Im off there next wkend with the family, looking forward to it.
Any tips for the general area, roads to avoid, places to seek out etc?
So far we just have Tintagel Castle on our list although Im quite sure ill be dragged to some place with lots of smelly animals ( aside from the kids of school trips ).
Like a bit of history, the women like a touristy place with disabled access shopping ( can hope ), somewhere peaceful to do some crabbing, good fish/chip shop maybe, that kind of thing. Rather fancy visiting a garden of some sort, ive never actually done it before.
Might be persuaded to paddle in the sea, so a quietish beach would be nice.
The country club we are staying at is just off the A30 so access looks very easy to main routes thankfully, but its an area ive not spent too much time in, ive usually been based out of Looe/Polperro.
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I would recommend a visit to the Lost Gardens Of Heligan and the Eden Project.
Last edited by: Skip on Sun 28 Aug 11 at 18:21
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I always think that tintagel is one of lifes disapointments, I cant think of a more ruined castle with so little left of it. I will never forget it as a chilld, there were no knights and no round table.
Check out of of the tours down a tin mine.
The lost gardens of Heligan,
Eden project
The best thing to visit down there was Goonhilly, now alas closed.
Last edited by: Zero on Sun 28 Aug 11 at 18:22
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Gardens look fab and can take my nan there by the looks of it, Im determined to get her out to see stuff.
I visited Restormel Castle which isnt all that complete but the info boards were extremely good and it made an interesting trip even though it wasnt anywhere near complete anymore - that said it is more complete than Tintagel but god love her, my wife watches Merlin, so its compulsary :-)
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You want a bike rack Stu...
:-)
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There was a prog about Heligan, the history, the decline and the rebirth. Fascinating history, so do a bit of research afore ye go, and surprise them with your knowledge. Check out about the pineapple pits.
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"The best thing to visit down there was Goonhilly, now alas closed."
I know a lot of Cornwall pretty well, mainly the south, but I hadn't heard about the closure of Goonhilly, which I last visited about five years ago.
However, research shows a bright future may await:
tinyurl.com/3sfbabl
...though whether the public will have any part in it is unclear.
I second the suggestions made so far. Heligan and the Eden Project are two sharply contrasting undertakings, both involving plants, both the fruit of one man's vision - Tim Smit. Each is worth at least half a day, if not a full day.
If you go to the Lost Gardens of Heligan (to give the full title), then the little port of Mevagissey is a noted beauty spot on the coast nearby. A bit further south is Gorran Haven, another charming place with good beaches nearby.
Last edited by: FocalPoint on Sun 28 Aug 11 at 19:26
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Ah yes, id forgotten about the jail, Ive got a T-shirt for there from when I was a kid.
Thanks chap, im getting a decent list now, cant be bothered sitting around for a week, need to go see stuff.
Yes Lakeview, the website id not seen tho, we are having one of those VIP bungalows, looks nicer than my house! Im dreaming about the hot tub, we had one on honeymoon and we cant go without now, so pampered are we!
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Um...about the bike rack?....
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Boscastle is another favourite of mine.
I love Cornwall and never tire of going there. We spend a week there most years, have not been this year though. However we both have a weeks holiday from work booked in September and although we wasn't planning to go away talking about Cornwall on here has started me thinking about going. I might start looking for some accomodation later !
I agree about Tintagel Castle, and its one hell of a climb back up to the village from it. There is a fantastic pasty shop in Tintagel which is definately worth a visit !
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I have a bike rack and a bike... but id rather not use either, my bike makes such a lovely place to hang my junk off in the garage :P
Yes, ive been to Boscastle, will deffo go there, the rebuild is very nice and easy to do on same day as Tintagel aswell, very nice down by the river.
Cornwall gets under your skin. We tried the Lake District last year and for the vast majoirty of the time, we wished we had gone south instead of north. Wont make that mistake again!
Last edited by: FoR on Sun 28 Aug 11 at 19:02
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Having holidayed in Cornwall for the last 14 years I'd say there are shedloads of spectacular gardens in Cornwall, as already mentioned Eden project is a must (admission queues can get pretty long though) , I recall being somewhat disappointed by Heligan; Trebah is probably my favourite.
www.trebahgarden.co.uk/
We usually end of visiting Looe at some point for a bit of sea air and fish n'chips; China Clay museum at Wheal Martyn; as a trainspotter I really ought to mention Bodmin and Wenford railway. Lizard Point is pretty impressive at sunset, don't bother with Land's end unless you like Blackpool.
Polperro or Mousehole for the full on pretty Cornish Village experience.
Good takeaway grub from 'Brake Away' in Wadebridge near the town end of the old bridge.
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"...there are shedloads of spectacular gardens in Cornwall..."
Absolutely.
Yes, Trebah is wonderful, though I think I prefer Glendurgan next-door, with its tantalising vistas of the sea as you walk down the ravine and the little gate at the bottom through which you can wander into the tiny village of Durgan.
Lamorran, Tresco Abbey, Trelissick, Trengwainton, Trevarno, Lanhydrock, Trerice... are some of the more memorable ones I've visited, but the list is huge.
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If animals are to be involved Stu, make it this one.
porfellanimalland.co.uk/category/our-mission/
I've linked to the mission statement which is excellent and we go there most years just to support them.
