Cornwall - best place to stay?
Discussion
mattyn1 said:
Having spent some 25 years in the West Cornwall area I would definitely recommend the Lizard Peninsular and is in my opinion the prettiest. North Coast is a close second, but avoid St Ives (unless for a day out) and Newquay (awful).
Coverack, Ruan, Cadgwith all quaint - we used to walk into Coverack and have fish and chips overlooking the beach. Kynance Cove on a sunny day is arguably as beautiful as anywhere in the world - but does come with crowds!! There are parts of the Lizard though that remain reasonably undiscovered by the crowds and is definitely worth checking out.
Porthleven is pretty - does get busy.
Penzance is a bit run down - Marazion and Mounts Bay are worth it - again gets busy!
Newlyn ok but does smell a bit of fish sometimes!
Falmouth is falling away but still just ok.
Truro (big city) is ok.
Lands End - used to be annoyingly expensive but needs to be ticked off.
(opinions above are mine alone and caveat with they are probably 5 years old - so stuff may have changed!!)
We were down there a couple of weeks ago and took the pup out onto Maenporth Beach - it was lovely and where my wife grew up. It has got me looking at property down that way as retirement is starting to loom into view.
Give me a shout if you need more detail.
I could not have written this any better myself! Although we live in Surrey, we have family in Falmouth and we visit them every April and November for a few days, ie out of season. We have been staying at The Greenbank Hotel for many years. This has been going on every year since the mid 1970s. So we know Cornwall as a visitor not resident. Coverack, Ruan, Cadgwith all quaint - we used to walk into Coverack and have fish and chips overlooking the beach. Kynance Cove on a sunny day is arguably as beautiful as anywhere in the world - but does come with crowds!! There are parts of the Lizard though that remain reasonably undiscovered by the crowds and is definitely worth checking out.
Porthleven is pretty - does get busy.
Penzance is a bit run down - Marazion and Mounts Bay are worth it - again gets busy!
Newlyn ok but does smell a bit of fish sometimes!
Falmouth is falling away but still just ok.
Truro (big city) is ok.
Lands End - used to be annoyingly expensive but needs to be ticked off.
(opinions above are mine alone and caveat with they are probably 5 years old - so stuff may have changed!!)
We were down there a couple of weeks ago and took the pup out onto Maenporth Beach - it was lovely and where my wife grew up. It has got me looking at property down that way as retirement is starting to loom into view.
Give me a shout if you need more detail.
We have been everywhere mentioned above, and agree , except that I think that Falmouth is beginning to drag itself out of its lowest point in the last couple of years. Favorite places are:
- the drive from St. Ives to Land's End, stopping at The Gurnard Head for lunch
- Gwithian and the Rockpool cafe
- Kynance Cove, great walk and a cafe when you get there!
- Cadgwith which is still a fishing village.
- Sennen Cove in November
- Maenporth Beach on a warm April day..does happen!
- The Pandora at Restronguet for lunch...get there early so you can get a parking spot
- Anywhere on the Roseland Peninsula
- Philp's in Hayle for the best pastie!
- Lizard Point on a wild and windy day
R
Yeah, Penzance isn't so bad these days. A few interesting places to eat/drink - it's on the up in the last couple of years I'd say. And anyone that's in that area that likes their seafood should check out The Shore. Some of the finest cooking I've ever tried and the owner Bruce is a genuinely lovely bloke - it's only him in the kitchen and pretty much everything is tailored to what is available off the boats that day/week.
The area around the Helford River is another favourite of ours, not least as it's generally also very quiet.
The area around the Helford River is another favourite of ours, not least as it's generally also very quiet.
Op ignore the bllx about St ives. It's busy yes, extremely in summer but is really nice. Newquay likewise has some very nice beaches despite the crappiness of the town and some of the people.
There are actually very few places not worth visiting at least once despite what people say, and to add one of the counties most popular destinations in that nracket simply cos it gets busy is crazy.
There are actually very few places not worth visiting at least once despite what people say, and to add one of the counties most popular destinations in that nracket simply cos it gets busy is crazy.
The Leaper said:
mattyn1 said:
Having spent some 25 years in the West Cornwall area I would definitely recommend the Lizard Peninsular and is in my opinion the prettiest. North Coast is a close second, but avoid St Ives (unless for a day out) and Newquay (awful).
