gabeluis

Hello, all,

Our family of five (two parents, three kids--14, 12, 10) is considering a week-long trip to Cornwall in mid-August. We are not familiar with the area and were hoping for some feedback. Is it mainly a beach area and something that would be packed in August? Or is the beach scene only part of the package?

If there a hidden gems of towns/villages that we should explore, and if you have recommendations for B&Bs (particularly ones with family rooms), that information would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
Gabe Gonzalez
Silver Spring, Maryland USA

PalenQ

Very few beaches in England are packed ever - the weather and water often being cool and nowadays folks jetting off to Ibiza or the Canaries or Spain for a proper beach experience.

The beach scene is minor today I think. Not that seaside towns like St Ives are not tourist magnets but having been there one August I did not feel it was over crowded.

Don't miss St Michael's Mount - the English version of Mont-Saint-Michel in France - built by the same order of monks and also a pilgrimage church on an island that at times is part of the mainland and at times an island.

http://www.stmichaelsmount.co.uk/

MmePerdu

I spent a couple of weeks in Cornwall and, while not a beach person, I did walk along the coast paths and noticed several good beach areas surrounding St. Ives. And I don't think it would be a stretch to say you could walk from one area to another, given the small size of the town and ages of your children.

There's also a bus service that does a circular route west along the coast, past Land's End (or get off at Sennen Cove and walk the Coast Path to Land's End), on to Penzance then back up to St. Ives, which you could use to also see St. Michael's Mount.

jamikins

We spent a week in padstow in 2010 in mid-Aug and it rained almost the whole week...bad luck I guess! We still enjoyed it...but it was very busy...getting to and from London took a good 7+ hours with a short stop for lunch on the weekends. The roads were very busy near the beach towns - st Ives, Penzance, Padstow - so be prepared for delays.

You can see our photos here about 3/4 down the page (harbour full of boats)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pug_gi...7637219655175/

Some places we loved were Mousehole, Polperro, Looie.

Enjoy!

latedaytraveler

Hi Jamikins,

Those are absolutely fabulous pics of the English countryside covering such a wide swath! And thanks for labeling them, really appreciate it.

I am going to share this link with my dear friend who goes to Ireland regularly (family there) but has never visited the Britain.

jamikins

Thanks Lateday...glad you enjoyed them,mi hope your friend does too! The countryside is so beautiful here it's hard not to get a great shot!