We are possibly looking to go to the Cornwall area for a Mon to Fri in July. First week we are going to Center Parcs in Nottingham and then choice is either down through the Tunnel to North France or head South to Cornwall area.
We have been to France many times, and the last time we stayed in Normandy it rained for a week.
Have never been to Cornwall so would like to give it a go. Not sure where in Cornwall area is best for 2 kids aged 15 and 12? The easy option is to book a caravan on one of the Parkdean sites as we have used them before and they are usually pretty good.
Any one and ideas, ones to avoid, anything not to miss etc? From what I have read there seems to be lots of beaches, lots of walking and interesting things to see and do. Just not sure which area is best to use as a base?
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I spent most my week down the south west in Devon but did go into Cornwall. I stayed in Newquay (I found it a lot nicer than its reputation sugests, but I would not want to bring a young family there).
The conclusion I got was you really need a car, the trains are very cheap but just take too long to get any where. I would have needed to spend a a good week in Cornwall alone to do what I wanted to.
It is a lovely place with really nice blue sea beaches and golden sand. Not sure where you live but if you do take the car it could be a good 6-8 hour drive.
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Live near Glasgow, going to Nottingham, then to my brothers in Bishops Stortford for the weekend, then it would be on to Cornwall and then back home.
Quite used to a full day's driving at holiday time.
Another thing I meant to ask is what is it like for cycling? Still debating whether to take our bikes to Center Parcs (not the site that they are all getting pinched from), would obviously only want to take 4 bikes the length of the country if they were going to be put to good use!
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check they have spaces. Its getting booked pretty quickly
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Plenty spaces just now for week beginning 4/5 July.
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Ah before the kids break up.
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Before the English schools break up!!
Scottish schools finish up on 25 June.
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Staying within driving distance of Plymouth is useful, I never tire of the aquarium there and if you want quaint, your not too far from Looe/Polperro. Its a good area for things to do.
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St Austel, penzance way if you want the southern coast, newquay, perranporth portreath if you want the north coast.
Dont go to far into the tip of cornwall, its a desert.
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It's a beautiful, mysterious desert though:)
For the age group you mention I would suggest somewhere close to Newquay.
There's something to do for all ages, whether it's wet or dry and despite Rattle's caution they'll be safer than in Manchester!
Pat
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>>Have never been to Cornwall >>
That the best reason to do it.
For surfing we stay at Watergate Bay (just north of Newquay), sometimes at Watergate Bay Hotel which is fab though not cheap. Great beach.
Otherwise it is great to stay in the Penzance, Lands End, Sennen area and do all the beaches around the coast between Penzance and Sennen, Porthcurno, Chapel Porth, Lamorna, Sennen Cove, some are a bit of a hike down though fantastic!
St Michaels Mount is worth a visit, also St Ives, good campsites on the hill above St Ives, good beaches around the bay, also the the Lizzard, the Helford River is beautiful also Fowey, the Eden Project is worth a visit also the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth.
Any everyone should get to the Isles of Scilly at least once in their lives.
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Lamorna Cove is beautiful and the mackerel at The Wink is a perfect lunch!
We had breakfast at the Cove last Midsummers Day, sitting outside in the sun and it was deserted:)
Scilly Isles by helicopter is worth doing too, then a boat trip to Tresco to the sub-tropical gardens.
Pat
Last edited by: pda on Tue 1 Jun 10 at 08:25
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Well ... all's been said really,
I've been a Cornish Cockney for 14 years and 1st came here 30 years ago and fell in love with the place,
Sooooooooo different from sowf east lunden :)
I actually find it hard to recommend places to go or stay etc., etc. cos we're all different, innit.
With the ole ww you can check out a place before ye go (inc. streetview) ~ amazing tech.
There is a decent cycle route called the Camel Trail ~
www.bing.com/reference/semhtml?title=Camel_Trail&qpvt=camel+trail&src=abop&q=camel+trail&fwd=1
Although I've yet to see a camel there'
Much of Cornwall is hilly (like Scotland) so cycling not as cushy as the Fen's :)
St. Ives is always nice to visit, so is Fowey, Pol(perro), Newlyn, Mousehole, Padstein, Mother Ivy's bay, etc., etc.
I quite like the far West of Cornwall as well, places like Zennor, Pendeen, St. Just, Lands End (I could go on!)
But best to be guided for other ppl who have visited the place as tourists than someone who luvs the place (like me)
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...what is it like for cycling?...
Not good - too busy, too narrow and too many hills.
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We prefer to day-tour from towns and like Falmouth. It has an excellent maritime musuem for your youngsters and you can take a ferry across to St. Mawes and its castle.
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>> ...what is it like for cycling?...
>>
>> Not good - >>
Oh I dont know, the Camel Trail is great (Padstow) and the coast around the Lizard can be cycled.