Coverack, Ruan, Cadgwith all quaint - we used to walk into Coverack and have fish and chips overlooking the beach. Kynance Cove on a sunny day is arguably as beautiful as anywhere in the world - but does come with crowds!! There are parts of the Lizard though that remain reasonably undiscovered by the crowds and is definitely worth checking out.
Porthleven is pretty - does get busy.
Penzance is a bit run down - Marazion and Mounts Bay are worth it - again gets busy!
Newlyn ok but does smell a bit of fish sometimes!
Falmouth is falling away but still just ok.
Truro (big city) is ok.
Lands End - used to be annoyingly expensive but needs to be ticked off.
(opinions above are mine alone and caveat with they are probably 5 years old - so stuff may have changed!!)
We were down there a couple of weeks ago and took the pup out onto Maenporth Beach - it was lovely and where my wife grew up. It has got me looking at property down that way as retirement is starting to loom into view.
Give me a shout if you need more detail.
I could not have written this any better myself! Although we live in Surrey, we have family in Falmouth and we visit them every April and November for a few days, ie out of season. We have been staying at The Greenbank Hotel for many years. This has been going on every year since the mid 1970s. So we know Cornwall as a visitor not resident. Coverack, Ruan, Cadgwith all quaint - we used to walk into Coverack and have fish and chips overlooking the beach. Kynance Cove on a sunny day is arguably as beautiful as anywhere in the world - but does come with crowds!! There are parts of the Lizard though that remain reasonably undiscovered by the crowds and is definitely worth checking out.
Porthleven is pretty - does get busy.
Penzance is a bit run down - Marazion and Mounts Bay are worth it - again gets busy!
Newlyn ok but does smell a bit of fish sometimes!
Falmouth is falling away but still just ok.
Truro (big city) is ok.
Lands End - used to be annoyingly expensive but needs to be ticked off.
(opinions above are mine alone and caveat with they are probably 5 years old - so stuff may have changed!!)
We were down there a couple of weeks ago and took the pup out onto Maenporth Beach - it was lovely and where my wife grew up. It has got me looking at property down that way as retirement is starting to loom into view.
Give me a shout if you need more detail.
We have been everywhere mentioned above, and agree , except that I think that Falmouth is beginning to drag itself out of its lowest point in the last couple of years. Favorite places are:
- the drive from St. Ives to Land's End, stopping at The Gurnard Head for lunch
- Gwithian and the Rockpool cafe
- Kynance Cove, great walk and a cafe when you get there!
- Cadgwith which is still a fishing village.
- Sennen Cove in November
- Maenporth Beach on a warm April day..does happen!
- The Pandora at Restronguet for lunch...get there early so you can get a parking spot
- Anywhere on the Roseland Peninsula
- Philp's in Hayle for the best pastie!
- Lizard Point on a wild and windy day
R
Minack Theatre
4T's in Mousehole (formerly Pam's Pantry)
Lizard Point on a gloriously sunny day
Crab sandwiches from The FIsh Shop in Newlyn
Walking from Mullion to Mullion Cove and back
If you want quiet with a great sunset try and find something in Trevone , it’s ten mins on the bus to Padstow and there’s a decent beach bar and the oldest school pub in the world , it’s not a great pub by the way , but Trevone very nice and a lovely walk along the coast to a few other beaches and restaurants.
We’re spoilt as a mates family own a house there and it’s available to very few people .
We’re spoilt as a mates family own a house there and it’s available to very few people .
theplayingmantis said:
Op ignore the bllx about St ives. It's busy yes, extremely in summer but is really nice. Newquay likewise has some very nice beaches despite the crappiness of the town and some of the people.
There are actually very few places not worth visiting at least once despite what people say, and to add one of the counties most popular destinations in that nracket simply cos it gets busy is crazy.
I'd agree with this. There are actually very few places not worth visiting at least once despite what people say, and to add one of the counties most popular destinations in that nracket simply cos it gets busy is crazy.
If you're based in Newlyn or just generally around the Penzance area, and thinking of heading to St. Ives, just get the train from St. Erth. It is sooo much less hassle.
Swervin_Mervin said:
theplayingmantis said:
Op ignore the bllx about St ives. It's busy yes, extremely in summer but is really nice. Newquay likewise has some very nice beaches despite the crappiness of the town and some of the people.
There are actually very few places not worth visiting at least once despite what people say, and to add one of the counties most popular destinations in that nracket simply cos it gets busy is crazy.
