Tell me about Cornwall .. First time visit ! Where would you go?

[Windandsand]

I want to take the kids to sw England- aged 5 and 3. Have never been to Dorset, Devon or Cornwall so think a week in Cornwall near beaches for paddling and messing about. Hope to rent a cottage. Might manage a week in Devon or Dorset too, is the Jurassic coast nice? It's for me too, used to love all the Enid Byron stuff about hols in Cornwall etc:) a farm cottage would be nice.

You will love it. great beaches!
north Cornwall has big wide beaches great for surfing etc.
south Cornwall has good beaches for kayaking or rock pooling .

the traffic can be bad as can parking in some of the touristy seaside towns. get there early.
i loved padstow but we got there by 10am and its got a lovely beach.
when we got back to the harbour about 1 o'clock it was like oxford circus. (this was during the summer hols though)

we always drive at night. arriving in Cornwall about 11pm. roads are mostly clear by then and we return a night early on the Friday night to avoid all the Saturday traffic.

its well worth the drive, its like you're in another country. (in a good way)

"is the Jurassic coast nice?"

It is brilliant. We stayed in Chideock at half term and spent a lovely day on the beach between Lyme Regis and Charmouth looking for fossils. I really like Lyme Regis as it hasn't been given the "Blackpool" makeover, but has enough going on to not be too dull.

Bude is fab for beaches (north Cornwall). Just got back from a week there. Weather was poo but we still had a great time.

St Ives for shopping/art galleries
Sennen Cove for surfing
Goonhilly for a fun science museum
Roskillys for yummy ice cream
Porthcurno for a lovely day at a perfect beach

The Lizard. The area between Helston and the Lizard penninsula is devine.
We have stayed in Ruan Minor and Kuggar before. Kuggar is walkable to the beach (Kennack Sands - sand, surf, rock pools, life guarded).

The beaches are stunning still good for surfing and body boarding without being over run by surfing dudes.

Poldhu Cove has fab surf but also has a stream running through it so lovely for little ones to have a paddle.

Church Cove - as the name suggests has a tiny sweet little church on the edge of the beach.

Kynance Cove - just beautiful.

Mullion Harbour/Cove - my idea of heaven. Especially early in the morning when no one bar a few fishermen are about. So traditional - it could be 1912 not 2012.

Roskillys Ice Cream - Go and watch the cows being milked

Cornish Camels - see or ride them.

Falmouth - National Maritime Museum, fab beaches, good shopping, marina and harbour.

Flambards - theme park.

RNAS Culdrose Air Day - nearly always rains - so avoid these dates unless a plane enthusiast

Coverack - lovely little place and a few rock pools. We love it here.

Lizard lighthouse.

I must tell you about Sues Cream Teas. Devine, proper homemade scones on a dairy farm. The scones are huge and the amount of cream is HUGE. We are regulars here as are many of her customers. She has a FB page. It is based right opposite The Lizard Cider Barn. She has a small home made sign and you drive up a long farm track before coming to her bungalow. These are amazing. You cannot go to this part of Cornwall and not have one of her cream teas. You can find it by putting in The Lizard Cider Barn, Helston to google maps. And no I am not Sue - but been going since 2003.

Just too many to mention, I could keep on all night but its late. I love this part of Cornwall but still travel to St Ives every year and places like Lands End, Marazion (St Michaels Mount) etc are all close enough for a day trip.

What Queen of Cake said. Just to add that at low tide, Kynance Cove is total Enid Blyton heaven with caves/rockclimbing etc (albeit a fair bit busier than Kirrin island!)

We prefer south east cornwall around Looe. it is less touristy than the north coast easier to get to along the A38 rather than the A30 carpark and you have Plymouth 30 mins away and the moors and the eden project about 25 - 30 mins. you can get down to landsend from Looe in an hour and a half. The beaches are less geared to surfers so if you have small ones it is better as teens prefer the north. when are you planning on going because if its school summer hols then you might struggle to find a cottage. have a look at cartwheelholidays website or visitcornwall which is the tourist board website or visitlooe for looe.

We spent two weeks in Cornwall and the highlight for me was cycling along the Camel Trail - hire bikes at Padstow then follow the trail (can't remember how many miles long it is) but it's totally flat, mostly traffic free and a really good day out if you take a little picnic too.

Booked! Thanks for all the fab tips and advice, hope to take some up:)