I would greatly appreciate any advice on a hotel or alternative place to stay for a holiday next summer. Any suggestions on where to eat and what to do would also be appreciated. Thank you for your help.

You might like to check the little cottage (The birdcage, night in the village) from National Trust, www.nationaltrustcottages.co.uk, I have been thinking of staying there for couple years.

We visited Pt Isaac in September 2006. We stayed in Truro and hired a car for a few days. Depending on how much time you want to spend in Pt Isaac or Cornwall in general, Truro is a nice central location. We stayed at the Truro Townhouse which is a family run small hotel/large B&B.

Sorry, can't help with accommodation for Pt Isaac itself. We parked just out of the village (old roads are really narrow) and walked a 10 minute stroll in to the centre of the old village. The coastal views were lovely.

Thanks for you help. It would be great to find a place in the village or on one of the beautiful hills or cliffs perched over the sea. Unfortunately the National Trust web site is down at the moment, but I will take a look later.

You could look on this website...

http://www.cornwall-online.co.uk/acc-portisaac.htm

...and The Old School House is in a wonderful location overlooking the harbour. I've only eaten there but it looks lovely and I can recommend the food!

You might also find something here...

http://www.westcountry-online.com/to...-Portisaac.asp

Here's the link to the Old School House website...

http://www.cornwall-online.co.uk/old-school-hotel/

Thank you Julia. Headlands Hotel looks good. It would be great to hear from anyone who has stayed there or other places with sea views. I have also wondered whether there is some way of going directly from Cornwall to Ireland by ferry etc ?

Hi, SS,

so far as i know [and I live here in cornwall] there are no direct ferries to Ireland from Cornwall.
the most direct route would be to get a ferry to France [Plymouth - Brittany] then another to Cork.

or drive to fishguard in Wales and get the ferry from there.

you can fly to Edinburgh or Belfast from Newquay, which is about 30-45 minutes from Port gaverne which is where the Headlands hotel is [not to be confused with the Headland hotel which is in Newquay].

regards, ann

Thank you Ann. Wales to Ireland sounds like a good option. I became fascinated by the scenery of the north coast of Cornwall after watching the Doc Martin series here in Australia. The area reminds me in a way of the Cinque Terre region. Hopefully there are some great walks around the coast and along the headlands of the Port Isaac area. Advice from the locals is always greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

We stayed a couple of years ago at Rooke Country Cottages. Fabulous self contained acoomodation. We drove not very far to Port Isaac,then did a few walks. Beautiful scenery. There is a pub near the cottages but we cooked each night. It doesnt have sea views but the quality of the accomodation and easy location to everything in the area certainly compensates.

It's my recollection- it's a very long time since I was in Port Isaac-that there are no hotels in the village at all.

B&B and self catering only. But it IS lovely.

Hi Sydney,

at www.cornwall-online.co.uk, you will find a list of accommodation in the area of Port Issac and port gaverne.

if you'd like any specific details on the locations of anywhere you like the look of, I'll try to oblige, though as we live here, be don't have much experience of staying in hotels in the area!

there are lots of lovely walks in the area - in fact the whole of the coast is one long footpath. also you would be close to a number of nice gardens and beaches, and, of course, the Eden Project.

regards, ann

Yes I noticed that that "long footpath" is the subject of another recent thread. Thank you for bringing our attention to it. I was thinking that the area may have some of the characteristics of the Cinque Terre region of Italy, but when I read the description of climate I can see that it is somewhat cooler there in Cornwall. I presume that the seafood is good there, but maybe beaches and swimming are not as popular.

Cornwall is one of the most popular beach destinations for the British - it's generally the sunniest part of the country, although obviously likely to be cooler than Italy. You can't guarantee good weather - last summer was pretty awful, but there was a good run of hot (for us) summers for several years before that.

Hi sydney,

what nonconformist said.

some hardy souls swim all year round, but usually in wet suits in the winter, spring and autumn [and summer if it's like last year].

but beach walks are also lovely, and if you are lucky and hit the right beach on the right day, swimming is not impossible.

also for walking, the [relatively] cool Cornish weather is probably more comfortable that the heat of the CT.

regards, ann

Ps - nonconformist - do you live in C'wall too?

No, but lots of fond memories of childhood holidays there. And we always swam!

A couple of years ago we had a lovely stay at Cotehele in one of the National Trust cottages (not beach), on the Devon/Cornwall borders. We had wonderful weather (June IIRC), and it's one of my favourite trips to remember - very relaxed, but lots to see in the area.

Thank you all for your comments. We will try to get there as close to mid-summer as possible. If anyone has recommendations for good restaurant or other local experiences we would be grateful. My Family migrated to Cornwall from Holland around the time that William of Orange became Monarch, so some of the time there will be around the town of Lostwithiel.