Am I unusual that Cornwall didn't really do it for me?

[Stillwaitingforsummer]

Just that. OK the weather wasn't really great which didn't help, but the scenery wasn't as stunning as I had expected. I think Wales is more stunning,and the lake district.
Did I miss something?

[GhostsToMonsoon]

I love Cornwall. Some sections of the SW coast path are stunning and then there are the little villages with white houses. This year we stayed in north Devon where there's lovely countryside. Although I agree you have to go elsewhere if you want mountains.

The only bit of Brittany I have been to is around Cap Frehel/Côte d'Armor. I actually thought the coast of Cornwall and Devon was more scenic and rugged and less built up, although busier in summer.

[NataliaOsipova]

Cornwall is okay. Dorset is much nicer and nowhere near as long a drive!

[sandgrown]

Reinette my DP goes on and on about how fabulous Cornwall is. The journey puts me off to be honest . I am from Yorkshire and such lovely places there and in Scotland I think I may be disappointed with Cornwall. DP has a significant birthday soon so researching the easiest way to get to Cornwall!

[Bemusedandpuzzled]

I agree, I don't really "get" the love for it. The Lakes does sublimity better. Yorkshire does moors better. Suffolk does weather better. Cornwall does have great gardens, though.

[lalaloopyhead]

I think I have only been once as an adult and it isn't somewhere I would rush back too. Not that it isn't lovely but I'm not a big beach person and also it is very busy and tourist packed.

I much preferred Devon as it had a lovely tranquil feel to it.

Wales is beautiful but I had a bad experience last time we went, whole family had sick bug and had 3 kids crying and puking all the way home! I know it wasn't Wales fault but I still feel mildly traumatised when I think about it and can't bring myself to go back...

[Chocrock]

Devon is nearer, prettier and its a foodies heaven IMO

[cece]

When the weather is lovely Cornwall is wonderful. However, when the weather is wet then it is miserable.

[TealStar]

YANBU.

IMO south Cornwall, and the further you go down, the better it gets. The little fishing villages and turquoise waters are divine... but so very dependent on the weather... which is usually pants.
Given the choice of North Cornwall or staying at home, I'd rather stay at home. Nude, Rock, Padstow etc are totally overrated. Newquay is just dire.

The Devonshire coastline - both north and south - is FAR more spectacular, and much easier to get to. The south hams are particularly beautiful. Dartmoor and Exmoor (which overlaps into lovely Somerset) are also gorgeous. Far lovelier than Bodmin!
Dorset, as another poster said, is absolutely stunning; Lyme Regis, Durdle Door, Swanage - the whole of the Jurassic Coast - is gorgeous.

[TealStar]

Bude. Not Nude.

[RespoDad]

Nude 😂😂😂😂😂

[ThursdayLastWeek]

at tourists complaining it's too busy

I'm biased though, I'm Cornish and still live here. You think a week in the summer holidays is bad, try living through it every damn year.

It's glorious when the sun comes out and every else has gone home.

[ElinorRigby]

I think it's about what you're looking for.

I love the bleakness of Cornwall and the steep coastal paths and tiny remote beaches. There is some lovely walking there. I had an off-season holiday there in the spring and had excellent reasonably priced food in the local pubs.

(One of the posters above was a wheelchair users and I can see that some of the most beautiful areas may be hard to access.)

I am not sure if I'd want to go to one of the main resorts at peak holiday time with a very young family.

[SmileAndNod]

Love Cornwall IF the weather is good (but I'm a beachy person). But it's bloody awful if it's raining - which it has every time I've been.
Went to the Gower earlier this year and that was stunning. Beaches were amazing.

[MumBod]

I agree. Tried it twice. Thought it was a hole.
Devon even worse.

Much prefer North Norfolk or Dorset.

[Lunenburg]

I agree, even though I have at least 50% Cornish blood flowing through my veins.

The problem is that Cornwall today is not the Cornwall of my childhood. Too many tourists have led to a growth in tackiness.

The Fowey, St Ives, Mevagissey, and Falmouth I remember are no more. Although, nowhere has been ruined as much as Padstow !!!

If you went as a child and return now, you are almost certain to be dissapointed. If you have never been, do a lot of research.

These days I holiday in Northumberland or Scotland. Says it all really.

[Boredboredboredboredbored]

Op I completely agree. Parts of Wales are far nicer and much quieter, Pembrokeshire, Gower etc. Cornwall is way overrated IMO.

[HappydaysArehere]

When the sun shines in St Ives it is lovely. Good food to be had. A quaintness you just don't get anywhere else in the U.K. Just look at Doc Martin, that is what Cornwall is like when the sun shines which it does on and off and sometimes continually. I love the Lake Disrict too and Wales but they are as said above, different places.

[FennyBridges]

I live in Cornwall and have done for 12 years. I continually wonder why people come here for the first two weeks of August; it always rains!

Cornwall is beautiful. I live very rurally and I love the changing hedgerows between April's bluebells and August's orange lilies. The rhododendrons are amazing. The camelias earlier on, and wild flowers are so beautiful. However, by August it's only the orange lilies out - you've missed it.

What I would say is get off the beaten track. Polruan. Mousehole. Mount Hawke. Don't go to Newquay! Be aware of being fleeced in Padstow. Unfortunately the private schools breaking up early July see Cornwall at its best.

[Sandsnake]

I love it BUT have only ever been when it is not school holidays. I've also only been without children and mostly centred the trip around walking / pubs as opposed to more beaches / tourist attractions you end up doing when you're with kids. I imagine this makes all the difference!

[FennyBridges]

Easter hols are pretty here.

at tourists complaining its busy like @ThursdayLastWeek!

[GhostsToMonsoon]

We had great food in Ambleside recently. Devon and Cornwall we're in a cottage so self-cater, other than the odd chips or pasty on the beach. When we went at the beginning of July once, there were quite a few Scottish people there, presumably taking advantage of the Scottish schools breaking up before the English.

[Ijustwantaquietlife]

I grew up in Dorset and I find Cornwall quite deprived and souless. St Ives is quite pretty in the sun but every single house is a holiday let, I think the place has huge social problems.

I like Falmouth but been there twice and not worth the drive again imo.

[NormaSmuff]

no, we went and the thought of returning doesnt feel me with any joy. the journey so very long, the roads so small and i hated the hair pin bends. it just takes so long to get from A to B. I went there by public transport fairly recently it just feels so far away.
Love Wales, Lake District, Peak District, Scotland more

[Elphame]

It doesn't do it for me either. Expensive, crowded and the weather is usually bad. Give me Snowdonia any day.

[borntobequiet]

Cornwall is lovely but as pp have said, so are many other counties. West Wales is my favourite, and is more easily accessible for me. I fell in love with Pembrokeshire on a school field trip in the 60s and still think it is one of the loveliest places I visit.