hayle or truro?

[partyhats]

I have left it very late in booking a few days in Cornwall and all the holiday cottages are booked up. Going in the last week og July and all that I can book now is a premier inn which I am fine with, however I have a choice of Hayle or Truro. Which do you think would be better? I have never been to Cornwall before, we would like to go to some nice sandy beaches mainly but would be nice to be near restaurants etc as well. We will have a car so would it be better to be more central in Truro and drive to the beaches in Hayle and St Ives etc? or should we just go for Hayle?
TIA

iirc hayle bit out of the way and isolated, a village. whereas truro, i know, is a city ( albeit on becaise it has a catherdral) so has restaurants, shops etc and lose to lots of ecahes (north coast - perranporth is huge sandy beach for example)

sorry dodgy typos, cat asleep on my arms!!

Hayle is near St Ives and great beaches. But makes visiting other parts more limited. Truro more central and you'd be more likely to visit places on both north and south coasts

Would say go for Truro then you can go by train easily out to the coast or elsewhere. Truro is Cornwall's county town and has a theatre and pannier market on a Saturday which is supposed to be really good. would suggest you look at places like Polzeath for lovely beaches for surfing on. Falmouth is also good, take King Harry Ferry, visit Trelissic gardens loads to do nearby . wouldnt choose Hayle - you will be disappointed if you do! As for hol cottages have a look at www.secta.org found this site only recently (when searching for someone else!!) and there are places on there with spaces also try lastminute-cottages which gives the dates they are free in their adverts - always handy. good luck and have a great time.

Thanks for the replies everyone. A friend who hails from Cornwall originally has told me to go for Hayle so am now confused again!!!

Personally I would have said Hayle, because of the beach, and because of the proximity to St Ives.

I cant even think where the premier inn is in truro. I think i can picture it in hayle. Dont think either are in the town. If you want good access to all of cornwall choose truro. 20 mins ish to falmouth, newquay,st austell. Prob a little longer to st ives but not much.

There are no restaurants in Hayle that could be recommended. The beaches are fab - I am certain Dobby died on Hayle. It's glorious. St ives is pretty dudey, but crammed in the summer. Hayle is closer to Penzance and Land's End, and Newlyn which is the secret new arty place. St Ives has Tate and Barbara Hepworth, but incredibly aggressive seagulls, the like of which you are unlikely to have experienced anywhere else.

Truro has the beaches to the north which are as good as St ives but less crowded, but also has beaches (and, as mentioned above, gardens) to the south as well. Falmouth is, IMO, more dudey than St Ives (if you are at all interested the graduate shows may still be around in the last week of July - sometimes v. cool) and because Falmouth is a university town it has a cafe and restaurant culture which you might find a bit lacking in the rest of Cornwall.

Having said all of that, it's not like any of it is THAT far away from any of the rest of it. But you might want to check out Helston, and that is closer to Truro than Hayle.

It's all good though - come on down!

thanks so much for the replies, they are very helpful, I think I am going to go for Truro as we have a car so can always drive to the various places but have the advantage of the restaurants and shops of a more central location.

Just realised where Premier inn is. You wont be able to walk into Truro - it will be a car journey. However you will be better placed for everything else.

After all that I have just booked the premier inn in Helston!! Having looked at the map it seems it is a better location than Truro but closer to other areas of interest than Hayle would be. It was also £100 cheaper for 3 nights than Hayle. We will have a car in any case so should hopefully be ok. I will be a bit more organised next time and book somewhere in advance.

Helston is lovely. Let us know how you get on.

Thanks Melezka I will do.x