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This is a nice pub where I've had one too many (hangovers) drinking HSD (Hicks) hic!
www.risingsunmevagissey.com/index.htm
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We drove around Cornwall in the Summer a couple of years ago during a tour of the South of the England. We were lucky with the weather, visited some nice coves, did quite a bit of walking and enjoyed the sea.
Made the mistake of basing ourselves in Newquay though, which turned out to be full of stag and hen parties. Lands End was a disappointment as well. Reminded me of a very downmarket fairground.
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>> Made the mistake of basing ourselves in Newquay
"Pukey Newquay". Eurgh.
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>> Made the mistake of basing ourselves in Newquay though, which turned out to be full
>> of stag and hen parties. Lands End was a disappointment as well. Reminded me of
>> a very downmarket fairground.
>>
Newquay itself is as you say though Watergate Bay, a couple of miles north, is great.
Lands End is a little too commercialised though walk through it for the views and you will not be disapointed.
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Lizard Point is unspoilt (or it was the last time i went there) and is how Lands End should still be rather than the tacky theme park it has been turned into.
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Thanks for the advice and suggestions so far - keep them coming!
Re Lands End, strange saying it has been turned into a theme park - I have been to John O'Groats and other than a tacky road sign, there really is very little else there!!
OK, it won't get the same weather as Lands End I suppose...
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>> Re Lands End, strange saying it has been turned into a theme park >>
A theme park is really over stating it, there is a commercialised area that you can go through and leave behind before getting to the cliffs and the views.
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Last time i was there (Lands End) there was nothing but one cottagey type house with the words "The first and last house in England" painted in big white letters on the roof. Back in the Sixties (when i was there, Northern folk always went to Blackpool!) it was "posh" to have a holiday so far away, and the "must-do" thing for visitors was to have your photo taken standing in front of the signpost, with America 3042 (i think) prominently showing.
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Edit:
Out of nostagia i`ve just "Googled" "Lands End" and am horrified to discover that the Cottagey house now resembles the Munsters Mansion, and that the Signpost is "Privately owned" by proffesional photographers, who actually take-in the finger boards at night to stop folk having thier photo`s taken with the post without paying!!! Outrageous!!
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Thanks for advice etc, looks like its going to be the MonkeyTrees Holiday Park about 5 miles outside Newquay www.monkeytreeholidaypark.co.uk/ due to availability and cost.
Re cycling does anyone, by chance know what the road from here to Newquay is like for cycling?
Also is it easy to work your way down the coastline by bike (if we took the bikes by car to the coast) or are there few paths/roads near the actual coast?
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BobbyG, take my advice. Buy an OS landranger map of the area. Generally cornwall is not hospitible to bikes - lots of hills and noarrow lanes, tho for getting around the immediate area round Newquay may be useful.
www.dash4it.co.uk/store/
cheap OS maps, delivered next day by first class post. landranger maps are ideal, the scale is good to cover a large area per map, but detailed enough to be very useful.
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 8 Jun 10 at 11:03
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It seems as if BG has now made his decision, but here are a few reflections for anyone interested.
My acquaintance with Cornwall goes back many decades; due to my parents' love of the area my aunt, uncle (now sadly deceased) and one cousin moved into the Falmouth area years ago. There are now second and third cousins littering up the place!
Yes, a lot of Cornwall is bleak and severe on the eye. It lacks great architecture, beyond occasional gems like Truro Cathedral and some attractive country houses. There's St Michaels's Mount Castle. The structures of the Eden Project are certainly striking, and this is one place that I defy anyone not to find interesting and enjoyable.
What is truly lovely about the Duchy is its lush gardens and creekside woods in the more sheltered areas, for example, the Helford River. Did I not mention the powerful westerly storms that pound more exposed parts? And it has more than its share of rainfall. Gardens like Trebah, Glendurgan (perhaps my favourite), Lanhydrock, Trerice, Trengwainton, Trevarno and The Lost Gardens of Heligan are outstanding - and there are plenty more.
Cornwall does quaint very well - little villages like Mousehole, Cadgwith, Porthleven, Marazion and many, many more; towns like St Ives (be sure to visit the Barbara Hepworth house and museum - stunning!), Falmouth, Helston (catch the Furry Dance on May Day) or Padstow ("Padstein") (for the 'Obby 'Oss).
Though days can be windy, wet and grey, when it's fine the light rivals that of the Mediterranean and this is what drew artists to places like St Ives. British weather being what it is, you can't rely on it, however.
Though I love Cornwall ( and have been known to claim honorary citizenship - oh, yes, my 'andsome, my cocker!) I would never plan my main holiday there. We go once or twice a year for a few days at a time to visit relatives and take pot-luck with the weather.
