Waterloo12

Our family of 5 is leaving (from Canada) for a 2 week trip to the UK in a week, the 1st week we are visiting relatives in various places (Chelmsford, Salisbury and near Reading) and for the 2nd week we have rented a cottage in Mevagissey, Cornwall. We will have a rental car. I was there as a child and remember it being beautiful and quite special. I have an itinerary planned but we are flexible depending on how we are feeling. We are traveling with our 3 kids, two are late teens, and one is 10yrs old. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I didn't want to spend the whole week driving and rushing around but we still wanted to get out and have some planned outings and see some different sites (order may depend on weather).

Day 1: I have booked a motor boat at Helford Passage for us to go up the river/estuary and have a picnic (I stayed in Helford when I was younger and wanted to re-visit), after the boat rental we will take the ferry over to Helford Village and look around, maybe visit the pub. Alternatively we could stay on the Helford Passage side and walk along the South West Coast trail to the Trebah Gardens.
Day 2: Drive to Polperro, walk into the village centre and walk along the SWC trail to Talland Bay, there we plan to eat lunch at one of the cafes. We will probably turn back to Polperro then (instead of going all the way to Looe) but we will see. We can then wander around Polperro, see the town, shops, have a drink/ice cream.
Day 3: We plan to drive to Golitha Falls near the Bodmin Moor for a short walk and then on to explore Tintagel Castle. In the late afternoon I wan to visit Port Isaac (Doc Martin fan) then drive back to Mevagissey, stopping for dinner at the Polgooth Inn for dinner.
Day 4: Take the 10am ferry from Mevagissey to Fowey, and explore Fowey for the day. We will consider the Hall Walk (I know this will take awhile), the aquarium, or look around and have lunch, or walk to Readymoney Cove/beach (teenage girls will like this if it's nice out).
Day 5: Drive to St. Mawes and look around and perhaps walk up to the castle. Then take the ferry over to Falmouth. Not sure what we will plan exactly here. Maybe walk to Gylly Beach Cafe for lunch and a sit on the beach.
Day 6: We have a mackerel fishing trip booked in Mevagissey through Aquila Charters at 10am then have the afternoon free (it's only 1 1/2 - 2 hours long). I thought of either a drive to visit Lanhydrock Mansion (I think this takes all afternoon to explore?), or Lost Gardens of Heligan.
I have left out some other things that interested us like St Michael's Mount, a trip to St. Ives, the Minach theatre, and exploring the Lizard Penninsula as I didn't want to cram too much driving in. Any thoughts?
Thanks so much in advance for any ideas/information or tips.
Liz

RM67

This is a really great itinerary. I especially love the boat hire and picnic, and the fact that you have also included the moors, which are beautiful. Definitely yes to the Gylly beach café, even if all you do is have brunch there. Also be sure to get some bits and pieces to go with your mackerel - fab baked in mustard, with salad and crusty bread on the side.

You can decide on the Minack depending on the weather. I love Trellisick for a great creekside walk. Yes to St Ives if you can squeeze it in - the light is amazing. Newlyn is an alternative art and gallery fix - much quieter and smaller, though a longer drive from where you are based. You might like the maritime museum in Falmouth - its very interesting and has a great roof top café.

RM67

PS The kids might like to try some surfing or body boarding - lots of the beaches do lessons and hire. Newquay is the most obvious choice, but see also Praa sands.

Waterloo12

Thank you so much RM67! I hadn't heard of Trelissick before, it looks beautiful and our family loves to hike and explore. Also good to know the maritime museum is recommended in Falmouth, that might be good if the weather is not ideal for the beach that day. My girls both said "Yes, let's try surfing!" when I told them your suggestion. It looks as if Newquay will be about a 45 min drive for us and Praa Sands just over an hour which isn't too far either way.

janisj

Very nice plans.

You may not have time to hit everyplace - the travel can be very slow.

>> It looks as if Newquay will be about a 45 min drive for us and Praa Sands just over an hour which isn't too far either way.<<

Praa Sands will be about a 90 minute drive and Newquay about an hour (the on-line calculators drive times are generally VERY optimistic and you need to add at least 25% and often a lot more)

Your Bodmin/Tintagel/Port Isaac day will require nearly 4 hours 'car time' plus the various stops.

Not that you should skip any of them -- just understand getting around will take longer than you may imagine.

Waterloo12

Thank you Janisj, that is good advise. I'm glad I didn't plan even more then I did given the added driving time. I think we are ok with the 4 hours of driving on the Tintagel day, we will certainly try it, the question is weather we can squeeze everything in (where we live it can take a long time to drive to some places as it is so spread out, and a 4-5 hour drive is not so unusual, BUT we don't have roads like the little ones in Cornwall!). Do the other days seem reasonable?

RM67

I find the online route planners to be pretty accurate tbh. I'm British and use them a lot. Also the drives can be quite pleasant when you are catching glimpses of the coast, old tin mines, standing stones etc (depending on route, obviously). You will also find plenty of unexpected places to stop - roadside galleries, potteries, and tea rooms, if you start to flag a bit.

PalenQ

Clovelly is a very popular place for Brits - an old village that literally tumbles down to the sea- donkeys used to be the only public transit - now sidelined but you can walk down thru this lovely old small village:

https://www.google.com/search?q=clov...w=1745&bih=868

Simply loved Tintagel and glad we stayed the night - walking around late in afternoon on the clifftop area the ancient fortress was built on overlooking a usually active sea was great - anyway do not rush thru just to see the castle ruins.

tuscanlifeedit

We stayed in Mevagissey once and had a great time exploring from there. Near St Mawes, one of our very favorite stops was St Juse in Roseland church and cemetery. A gorgeous setting.

janisj

>>Clovelly is a very popular place for Brits << . . . 'cept it ain't in Cornwall.

PalenQ

Oops- thought we drove by Clovelly and stopped there before Tintagle but must have been after - very close I think but yes scrap that daft idea unless you want to detour just 35 miles north along the coast to unique Clovelly.

But I see that their itinerary is already planned down to the minute it seems- which is fine!

janisj

>>very close I think<<


nope - a little over an hour's drive.

tuscanlifeedit

My post needs edited. That should be St JusT in Roseland. Lovely.

Waterloo12

Thank you everyone so much. I did plan each day PalenQ just in case... I was a little worried about doing that. But our family has tried travelling both ways: planned and unplanned (we do a larger trip every 1-2 years) and we all agree given our family dynamics we do better when I plan things for us to do! I am sure the older teens will go off on their own now and then (they are 18 and 19yrs) when they need a break!!
Tuscanlifeedit, the church at St Just near St Mawes looks so lovely, I would love to stop by there on the way to or from St Mawes, Thank you for the suggestion.
Clovelly looks gorgeous by the way, what a beautiful setting. Wish we could do it all!!

tuscanlifeedit

Waterloo, we have gone to Cornwall twice, once to the upper coast with Tintagel and Clovelly and also Devon.

The next time was when we stayed in Mevagissey.

I'd go back to Cornwall tomorrow.