the north coast.

You sound like you have preconceived ideas about the Cornish coast. Stay well away from Newquay and you'll be fine.

The obvious things to be for that age are Eden, Lost Gardens of Heligan, Tintagel Castle, Pendennis Castle.

Where have you been on holiday in the UK before? What kind of thing do you like?

(p.s. I'm, irrationally pissed off by your dislike of Cornwall - it;s the perfect place for a family holiday with kids the age that you have )

btw -we always go the full week before the late May bank holiday and the weather has always been perfect.

hth

hi jareth, thanks for the ideas. i have looked at pictures of sennen cove and it does look amazing.
maybe it's just news reports i've heard, which tend to focus on surfing, teenagers or expensive restaurants.
i am prepared to discover that the cornwall behind all of that is actually pretty nice. i'm keen to go to the eden project.

hi jareth, we went to mull this year, it was gorgeous.

is the north coast better for beaches than south generally?

sorry to say hi to you twice, bit tired!

how about this place?

BTW love Sennen

North is better for sandy beaches, south is good for cliffs.

Sennen Cove is truly gorgeous. It's the last turn on the right before you hit Lands End (which is cobblers)

For Eden - cash in Tesco clubcard vouchers. It';s about £16 per adult (free under 3's I think?) so NOT a cheap day out. If you book in advance/do clubcard it's much better and you can take a packed lunch.

hi hi

I will be back to this thread tomorrow with more ideas... I farking LOVE Cornwall for littlies (went there every single year as a tot, DS went there last year with us and it was amazing)

Ignore the bullshit about surfing/whatever.

The teenagers (esp in Cornwall) are all chilled anyway, so no worries, and as you have pre schoolers do out out of season and it'll be brilliant.

Avoid Newquay aquarium - it's bollocks. DO go to Heligan though, amazing.

Hi we have had some lovely lovely holidays on Cornwall out of school holidays and now in

We have stayed at Bosinver a mumsnet favourite, now a bit pricey but well worth iit. DS6 talks about alot and we have some lovely memories of

Seriously though, Holywell Bay.

watergate bay
Gorran Haven
Several other small places I cant remember the name of its fun just finding them

Watergate Bay is beautiful. Go further up though (not in the 15 car park) and it's HUGE!

Pendennis Castle good, beaches clean. Agree with Jareth's lists

Goonhilly can be good for a rainy day... bit as a teenage visitor, but toddlers will like it.
Pendennis is amazing. One of the best castles I've been to.

Gweek seal sanctury also good.

Avoid Newquay Zoo like the plague.

Lappa Valley railway is apparently very good.

Gnome World, I hear, is a bit of a let down

Apparently Dairyland v good but never been. Am now desperate to go and wont be able to until April

Trebak nice for a wander

Poldark tin mine dire and I had a serious sense of humour failure about added extras..

Interesting re Goonhilly havent been because thought DS too young.

Dairyland is fab for littlies, and not so littlies, I love it, last time I went I got stuck on the flying fox...

Stay away from Newquay.

I agree that Holywell Bay is gorgeous, my parents ran a pub there when they first got married - we are a bit further along the north coast now though.

Eden is great, do not eat there though, very very expensive so be sure to take a packed lunch.

Also agree that Pendennis is fab for kids, I've taken my God children a couple of times (3+5 at the time) and they loved it.

Padstow may have pretentious restaurants (PadStein as we often call it) but it can still be a lovely place to walk around, also the Camel trail which runs from Bodmin-Wadebridge-Padstow, there are many bike hire businesses in the three towns and they all do various tag-a-long options for little ones.

There are lots of great beaches, we spend alot of time at Harlyn - lovely sandy beach with a Pub just in case!

Um, its late and my brain isn't functioning too well! mI'll nip back in tomorrow with some more ideas!

If you do lots of beaches on the north coast (specifically Holywell and lots of the beaches near Newquay) invest in sleds for your kids. They're fine running towards the beach, but when you have to drag them back over very sandy terrain it's SO much easier if they're sledding.

Try freecycle for sleds.

Porthcurno Beach, Sennen Cove, Kynance Cove, Godrevy, Porthtowen

Google those places (Kynance and Godrevey are National Trust Beaches). Not tacky touristy -all sand, rock pools, dramatic coast. Chapel Porth also gorgeous but busier.

Wet Weather: Eden, Paradise Park (bit less tacky than Dairyland), Maritime Museum in Falmouth, various soft play places - see tourist info!

Agree with Jareth Cornwall is a fabulous place for young children!

Sennen is lovely. great beach

you can hire bikes from padstow or wadebridge and cycle between the 2. no roads and it's flat. they provide bikes of all sorts and you can do one way if you wish.

eden project is good and once you have been once you can go back as many times as you like in that year for no extra cost.

looe on the south coast is nice and also close to plymouth.

the moors are great fun to. lots of space for little ones to run around at no extra cost!

thanks everyone, now i just have to look at booking something... want to have it to look forward to during the winter months.