And there's the traffic - though most of the main route is now "dualled" it can still be awful. Someone I met recently was saying they start out at three in the morning, stick the radio on and drive like hell, stopping for the occasional coffee. That way they're there by breakfast with the whole day ahead of them. (We're talking about starting from Hertfordshire.)
For me, Cornwall is one of the notable parts of the UK, but I have considerable ambivalence towards it.
Last edited by: ChrisPeugeot on Tue 8 Jun 10 at 11:26
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>>>MonkeyTrees Holiday Park
Oh my god, Monkey Tree Farm (as it was then).. sudden flashes of memories long forgotten of a summer camping holiday there with my uncle who was only a few years older than me (and had a car - vauxhall carlton I believe). I was 14/15 and the memories now remembered seem to revolve around two things - fantastic area/scenery and illicit booze/local girlies in the back of said carlton!!! Oh to be young and carefree again....
Last edited by: Everest Pete on Tue 8 Jun 10 at 12:02
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>> its going to be the MonkeyTrees Holiday Park
Try and get somehere away from the "clubhouse", and away from paths to/from it.
>> Re cycling does anyone, by chance know what the road from here to Newquay is
>> like for cycling?
Busy, depending on time.
>> Also is it easy to work your way down the coastline by bike (if we
>> took the bikes by car to the coast) or are there few paths/roads near the
>> actual coast?
I used to go up and down the coast path on a foldable shopping bicycle, however it goes up and down a bit, and isn't always suitable for bicycles. It's all a bit iffy re cycling.
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It's in Scotland road, so should make you feel @ home ~ tinyurl.com/2albawe
Most roads in Cornwall are up & down - especially to the coast & back,
Mountain (type) bikes would be favourite to follow the actual coastline,
I echo what Mr. Zed says Re: the O/S Explorer maps,
Monkey Tree are the best ppl to ask about cycling to & fro their site,
Don't be too concerned Re: Tales o' Newquay - it's got some 'world class' surfing beaches.
Enjoy your holiday!
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Thanks Dog, at least I know when the Google car was there it was lovely blue sky!!
Determined that since we are there for a week, we will make the most of it and try and see as much as possible, including the various ideas that have been posted here, as opposed to sitting about on my fat arrs and eating Pringles and drinking beer!
Although I am just going to search Ebay for a nice Carlton just in case..... :)
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Have a look around St. Agens if you get time ~ www.cornwalls.co.uk/photos/img478.htm
On the far left of the pic you can get some idea of the coastal path!!
Perranporth has a good long sandy beach but can get quite busy at times, still nice though.
Grrreat Sunsets o'er the North coast (whether the weather!)
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>>Although I am just going to search Ebay for a nice Carlton just in case..... :)
If it's metallic blue check the seats for stains :->
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Well I would like to thank Dog for his recommendation on cycling the Camel Trail (though my missus and kids probably won't)
We did this on Tuesday, a total of 38 or 40 miles, depending on whether you believe my cycle computer (38) or my Nokia GPS Sports tracker (40 miles).
We all slept well that night!
Nice cycle route though my son ended up in the bushes at the side when we came across a bunch of about 20 giggling schoolgirls who were all over the road!! Route is nice from Padstow when you are bordering the lake but very quickly the route becomes a path between trees with nothing to see!
Yesterday we went to Lands End, what a complete rip off. £4 to park (actually £4 to enter as the barriers are up before the car park), the usual commercial touristy tat for sale and pretty much not much else to see (well what do you expect at the end of the country, I know!). Went on down to Penzance which was quite nice.
On Monday we spent the day in Newquay and was very impressed, some cracking beaches, nice cliff top walks and plenty to see. Watched a boat coming in with its weekly catch of crabs which on speaking to the fisheries officer, these were apparently going to be shipped to Spain as they consume them more than us Brits!
So all in all, a lovely part of the country, could do with getting the A30 expanded a bit. Oh, and saw 3 accidents on the way down, the worst being a car and caravan which had obviously been caught out by the long steep downhill with the notices at the top saying "towing vehicles proceed with caution". Although when passing, the caravan appeared to be too big IMHO for the Ford Focus which was towing it and it was easy to see how the caravan maybe took control on the downhill!
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>> the Camel Trail (snip) is nice from Padstow when you are bordering the lake
What "lake"? Do you mean the Camel estuary?
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The Lizard is more impressive then Lands End (IMHO) and free.
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>>Well I would like to thank Dog for his recommendation on cycling the Camel Trail<<
Cheers Bobby ~ glad you all enjoyed your hols and that the weather wasn't too bad (for Cornwall)
Yes, Lands End is a rip off, I go there quite often ~ in the Winter :)
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Cornwall Holiday Advice - RattleandSmoke
