BetsyB

We will be spending 4 days in this area and would love suggestions for some quaint, picturesque towns to visit. Does anyone have suggestions of nice B&B's in the area. Beer near Seaton was suggested to us. We need one night in the Plymouth area. Our trip is in early May.

xxx

Beer is indeed a pleasant, typically English (not too smart!) seaside resort. It's certainly nicer than Seaton. Note that the towns in this area are quite inaccessible! Sidmouth and Budleigh Salterton are a little bigger, and both are nice.<BR><BR>Nearer Plymouth, I would suggest Salcombe for seaside charm (quite upmarket). Alternatively, you could look around Tavistock for something with a wilder feel.<BR><BR>For B&Bs try www.theaa.com .

Mavis

Have no recommendations for B&Bs, we normally stay in self catering cottages and not sure how far into Cornwall you plan to go. But places we love include: Cotehele, northeast of Plymouth, lovely ancient house, can also have lunch there - try carrot-vegetable soup; Lanhydrock, another amazing estate just south of Bodmin Moor (where you can drop in for a pub at the Jamaica Inn - we were there in a lightning storm and the lights went out, very spooky), depending on time of year you go (we were there in May) will see amazing flowers (we got the tulips and forget me nots together) and there are 49 rooms to visit, must be most of any estate; St. Just-in-Roseland - church there on water's edge surrounded by gardens, very lush, headstones everywhere; St. Mawes, walk thru village and then out to Castle overlooking water, subtropical here will even see palm trees; Pandora Inn is a great pub (13th c. thatched, smugglers' hideaway) at Restronguet Creek; Porthleven is a small fishing village with two great pubs (The Ship Inn and The Harbour Inn - try their rib-eye steak w. onion rings, also features a lot in the Wycliffe mysteries on PBS; lots of charity shops in Helston, we bought some real treasures to take home, replaced a blouse we had to throw away and loaded up on paperbacks to read; Marazion and St. Michael's Mount - do this in good weather so you can walk across to castle on rock instead of taking a little boat; Trebah Gardens, is over 100 years old and is full of rare and exotic plants, leads to private beach on Helford River where some of the American D-Day troops left from; Tintagel - also a place ppl seem to either love or hate, but we loved walking along the cliffs; Widemouth Bay - great beach; Port Isaac - another interesting fishing village; Penzance if you need a bit bigger town to shop in or visit pubs and Boscastle, another great walk along cliffs over the sea. <BR>Would miss St. Ives altho many people seem to love it, when we were there it was overrun w. tourists (why is that tourists never like to bump into other tourists?) and everything smelled like deep-fried fish and chips (altho the museum was good). Have fun.

JMM

Lynton/Lynmouth - gorgeous area for walks<BR>Lyme Regis - especially if you have read the French Lieutenant's Woman or Persuasion

dg

Avoid the Highcliffe Hotel in Lynton like the plague--bad service, unpleasant owners

ss

Looe is a beautiful town on the southern coast--St. Aubyn's B&B is tops and the views from the rooms are incomparable. Lots of good restaurants in town.