First Cornwall trip in October, must-visit walks, food and family stops

[FuzzyBumbleeBee]

We're traveling to Cornwall for the first time in October for 5 days and it'll probably be the only time we go there for a while due to life and commitments we have our accomodation sorted

What are your must visits?

We are going to the Lizard, Tintagel castle, St Nectans, St Michael's although we will probably just look at it from the beach, lands end is probably not going to make the list as we live very close to its sister site although I won't say we wouldn't stop by If we were near but we'd likely spend a very short time there

We love nature and walking although I have a bad knee so rough terrain is fine if I can take it slow, I also have BAM so we won't be out hiking all day just a few hours here and there so I'm not caught short and then heading somewhere else

We don't mind traveling all over as we are planning to do a lot of that anyway but we will also have 2 dogs and 2 dc with us

Any recommendations please of nice walks or great places to eat we eat everything and love Forrest type walks
Coast is great but we live on the coast so we would probably prioritize more woodland type walks
Dd1 has asked about a BBQ style restaurant so that's on our lookouts
Visiting my dgps on the way home as well so any good local pasty places near to Perren sands is a bonus as they've asked we bring party's back as they are too old to travel now

Lost Gardens of Heligan
don’t bother with Land’s End

Absolutely, totally, 100% avoid Land’s End. Its a shithole.

Id avoid Tintagel too. It's not really a castle. It's a ruin, with a good wobbly suspension bridge to it. And a sculpture of King Arthur. You can stop and have a quick look from the car park, but it's quite expensive without anything else being provided for your money.

Alternatives? There's nice woodland walks and bike rides on the Penrose Estate, near Helston.

Falmouth maritime museum is good if it rains, or for independent shops and a pasty if not.

Wildlife safari boat out to see dolphins and seals from Falmouth or St Ives (take the train into St Ives. Don't try to drive in.

Yy to the Lost Gardens of Heligan

Enjoy!

Inkie's Smokehouse at Golitha Falls is an amazing barbecue place. There are lovely inland walks near there too. It's near to Bodmin so maybe stop off on your way to or from somewhere else.

Have a look at the iwalkcornwall app for walks. One of my favourites is Helston River. Also the Hall Walk in Fowey.

The coastal scenery in Cornwall is very different so even though you live by the sea it will not look the same.

I wouldn't miss a trip to St Ives. Get the train from St Erth to Carbis Bay then do the coast path walk to St Ives. Lands End is not worth the trip.

The Minack Theatre is a must see rather than the dump that is Lands End.

That said, if you like a coastal walk, Sennen to Lands End and back is only about 3.5 miles then you can say you've done it - and you don't pay entry that way.

You can walk across to St Michael's Mount depending on the tides and have a free walk around the village, the dogs can join you.

Pasty from Philps either in Marazion or Hayle.

Lost Gardens of Heligan is nice, avoid Eden Project unless you're happy to throw a LOT of money at it.

Another vote for Inkies for BBQ. Absolutely delicious, but expect queues and it's outdoors in the event of poor weather. That's up in SE Cornwall though.

Bus from St Ives to Zennor then you can walk back - along the Coffin Path - which is an inland path.

Another vote for the walk at Golitha Falls and Inky’s and there’s indoor seating there now too !

I agree re the Minack theatre - it’s gorgeous.
Also Tintagel is very touristy. I would drive to the very end to Camelot Castle hotel (very strange place) and have a drink in their grounds looking down onto Tintagel castle.
Boscastle is pretty - nice and quiet in the evenings. You can walk up to the lookout.

Boscastle, after reading up about the flooding.
Port Isaac and Mousehole.

Where are you staying?

My tip would be to look at parking fees. You may want to consider National Trust, or a Cornwall countywide rover ticket, depending on where you are going.

There are some great NT properties (Lanhydrock) and coast and countryside.

St Agnes Head is a gorgeous coastline with old tin mines.

Tintagel is atmospheric if you enjoy the legends of King Arthur.

Fowey is lovely.

St Nectan's Glean is a beautiful woodland walk! There are a couple of rocky places (my dog has arthritis and struggled a bit with them). Similar Walks are Golitha falls (Inkys Smokehouse - good option if your husband wants bbq!) Also Lydford Gorge, it's in Devon close to the border so potentially a good place to break your journey as it's not far off the a30. I've got a blog here on the top childrens activites for October half term if that helps! Things to do in Cornwall October half term. I'm very close to St Nectans and Golitha so the kids activities are nearer them rather than Perran.

Yep agree

Moushole with a stop at Mackerel Sky in Newlyn for great seafood. St Erth to St Ives train journey for gorgeous coastal views. We enjoyed Falmouth and a visit to Pendennis Castle. Geevor tin mine was a fascinating place to visit. Dogs were welcome but can’t go down to the mine itself but plenty to see above ground.

We enjoyed Falmouth museum as well.

You could consider the Camel trail which is fairly flat. It’s a cycle path you can walk along.

cameltrail.co.uk/#overview

Do You watch Beyond Paradise? I believe that’s filmed in Looe, and nearby Fowey is nice also. You could also visit Doc Martin country which is filmed in Port Isaac.

What dates in October? Falmouth has an oyster festival 9th-11th.