Hello.
My husband and I are planning a trip for Cornwall at the end of this month for 6 days. There is so much to see and do, we know that 6 days is a very short time, however, we're having a hard time narrowing down what to see and do, and where to stay!

We're both in our 30's and will be driving from London so will be having a car with us. We're interested in hikes, walks (of medium difficulty), places of scenic beauty, old fishing villages, seaside views, and local FOOD! Not too interested in busy town centres.

Our budge is for mid-priced B&B's, and the occasional splash-out for a meal.

Any suggestions of where we should base ourselves? Parking would be preferable. I'm wondering if we should stay 3 days in one town, and then 3 days in another to see more?

Secondly, any suggestions of good walks and especially mid-priced restaurants/ pubs/ dives for delicious local food? Also, where can I taste the best cornish pasties and clotted creme?

Any suggestions of must-have local ingredients to take back with me to London?

Many thanks!!!

gtrekker2003

P.S. We have National Trust membership and are hoping to take advantage of it.

We are thinking of this for next year (May 2010) so I will read the responses with great interest!

Our first thought is to stay in Mousehole (for walking around Land's End and taking the bus to the Lizard for walking there). But since we've never been there I don't know if that is a good choice or not.

enzian,

this is what I read on another forum about Mousehole:
"You will find Moushole is on the South coast just round from Penzance. & next to Newlyn. There is not a lot there. What there is, is nice."

Just FYI. I don't know from my own experience though.

I am only really familiar with the top end of the north Cornish coast. For several summers I've rented a house in Boscastle, though one year we stayed in a converted stable at a country house just outside Bude.

There are great walks all along that part of the coast, just get an OS map of the area.

As far as pasties go, you can get them all over Cornwall - but don't buy the pre-packed ones at supermarkets and service stations! Go to a proper pasty shop - there is a very good one in Tintagel where they make and bake them on the premises. And the little bakery in Boscastle also make their own, as does a store on the high street in Bude. Lovely to eat on the beach on a cold windy day LOL! (In July that was!)

There are some very pleasant restaurants in Boscastle, try googling something like ''Tourist Information Boscastle'' and you'll get loads of pages to choose from regarding restaurants and accommodation.

You might like St Nectan's Glen, in a hidden valley off the road between Tintagel and Boscastle...

http://www.tintagelweb.co.uk/St%20Nectan's%20Glen.htm

It is such a quiet and secret place, with this magical waterfall. Try to go early or later in the day to avoid lots of other people seeking tranquillity in this special place.

Anyway, Cornwall is a surprisingly large county, and it takes a lot of time to drive from one end to the other. I can't tell you much about the rest of the county as I only know the top end a bit, and I once went to the Eden Project! But now I've topped this for you and hopefully our Fodors' Cornwall resident, annhig, will see it and be able to help you more.

Good luck!

Not sure it will help or not but we spent some time in Cornwall in 2008. We were in Padstow to experience 'all things Rick Stein", which was wonderful. Our favourite 'castle' of our month long trip to the UK was Tintagel. I've attached my report in case you want to have a read. (scroll down to the July 28 08, 8.09pm entry and you’ll find Cornwall)
Good luck
AD

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-adventure.cfm

Thanks julia_t and aussiedreamer for the suggestions. So much to see and not enough time....as is always the case I think. Look forward to any other suggestions.

gtrekker2003

hi gtrekker,

i spotted this [thanks, julia] and so far you've had some great ideas. 6 nights isn't long, but it's certainly enough to see some of both the north and south coasts, which are really quite different, in character and often in weather too!

my suggestion would be to pick a couple of places, one on the north coast, and another on the south, and use them as bases for exploring, whether by car or on foot.

if you want to stay in/near towns, on the north coast you've got Boscastle, Port Isaac [think Doc Martin] Padstow [or Padstein as some locals like to call it] and St. Ives, which in late april would be my favourite, as there are simply loads of great restaurants and plenty to do and see, good walking from the town, and easy access to the coast. we went there last night for supper [at the well-respected Porthminster Beach cafe] and it was lovely. I would not advise going there in school hols, however - the traffic is appalling.

on the south coast, I would suggest Penzance, from where you could see Newlyn, Mousehole, Land's end, and Porthcurno [the Minack theatre and Telegraph Museum] OR Falmouth, which would give you easy access to the Lizard, and, by boat, St. Mawes and Flushing, as well as Carrick Roads.

I can't help a great deal with accommodation; as we live here, we tend not to stay away from home in Cornwall, but I can always try to give you a steer as we may have heard of the place/s you are thinking about.

hope this helps - do come back to me with any queries.

regards, ann

Hi Ann.

I just spotted this. Thanks so much for your reply. We're very much looking forward to this trip and trying out some of your suggestions!

ann

How was the service - I think I mentioned before we went to the Beach Cafe 18 months ago for my official 40th - the food was sparse and the service quite simply the most bullying I have ever experienced. Simply a case of "you've got this table for a half hour lunch then you're off. At our earlier visit four years previous we had one of life's great lunches.

ps we have given up on the idea of moving down - we have bought a holiday cottage in SW Scotland (micro Cornwall without the food).

gtrekker

We loved Falmouth as a base. You can use the water taxi to get around the estuary. There are good valley walks at Heligan and Trebah gardens. The area south of Falmouth is a good base as it is quieter but has easy access to the rest of Cornwall. Try the beach at Hayle outside St Ives (everyone has their favourite - this is ours).

Favourite pub : Pandoro Inn, Restronguet Creek. Bar meal on a pontoon that goes out into the estuary that has been home to a number of Olympic sailors.

gtrekker - glad you found it. have a great time.

mark - perhaps we were lucky, as the service was fine. it ought to be at those prices, which are at the top end of what we want to pay for a family meal, though it was a "special occasion". I do agree with you about Falmouth - there are even more boats now as some go up to the National trust gardens at Trelissick. Heligan is a bit further afield, though still accessible if you get the King Harry Ferry across the carrick roads to the Roseland, and then head off across country.

godrevy is our favourite beach - just a bit further down from Hayle and now blessed with its own trendy beach cafe. it's easier to get to from St. Ives or even Penzance than from Falmouth, which has several great beaches in or near the town itself, including Gyllyngvase [?spelling?] again with very good beach cafe. but you could stay in Falmouth for a fortnight and still not see everything. AND you don't really need a car. - there aren't many places in Cornwall that you can say that about.

The Pandora is good - just won an award for its food, but again getting pricey, even in the bar. for informal meals we like the cafe at Mylor Harbour, which is another boaty place.

i hope that the scottish cottage is all that you would wish.

regards, ann