Polperro & St. Ives, Cornwall, UK???
 

Just curious as to anyone's opinion on either of these places? A friend brought them to my attention and I want to start to look into possibly making plans to visit sometime next fall or spring. We like places that aren't packed with tourists...sort of the "off-the-beaten-path" places. Anyone here have anything they would like to comment on?

Thanks in advance for any and all info!!!

Strangely enough, your description of places without a lot of tourists is EXACTLY what you will NOT experience in Polperro and St. Ives. Our experiences with both places were...traffic that almost jammed both towns to a complete stop...no place at all to park...we got out as fast as we could. Both are strangling on their picturesqueness, wall-to-wall tourists, and antique road systems.

Here's another point of view from our experience (in August)...

Yes, both places had tourists but that did not detract from our enjoyment of them.

Remember - there's a reason why places are "packed with tourists". They are, by definition, scenic.

Having said that, there are many, many "off-the-beaten-path" places in Cornwall that are attractive!

On a driving tour of Deven, Cornwall and the "Land's End", we found St. Ives to be perhaps the biggest disappointment of all. I found it a rather charmless city clogged with traffic. We spent one night, but wished we hadn't.

Ooops. Yes, I know --- Devon.

As the others say - St Ives and Polperro are most definitely NOT off the beaten path. In fact they are probably the most ON the beaten path towns anywhere in Cornwall. The reason is that both are lovely. In Summer they are literally wall to wall people and cars.

But in Spring or Autumn they are both a LOT less crowded. I would not go near St Ives in August -- but for a trip in late September or in April/May (as long as you avoid the Easter period) both places are very nice.

We were in St. Ives in September. We certainly weren't the only ones there, but it wasn't horrible. I liked it better than the Cotswolds. Do try a Cornish pasty.

P.S. Staying near Truro, we were advised to take the train into St Ives, which we of course did. It was good advise from our B&B hosts.

We have been in Cornwall in late October, stayed in a BnB in West Looe and used that as a base to drive to Polperro and St. Ives. Some of the photos from Polperro show only my wife in the scene and those in St. Ives an almost empty beach. It was school holidays so there were children playing in the water and surfers in body suits. The weather was beautiful. Parking in St Ives was in a huge parking lot overlooking the harbor which had free shuttle service to the center.

We love going places out of season. (Brugge in November, Paris and London in Feb.& Nov.) The disadvantage can be that certain things are closed; the Tate St Ives had closed for the season the year we visited and the canal boats in Bruge were to close in a couple od days. As New Englanders, we can put up with almost any weather and adjust our daily activities and clothing accordingly.

THANK YOU...ALL of you!!! This is just the kind of info I wanted...a little mixed...but that's good. Like I said, just toying with the idea. On our trips, we do self-catering and prefer to just fall into the village way of life!!!!

Okay...TuckH...can you give some names of the off-the-beaten-path places in Cornwall that you'd recommend!

I'll try - in some cases the path may have been a bit trod upon however.

Mevagissey, Portloe, St Mawes, Helford Passage (and ferry), Coverack, Mullion Cove, Mousehole, St Agnes, Crantock, Padstow. Don't miss the more known St Michael's Mount and Tintagel!

Thank-you again TuckH! I'll check them all out! Mousehole, Mullion Cove and Helford Passage sound interesting :-)

ginny, you should read this article published Jan 31 in The Times.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...982157,00.html

Thank-you jsmith...I'll check it out!!!!

We were in Cornwall in June 2003. Our hosts told us we had timed it perfectly as the roads are impassible in the height of summer.

We arrive at Gatwick and drove directly to Lyme Regis (in Dorchester . . . where they filmed The French Lieutenant's Woman"), about 4-5 hours. You may wish to go further, but we were just exhausted after our transatlantic flight from Dallas, and that was as far as we could go. Stayed at the Alexandra Hotel. Had a lovely walk on the Promenade before dinner. Gorgeous views and a very nice restaurant.

From there we drove to Looe, had lunch, toured Polperro. Very picturesque, teeming with tourists, but who cares? We spent the night in Mevagissey at Portmellon Cove B&B. Highly recommended. Be careful driving through Mevagissy as the road is VERY narrow, and cars are going both ways! We hit a wall there and scraped the fender of our rental car.

Next day, we drove on to St. Mawes, where we toured the castle. Then drove out to the Lizard, which was great. The lighthouse is highly photographable. We spent the next two nights at a fantastic B&B, Ednovean Farm. The room was very stylish, and we had our own private patio. You can walk to the pub, Victoria Inn, from there, and have a nice dinner. Breakfast was a gourmet feast. There's a view of St. Michael's Mount across the fields, and it makes an excellent base for exploring Southern Cornwall. You can easily drive to St. Ives and Penzance, and Mousehole. We went out to Logan Rock, a great walk across the fields, and you get a great view of the Minack Theater from there.

Our last stop in Cornwall was in Boscastle, where we stayed at the Bottreaux Hotel. The room was very comfortable, and I would go back there just for the food! We stayed there after climbing all over Tintagel, which will wear you out. We fell in love with Boscastle.

We had one more overnight on our trip, at Lynmouth and Lynton on the north Devon Coast. We stayed at the Rising Sun, a VERY old hotel. We enjoyed it, but there are probably better choices. We loved the town, a great place to walk around.

Don't miss Glastonbury Abbey on your drive back to London. It is very picturesque, but it will break your heart to see the destruction by Henry VIII.

Be sure to read some of Daphne du Maurier's novels before you go. Have a wonderful time. I wish I were going again!

Hi Virgo839...sounds like you really enjoyed the area! Thanks so much for your input! I have been to the UK a number of times over the last 10 years and have loved all the areas I have visited!!!!