I'd agree with this. There are actually very few places not worth visiting at least once despite what people say, and to add one of the counties most popular destinations in that nracket simply cos it gets busy is crazy.
If you're based in Newlyn or just generally around the Penzance area, and thinking of heading to St. Ives, just get the train from St. Erth. It is sooo much less hassle.
I know it never gets much love on here but I really like Perranporth.
Its a nice village in itself (outside of peak times!) and plenty of places to eat and drink plus one of the best beaches in Cornwall on your doorstep with a decent pub.
Then for the days you want to go and do stuff its quite central and you can hit most of the major attractions in under an hour.
Just my 2ps worth.
Its a nice village in itself (outside of peak times!) and plenty of places to eat and drink plus one of the best beaches in Cornwall on your doorstep with a decent pub.
Then for the days you want to go and do stuff its quite central and you can hit most of the major attractions in under an hour.
Just my 2ps worth.
And just to balance the good with the bad a bit…(and I used to live near one of these towns as a teenager in the mid 80’s)
https://youtu.be/PNqvU0_g6Cw?si=XXxIvtyzOPBTSf4P
https://youtu.be/PNqvU0_g6Cw?si=XXxIvtyzOPBTSf4P
I know we are all different in what we consider long travel distances, but pre-school age kids we rented a pine lodge on a holiday park near Hayle for £400 for a week in the second week of September. The following year we wanted to return to see a few other places that we didn't have time to visit - same pine lodge in August was £2,200!
So we looked around and found a lodge in Liskeard for £750. That meant we had to drive 1.5 hours to say Marazion, but the kids are early risers and the return journey was a nice wind down and we stopped off at shops for food and places like Trago Mills.
So we looked around and found a lodge in Liskeard for £750. That meant we had to drive 1.5 hours to say Marazion, but the kids are early risers and the return journey was a nice wind down and we stopped off at shops for food and places like Trago Mills.
And do visit Penlee House in Penzance. It's dedicated to local artists and covers both the St Ives and Newlyn schools and simply has some of the finest British art you will ever see.
https://penleehouse.org.uk/
https://penleehouse.org.uk/
geeman237 said:
And just to balance the good with the bad a bit…(and I used to live near one of these towns as a teenager in the mid 80’s)
https://youtu.be/PNqvU0_g6Cw?si=XXxIvtyzOPBTSf4P
St Austell, AKA St Awful.https://youtu.be/PNqvU0_g6Cw?si=XXxIvtyzOPBTSf4P
Bodmin, so bad even The Spoons has gone.
My former in-laws lived in St Mawes, posh Cornwall, very genteel and popular with wealthy second home owners (pricing out the locals, a story worthy of a thread in itself) and sailing types.
Last time I was there Dave Richards of ProDrive fame had just bought the biggest house in the village and used to lease some land off a local farmer to land his helicopter.
If you get as far east as Falmouth from Newlyn you can park and take a passenger ferry trip over to St Mawes for a couple of hours. It's a nice village with a couple of good pubs, then there's a lovely walk up to St Mawes Castle. Sitting up there on a sunny day with an ice cream watching all the yachts and ships going into Falmouth ('the Carrick Roads') is a really nice way to spend an afternoon, and it saves you the big drive round the Roseland Peninsular.
https://www.falriver.co.uk/ferries/st-mawes-ferry
If you're pushing the budget then lunch on the terrace at The Tresanton on a sunny day is rather nice:
https://thepolizzicollection.com/hotel-tresanton/f...
June should be just right - hopefully nice weather but the right side of the holiday season. July and August is full of how shall we say, "a certain type".
Last time I was there Dave Richards of ProDrive fame had just bought the biggest house in the village and used to lease some land off a local farmer to land his helicopter.
If you get as far east as Falmouth from Newlyn you can park and take a passenger ferry trip over to St Mawes for a couple of hours. It's a nice village with a couple of good pubs, then there's a lovely walk up to St Mawes Castle. Sitting up there on a sunny day with an ice cream watching all the yachts and ships going into Falmouth ('the Carrick Roads') is a really nice way to spend an afternoon, and it saves you the big drive round the Roseland Peninsular.
https://www.falriver.co.uk/ferries/st-mawes-ferry
If you're pushing the budget then lunch on the terrace at The Tresanton on a sunny day is rather nice:
https://thepolizzicollection.com/hotel-tresanton/f...
June should be just right - hopefully nice weather but the right side of the holiday season. July and August is full of how shall we say, "a certain type".
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