It's an excellent day out and always reasonable quiet and peaceful too.
Watch the peacocks though at the tearoom, they pinch your cakes:)
Lost Gardens of Heligan I loved but not so much the Eden Project which had too many people and not enough information about the exotic plants.
Buy an OS map and enjoy the parts of Cornwall most tourists never see but stay away from my secret places!
Adult paddling....sheer bliss but can be embarrassing without a dog or kids to use as an excuse.
Par beach is perfect for that when it's raining and it's a good long walk in the sea from one end to the other and back again, but now I'v managed to get mrpda hooked on it, it's a must for us.
Life is too short to worry about looking silly, 'tis far better to look happy.
Pat
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Never mind all those gardens and pretty places - get a wetsuit, a body board and get in the sea. You can't beat the thrill of cheating death in a high surf further down at Godrevy. When you're up to your chest in the water and the waves look 6 feet high and somehow, almost impossibly, you catch it, feel the acceleration and push from the wave and get hammered back into the beach, nothing else matters and time really does fly. Well that was my holiday 2 weeks ago. Impossible to have more fun in a rubber suit with just a piece of foam! Oh, and join the NT for loads of other lovely places for the wife...
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Don't take ya BBQ into ya tent ~ www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-14713397
As someone here recently remarked "common sense is not so common". :)
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www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-14537502
Same thing happened here earlier this month - with tragic consequences though.
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Ive not slept in a tent since I was 12, the older I get, the harder the ground seems to be :-)
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>>the older I get, the harder the ground seems to be :-)
Never a truer word. I used to happily sleep on the ground when I went camping in the sixties.
Now I'm in my sixties, I'd rather spend a couple of hours driving home from my daughter's than spend a night on the futon she's got in the spare room.
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Thanks for all the suggestions, we have a nice list now!
Can anyone recommend a nice picnic area somewhere on the A30 not too far from Exeter as thats roughly where we will be stopping for lunch and it would be nice to avoid attempting to find one at 70 mph :-)
On the downside, we made the mistake of reading some reviews for where we are going for the week, oh dear! Still, I always spend a bit of time cleaning bathrooms and kitchens when I arrive anywhere ( sad I know ) so that was tha majority of the complaints.
Ive always taken the view of 'see what we shall see' with holidays - we had a truely terrible one near Polperro ( Kilminorth Farm ) where the cooker wasnt serviceable and it was hugely dated, tho clean - it was very cheap though. Then last year, much as we didnt take to The Lakes, out accomadation at Avon Wood was superb, almost faultless and not even premium priced, so it really is a lottery.
We are hoping to go away in May so I will be looking for reviews this time around, they do give plenty of relevant info.
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Little Chef @ Whiddon Down.
Little Chef @ Sourton Cross, also picnic area ~ tinyurl.com/3pzyz2g
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>> Little Chef @ Sourton Cross, also picnic area ~ tinyurl.com/3pzyz2g
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+1
Good views on a fine day as well.
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Cold chicken/sausage sandwich, lemonade and a good view, man can ask for no more :-)
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That's enough!
You're making me pine for my lorry cab.
I've spent many a happy night out parked up in that picnic area and just enjoyed the view and the salad with the birds for company.
I'd give anything to be able to do that again.
Pat
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>> Cold chicken/sausage sandwich, lemonade and a good view, man can ask for no more :-)
Except for a mobile burger van selling an egg and bacon sarnie.
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I have just had a look on Tripadvisor and it certainly doesn't look very promising going by the majority of the comments on there.
We stayed at Kilminorth Farm and our cottage was fine, however that was 6 or 7 years ago so it may have gone downhill since then.
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I stayed at Kilminorth must have been 2007 and the cooker was easily 30 years old ( and no safety check sticker ), the sofa looked like it had come from an old ladys house clearance and the bathroom was extremely tatty. The TV only had one channel and the carpet was very old.
You could throw £1k at the cottage and it would have given it such a boost, esp given the place actually is a nice setup, then they could charge another £50 a week to recover the costs - if I recall it was around £190 for first wk of Sept so very cheap, but it was just aswell given the state of the place. That all said, the bedroom was very nice.
Its basically a nice spot that needs some investment to get better reviews and charge a little more.
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I remember once upon a time, back in the 70's, I drove our G reg metallic green Capri 1600 GTXL to the Isle of Widget,
Arrived after midnight near to Blackgang Chine (St Catherines Lighthouse), took one look at the tin box (caravan?)
Turned around and headed back home,
Crazy?
as crazy does.
:-)
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I should say it was :-)
I stayed in the cottage in the first picture, the one with the plastic chair outside.
Ill have a look, see if Hoseasons still list it, they may not.
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Thanks for all the suggestions, had a great time, really needed a break all round.
Fab area of the country to visit if a little far for my liking these days, I dont enjoy the long distances like I used to so its Torbay next year I think, save an hour and a bit off the journey time.
Those reviews for the site were spot on, it really wasnt that great but it was passable and the hot tub was fab after clambering around Tintagel.
Big shout out to Habour Light Tea Garden in Boscastle, the most fab lunch ive had in years, in a lovely setting with delightful service, they deserve every success.
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Tips/suggestions for Bodmin holiday - Skip
