Cornwall at the moment

[PeacheyPeach]

Has anyone been to Cornwall these summer holidays? Is it as bad as people have reported? Is it heaving

Yes, it’s really busy.

We came back at the weekend. We did the Eden Project and then stayed in a more remote area. We didn't notice any difference from other years really. The thing that did hit us, was difficulty getting food. Lots of eateries where we stayed we're struggling to open due to pings. Hopefully with the new rules, that won't be so much of an issue going forward.

Cornwall's one and only A and E department reporting it is as busy as New Years, every single day. The infrastructure isn't set up for the volume of people at all, it's like a ticking time bomb.
So many more road accidents too! Increased volume added to people unsure of the roads.

Yes! We did go to St Ives though, so no surprises there.

It's always been busy (been going every year for 45 years and we have family down there) but this year there are long queues for everything and the streets are shoulder to shoulder. The M5 is just stop start.

Buckle up, because it's rammed.

Yes awful, don’t even try going to St Michael’s Mount! A lot of queuing everywhere we went & roads really busy. I found it stressful to be honest.

Yes we have just come back and it was no more busy that every other year where we were

We're just back from a week on The Lizard. Wasn't any worse than when we stayed 2 years ago. Yes St Michael's mount was rammed which surprised me as I had booked in advance and the NT were being very cautious about COVID in our area. We avoided N Coast completely. Falmouth and St Mawes weren't bad at all. We always hit the beach late afternoon and had no trouble parking.

The only traffic problems were an accident near where we were staying that caused chaos as people were diverting down the tiny lanes and it was gridlock. The A30 was down to one lane on the way back which held us up as well. We live on the A38 and had no problems once we left the A30 at Bodmin. I think if you stay away from St Ives/Newquay/Padstow it should be OK.

Yes. We avoided hotshots, bought a map, looked up the tide times and walked on the coast paths, finding quiet coves. Don't expect to park at busy beaches any time after 9am. If you plan ahead it is fine.

Hot SPOTS

Padstow and Polzeath- avoid. Plenty of other lovely places to go to.

I live here and honestly it's not worse than a normal summer. North Cornwall near Devon border and its bloody freezing at the moment though, there are people with wooly hats and winter coats on.

If the sun does come out though you won't get a space in the beach car park past 10.30 but that's standard for summer.

Aww thank you for your replies 😍 was planning on leaving out Padstow and st Ives as they are pretty busy even in the winter months so guessed they're going to be even busier now. It's the thought of the roads that are stressing me out Im a terrible passenger 😂

Heaving.

A little bit busier than normal but okay if you avoid the usual touristy places

We have to visit (need to support a family member) Cornish tourist hotspot next week and are going to get to their house and stay put I think.
Luckily in walking distance of some beaches but apart from that we will not go far, it's very busy in the popular areas, unsurprisingly.

Depends where you go I would think. We stay very rurally and spend most of our time walking the coastal path. Beaches on the Lizard are no busier than previous years and we've had no issues getting parked up and finding ample space on the sand. No issues eating out either.
We come down most years and usually try to stay away from the crowds. We braved St Ives for a day last year and it was horrendous. Never again! Could barely move for the crowds, took forever to park and we queued for every shop and food outlet.

Yes..had two weeks there. Yes it is busy (but isn't it always). Attractions well booked up in advance and a factor being people have more money to spend. What is awful is hospitality. We gave up going out on a night. Couldn't book anywhere at all. They all operated a queue only policy. Waits were easily up to 1 1;2 hours. Menus are all cut down to burgers and pizza/ pie type crap. We found getting lunch was better. Many places were just shut for part of the week due to lack of staff. Loads of notices out begging for staff with immediate starts. Pretty depressing really.

I'm not doing a staycation next year

I honestly don’t understand what people see in Cornwall when it’s like this, we went in a “normal” year and hated it so much we left early. Everything was so DIFFICULT. I can’t imagine adding sold out tickets, booked out restaurants, and yet more queues, crowds and traffic to the mix. I feel for people who live there!

Here at the moment. To be honest St.Ives, Padstow, Polzeath and St Michaels Mount were same as previous years… busy! It’s just a bit more faff with masks and shops/ restaurants/cafes short staffed so often closed or drinks only.
We’ve been here for three weeks and apart from a few odd sunny days the weather has been dull and drizzly or cloudy at best. That’s what wetsuits are for

@ChildofDust - as fellow Cornwall resident I have to disagree with you. We've lived here 20 years and never seen it as busy as this summer. Perhaps due to geography as we're between Newquay and Padstow.

Had to take my daughter to a friend's house the other day and a 10 minute journey took 40 minutes!! Went to a local shop that stocks a brand of toiletries that I like and gave up after sitting in traffic for 20 minutes. NOTE TO SELF - DO NOT GO SHOPPING BETWEEN 10 AND 4 PM!!!

Also our local co-OP, which is tiny, but the only food shop for 7 miles has empty shelves. Must say I'm looking forward to September .

@Sunflowergirl1 - a big problem for hospitality getting staff is lack of accommodation. People who live in Newquay have been looking for rentals for months- everything is now Air BnB or second home. More jobs available than ever but if you can't find somewhere to live then you can't work here.

We were in London last week and it was positively empty compared with Cornwall

Just got back from Newquay area-it was heaving. Nightmare going anywhere due to traffic and parking plus when you got there, if you hadn’t booked well in advance there was nothing doing. Journey home was horrific.

We live here. It’s crazy busy but no more than normal for the summer holidays.

Disagree with @ChildofDust it isn’t that cold!

Another local here and I can't remember it being this busy before. I think twice before I go anywhere on my days off and have to prebook to eat out anywhere. Can't wait for the end of the summer season sadly, and I'm not a tourist hater - it's vital for us but this year it really has been a struggle.

Was there until Monday and now in Devon.

During the day it's fine. It feels no different to when we came in May/June 2019 most of the time, tbh.

The main difference is being able to get in for food in an evening. Everywhere is fully booked days in advance. You need to look for places that only do walk ins, eat bigger at lunch and snack at night, or fall lucky.

In terms of walking about etc it's fine. We've been able to go on trains, car ferries, steam train etc no issues and without pre booking.

Parking close can be an issue but many places have car parks further out with spaces. Annoyingly lots of places have not run their park and ride buses though - so can be uphill walks back up.

Last week and the weekend Newquay area was really busy due to the Boardmasters festival.

Devon seems to be less busy than Cornwall.