Hello there!

The inlaws have decided to visit us next Aug (I know not the best time, but they already booked tickets!) and we want to spend a week in Cornwall. We are hoping to find a self catering place, in or close enough to walk to a village/town, that sleeps 4.

We are interested in many things - history, gardens, but mostly small seaside or historic villages with great pubs. So the place we rent has to be close to a great pub. We dont need to be near a beach, but would like to be close to the sea. We will have a car and spend the days touring around.

Can anyone give me a place to start looking? I'm not sure what area of Cornwall to even begin my search.

Thanks so much!
J

Anyone?

Creekside Cottages have a number of incredible rentals - the best of which is Delta Cottage - why?

http://www.creeksidecottages.co.uk/home

Its owned by Ben Anslie the Olympic yachtsman and its where he grew up. The view is outstanding and the creek is quiet. It is 5 minutes walk from what could be argued is the best pub in the South West - Pandoro Inn. The pub has a floating pontoon so you can eat out on the water.

http://www.pandorainn.com/

Our two main favourite areas are this area of the Fal estuary and the Helford Estuary - there are good rentals in Helford which are close to a very good pub.

The main difficulty is proximity to a town - the main towns are Truro, Falmouth, Newquay which are large and very busy.

Another very good bet may be Padstow/Rock which is beautiful has umpteen good pubs and many rentals. We have visited but not rented so I couldn't be sure about cottages.

In our view this is the best area of England and overlooked by many tourists.

Let me know if you would like any more information

Mark

We rather like Fowey

There's a lot of choice of cottages at English Country Cottages
http://www.english-country-cottages.co.uk/
We use them a lot and have always been satisfied.
It might be a good idea to book very early, even a year ahead.
August is a very busy month for tourism and cottages get snapped up fast.
I should also warn you that driving in Cornwall in August is "interesting" with masses of cars in very narrow lanes.

Thank you both so much! We know Aug isnt ideal, but no other option hahahaha...hubby will be driving, so at least it wont be me!

hi jamikins,

I was just sat at my desk here in cornwall [yes, really] surfing fodors, and what do I see? your thread of course.

so here goes - firstly, you could do a lot worse than markrosy's suggestion, but you will get pretty fed up going backwards and forwards as the Pandora is down a some very remote lanes, so getting anywhere is a bit of a pain, unless you've got a boat!

Secondly finding exactly what you want may be difficult - getting all of a nice village, near to the sea, good pub is hard to find, but I'll try.

somewhere that you might like to look is Flushing - across the estuary from Falmouth, great pubs, boat trips, not so remote. another spot is Mawnan Smith - close to several great gardens, a lovely pub, a proper village.

on the Roseland, Veryan is lovely, close to Heligan and gerans for the beach, and a great pub. Portloe and Portscathoe are fishing villages on the coast nearby and also lovely.

as you say, august is difficult, and places like Padstow and Rock wil be heaving. the ones i have mentioned should be a little quieter. to find accommodation, you can google "cottages in Cornwall" or look at the website of the cornwall Tourst Board.

feel free to come back to me with anywhere you like the look of. certainly by starting now you give yourselves the best choice, as most people don't start looking til Chrstmas/New Year.

happy hunting,

regards, ann

annhig

good shout with Flushing - isn't it possible to get a foot ferry from Flushing to Falmouth.

We haven't visited in August - the traffic in September (outside the school holidays) was enough.

We found that finding a corner that had everything we wanted and staying put was the best idea - crossing Cornwall in season was maddening.

We were supposed to be going to Delta cottage for this half term but bottled out because of our need for that warm thing in the sky.

Still (over 5 years) pondering moving down to Falmouth - we sail and it would be perfect - however its a long way from family.

hi mark,

yes you're right about the ferry to Falmouth, and from there there are boats to lots of places - the Helford, up carrick roads [which is the name of the estuary, not a motorway!] to Treliske and Truro, and St. Mawes.

us locals don't of course have much choice about getting around in August, [unless we go on our own hols of course] but you soon get used to staying out of their way. I agree about finding somewhere you like and staying put - which frankly the Pandora doesn't really achieve because getting around from there is such a pain.

we moved down here just over 12 years ago, and though family are along way away, we still get to see them, though perhaps not quite as often as we did when we first came down - when everyone suddenly decided to holiday in Cornwall!

the killer bit is the drive from Exeter - you get there and realise it's still another 100 miles or so to go. but we are finding that we fly from Newquay at lot now - 4 flights a day with airsouthwest to LGW for example, the cheapest being £29.

Falmouth is still lovely and very lively with all the students, and we're hoping to see more of it soon as DH just bought a Drascombe. what do you sail?

Thanks for your suggestions! ann I was hoping you would chime in.

We are looking at this place: http://www.creeksidecottages.co.uk/a...?month=2010-08

We do want to be able to get out and about, so we will be stuck with traffic I guess I ilke that boat trips are available...that could be the way to go!

Jamikins

I don't know the house but am aware that the road can be very tight - the parking space is included is good.

Martin at Creekside is straight in his business dealings but the photographs can sometimes be "creative". An example here is the fact that the agrden seems to be someway from the house. Many of his rental houses are period and have period type layouts - in some cases the photos paper over the downsides of the layout. Having said this the interiors of the rental we have used and the locations of the mnay houses we have passed are very good. I would not discourage you from using them.

We used to park outside Falmouth and use the footferry to get to the central public quayside. It cost the same as a parking space and was very stress free.

Annhig - we both have professional backgrounds that would very easily transfer to the SW. I seem to spend far too long on the internet sizing up waterside houses in Penpol etc which are less than are house in Lytham.

