Cornwall packing list

[Foxhasbigsocks]

Have never done a UK bucket and spade holiday and am from up inland north so no idea about the south coast! Never been to Cornwall either, but we are going at the end of July. A few nights in a bnb then a few nights in a cottage.

What do I need to pack?

So far I’ve got:

Kids shortie wetsuits
Kids swim shoes for pebbly beaches
Kids sun hats
Kids fishing nets (hoping for rock pools!)
Kids towelling ponchos

All the usual summer clothing clobber, bucket and spade stuff etc

Is there anything else I should particularly be thinking of?

I’m thinking it could be cold to baking hot, so will try to keep that in mind when packing!

I’m quite worried about huge queues on the roads - thinking it could be mayhem but both places we are staying are walking distance to the beach

Oh and it's definitely worth setting off early but plan something to do when you get there as you might not be able to get in your accommodation until later than usual due to extra covid cleaning

A sharpie for writing your phone number on their arms in case you lose them and writing their names on the correct sandwich. Foil to wrap sandwiches in.

We always left the midlands for perranporth at 5am and could do it in about2.5hrs. Nap on the beach later!

Bookwise my 11 year old enjoyed these www.thesmugglersofmousehole.com/

Hi, I'm a local Cornish girl. A few things I've found to be helpful being down here in the summer....

• Always carry a bit of cash. Since last year many more places down here now accept card payments, but there's still car parks especially that are cash only.

• The weather is SUPER changeable. We can have all four seasons in an hour sometimes. I'd always carry a rain coat, socks and a jumper as well as swim stuff in the car no matter what your plans. It can get windy on the coast no matter how warm it is.

• Some kind of bucket/thick plastic bag is handy if you get wetsuits as they take forever to dry and will soak everything in your car and normal bag!

• Always wear sunscreen even on a really cloudy day. The coastal breeze can trick you into thinking it's not as sunny as it actually is.

• The roads and popular spots since last summer have been the busiest we've ever seen down here. Leave plenty of time, always have snacks, and don't plan too much to squeeze into each day.

• Parking can be horrendous, bring a sense of humour for stressful moments.

• if you can, try not to buy bodyboards (I know they're really fun!). 100's of them are left on beaches each summer, they're terrible for the environment. You might be able to rent or borrow them instead from popular beach spots rather than buy them.

• Have a fun holiday! Cornwall is the most relaxed and beautiful place. Hanging out watching the sun going down eating salty chips on the beach is heaven. It's been beautiful here this week. Hoping for sun for you ☀️

if you can, try not to buy bodyboards (I know they're really fun!). 100's of them are left on beaches each summer, they're terrible for the environment. You might be able to rent or borrow them instead from popular beach spots rather than buy them.

This

Especially if space is a bit limited in the car. Don't quote me but reckon you can hire chairs too.

Old fashioned cool box and those blue blue blocks. - if camping so Milk etc can keep for longer. Or nothing worse than warm soft drinks in a summers day

Still taking notes - so many very useful ideas

Have you booked an overnight stay on the way down? It's a long journey especially in the summer - we regularly drive between Cornwall and Leeds. In the summer, with delays it can take 8-9 hours. Make the car comfortable - a pillow each and a blanket, a variety of things to do (I used to make them a bag each) nibbles and drinks. Books, audible book...

@PaulGallico I have indeed thank you - booked an overnight stay hopefully half way! Good idea to bring lots of stuff for the car

I booked it on Airbnb which I’ve never previously used for some reason so the trip will be an education in more ways than one I hope it actually exists and isn’t just a scam

I'm from near Tintagel.

Trebarwith is a lovely beach, but there is literally no beach when the tide is in - check the tide times before you go! It is also very popular and has minimal parking. People park on the roads leading to it, it's very narrow and causes a problem for tractors/emergency vehicles etc. Wing mirrors often get knocked off at the very least.

Many beaches have webcam so surfers can check the waves remotely, they're great to check before you head out.

Crabbing - you'll be able to buy a proper line with a hook pretty much anywhere near a beach. Be careful, the hooks are sharp, I've vivid memories of my mum having to push the hook all the way through my brother's skin on his ankle to get it out, they're barbed and nasty. Much safer and cheaper is a safety pin tied to some cotton!

If you do go crabbing, please don't put them all in the same bucket, they'll kill each other, and please don't keep them in the bucket for long, they'll get hot in the sun and die. Catch it, have a look at it, and then put it back where it came from, it's much more kind.

Walking boots, if your near tintagel you can walk to Boscastle along the coast maybe 3hrs. Or go the other way to trebarwith 1half hrs. Both beautiful places . Enjoy.

@Faranth thank you and we will definitely be responsible if we go crabbing.

@Potnoodleforbrains that sounds lovely!! Will those walks be safe with a 7 year old? Not too many narrow paths with steep cliff edges? Dd is quite good at walking - can do up to 6 miles

Have literally just got back from Cornwall! We go every year - Tintagel is lovely, both for beaches (Bossiney Haven is my favourite, though it's only there at low tide) and walking the coast path. My DC are a similar age to yours and never wear wetsuits, but they do have 3 or so swimsuits each so that they can change out of them after they have been in the sea, into a dry one. Boden (but I'm sure other places too) do long towelling hoodies - almost like knee-length dresses with hoods - that both my children (including DS) basically lived in last week - they're really easy to change into/ change under and they're warm for after swimming. If you do think you want to walk along the coast path take decent shoes/ trainers and a backpack you can put a picnic and water in. There's a stream that meets the coast path not far from Tintagel where King Arthur apparently washed and in doing so turned from boy to man.... Otherwise books, ice-cream money, lots of summer clothes and sun screen (it can be boiling!) and warm jerseys for the evenings and raincoats just in case....

Wow, our body boards are 25yrs old lol they were my husband when he was younger!

Our bodyboards are wooden. My grandfather bought them in the 50s. People used to find them hilarious but apparently they're now becoming fashionable again....

Reading with interest as going to Devon but how depressing to need fleeces and coats on holiday.

I would never go away in the uk without a hoodie at least. I remember being (as in sitting down, not just going for a walk) on the beach with rain coats on as a kid!😂😂

Also, in terms of food, there is an excellent fishmonger in Port Isaac on the harbour - Port Issac gets super busy though in the summer because it is so pretty, and also where Doc Martin was filmed, so you need to go early, park at the top and walk down. Polzeath is my favourite all day rockpooling/ surfing beach again, go early and find a spot on the New Polzeath side which is inexplicably always emptier. There's a really good ice-cream shop in Polzeath, too - and, handily, a Spar, so you can do a proper-ish shop for supper before you leave. My children's favourite rainy day day-trips are the Barbara Hepworth Museum in St. Ives (get the children's pack - it's amazing) and also the Leach Pottery Museum (also in St. Ives), else getting the ferry from Rock to Padstow and then working out how best to spend £3 each in the shell shop/ going out around the bay on the Jubilee Queen - which I used to go on too when I was a child. There are also speed boat rides - the boats are called things like Jaws and Fireball and Cyclone - but we haven't been on one of those since DS made the connection between speedboats and The Snail and the Whale....

I don't know Cornwall especially, but my top tips for UK beach holiday with small DC are:
Travel in your heaviest clothes - walking boots, fleece
Take minimal clothing and wash daily (I am hoping you have a washing machine!); we used to take one fleece each which was fine.
If you can walk to where you are going that's best
yy to checking tide times if going to beach
Take a home made frozen lasagne or similar for dinner on first night - in cool bag for journey
Tesco order to be delivered on arrival

I live in Cornwall.
Deffo hard bottomed beach shoes. Wear them on every beach, not just pebbly ones. Weever fish stings are insanely unpleasant. (Bury themselves under the sand mid tide)

Beach - wind break, body boards, picnic rug, beach chairs, towels, wetsuits, nets, kite, cool bag, warm hoodies, swim wear, parasol
General - waterproof coats, board games, tech, variety of footwear for different weather,

Whatever you don't have you can easily buy down there.

Try to travel at less busy times eg very early morning or late evening

Cornwall is beautiful, you will love it.

Audiobooks for the car
Travel sickness bands if they get it
First aid/piriton/calpol etc
Blackout blinds
Something to do in the pub/cafe while waiting for lunch (cards, drawing stuff)
Agree with the suggestion of bring a lasagne for the first night

Any particular food/drinks you like and may not be easy to get at local supermarket/farm shop eg kids favourite snacks or a particular brand of tea (I am becoming my mother)

More footwear and hoodies/jackets than you think

Plastic bags to use as rubbish bags. Keep a few in the car

Thanks everyone for these amazing ideas - wr

Writing all of them down was what I meant!!

If you are travelling to Cornwall or Devon on the M5 on a Friday or Saturday then be aware that you can spend hours sitting in traffic gridlock. If you can overnight and then travel into Cornwall very early you may save a lot of stress.

Same on way back.

@WaverleyPirate very early eg 5 am? 6 am? Sounds well worth avoiding traffic queues and luckily my two are larks (though sadly I’m not!)

The worst section is between Almondsbury Interchange / Cribbs Causeway area down to Weston super Mare as you hit the day trippers and shoppers.

People travelling from the North and Midlands tend to all arrive at same time. Peak traffic jam on Friday and Saturday going into Cornwall is between 10am and 4pm. So get past this section early or leave it late.

I regularly walk over motorway bridge and see total gridlock.