We have a Beneteau 27 on Windermere which after 5 years is quite frankly boring. We are quite lost for direction - we gave up trying to buy somewhere in Mallorca as the exchange rate fell from 1.5 euro to 1. We are still very close to buying a plot of land for a holiday home in SW Scotland which is very similar to a micro-Cornwall. This would tie us to this life for some time.

It still would love to sell up and move to one of the creeks and buy a bigger boat. The next year will tell.

ps I have very very bad memories of Drascombe Luggers. Around 10 years ago with a little experience we rented one on Derwentwater. Our previous experience was training on 42 foot plus yachts. Handling a Drascombe that was given to us unrigged was not an experience that ended with hilarious consequences!!! Good luck - where will you sail it?

If as the ad says the garden is 30m from the house, that really is nothing. I could manage getting down there even with a glass or two in hand. I think the cottage looks fine--although were there photos of the kitchen?--and it's a good area of Cornwall. Based on a poor experience last year (oil on beach), try to avoid the area east of Looe. Book as soon as you feel you've made a decision.

hi jamikins,

i don't know the house at all, but the position looks great, and I love the garden, though you'd have to be careful you didn't get mown down as you were carrying your G&Ts across the road at dusk!

Flushing really isn't too far out of the way, and the traffic in that area [apart from the main Falmouth - Truro road at rush-hour and on saturdays when most people have change-over day] isn't too bad. you would easily be able to get to places like Restronget [see above re the Pandora], Mylor, the Helford, Falmouth of course with shops, restaurants, galleries and beaches, and many other lovely places. you would have two or three good pubs/restaurants in the village, a shop or two, the boats, AND a parking space.

you could search for a long time and not find anything better.

I don't have markrosy's experience with this agency, and he has obviosuly used them more than once which bodes well. my only reservation is that it's a bit pricey, but a lot cheaper than a hotel.

talking of which, you would be opposite my favourite, the "Greenbank" in Falmouth, which has lovely views over Flushing, and great food now in the charge of an indian chef who has introduced some new floavours. wonderful place for a splurge, or just a bar snack on the lovely terrace [look out for the gulls, of course].

Mark - our intention is to sail around Carrick Roads, just like everyone else. we had a hurley 22 for a while, but it [or was it us?] was very poor at tacking - we'd end up sailing backwards towards the mud every time. who knows - the Drascombe may be as bad. we wanted more of a day-boat though, and something DH could sail single-handedly, which this boat is set up for.

house prices are starting to rise again, so don't leave it too long!

Thank you so much for all the feedback! We were trying to find something cheaper, but this seems to tick most, if not all the boxes and we are splitting it with the inlaws. Will send it to them and see what they think!

annhig

Not too shocked about the prices - the area has too much to offer for levels to suffer. Other than Restronguet Point I don't think that they peaked at that high a level 18 months ago.

BTW last Sept we stayed at The Valley in Carnon? Downs and had a really good time there - the on-site facilities and restaurant were very good - the only downside were the lacking views (can't stand holidays without a sea view).

The real downside to that week (the weather was outrageously good) was my 40 birthday lunch at the Beach Terrace Cafe, Portminster. Four years ago the food and the view were world class. The view still is but the food was sadly lacking. I also object to being treated like cattle by stroppy waitresses with electric probes. We were asked how much longer we would be as the next sitting had arrived!!! One too many Sunday Times reviews and they got too big for their boots. Also one too many tacky TV star there this time - always a bad sign.

"Also one too many tacky TV star there this time - always a bad sign."

Come on, Markrosy, you have to name names!

that's a shame, markrosy - we haven't made it there yet, and after your review, I don't think we'll bother.

places do tend to be more welcoming in the off-season, though. you should have arranged to have a birthday in a less popular time of year!

Bearing mind that I am limited to Top Gear, Grand Designs and Trial/Retribution I was a bit lost. Rosy assures me that it was Hugh Skully from some antiquey show (never forget that pink cravat) and a bar maid type from that yorkshire farming soap - black hair, oldish tarty and a skirt that was far too short for her age. Seperate tables mind so no gossip please.

I wouldn't go near the place with someone else's barge pole. It stank of laurel resting. Far too much hype over the years and totally ruined what should have been a great day.

Ann - morning coffee was far for enjoyable that day at a very warm and forward thinking place in Mousehole - can't remember the name but up the hill above the harbour?
Would well and truely suggest - the evening menu looked very good!

hi mark,

I think you mean the following:

www.theoldcoastguard.co.uk.

we've eaten there sometimes, but it's a bit "up itself" as we say around the parts. the last time was on my birthday a year ago or so and for £13 odd I got a few bits of salad [those micro-leaves so fashionable in some places] and one scallop. oh, and some dressing. if memory serves, I had to ask for some bread. the others had rather more on their plates but as the birthday girl i felt more than a little deprived.

we haven't been back.

the position is however superb and it may be that in these recession hit times, they have become a little more realistic.

I've often stayed on the Cornish Riviera in Torquay and surroundings and it may fit the OP's main requirements.

Though Torquay is not a quaint village but a booming - the rare British seaside resort that is still going strong - there are many such villages that we took trains, buses and footpaths to. This area also claims to have Britain's best weather - a claim that i have seen a godzillion times from various seaside resorts - but there are palm trees here so it is a bit warmer than some i guess.

Torbay (sp?) adjoins Torquay - Fawlty Towers B&B i think was in Torquay or Torbay - actually both are one town. But there is lush, for Britain kind of tropical vegetation and lots of day trips to do to nearby villages and rural walks - or boat rides, etc.

hi, pal,

one big drawback - Torbay is DEVON. also the whole area is rather more built-up and, in August, more heaving with people than I suspect they want.

otherwise, it's an excellent place for a holiday!

regards, ann