Planning a Trip to Cornwall

Back in September, Stefan and I went on a pretty big road trip down to Cornwall for 8 days! I’ve finally got round to posting some of the content from that trip. There’s also a lot of NYC content coming your way too! Planning the trip to Cornwall did involve a lot of research, several itineraries and nearly a 8 hour drive! The trip we took to Cornwall in September was a first visit for both of us. Personally, I hadn’t realised just how big Cornwall was! We based ourselves in Newquay and actually spent four night camping. We found that there was some great camping options along the Cornish Coast and we liked basing ourselves in one place. Although Cornwall is bigger than I thought, it was quite easy to drive around and go from place to place. I thought I would share some of the things I learnt and some of my top tips for planning a trip to the South West.

What type of trip are you looking for?

The first thing you should decide is what type of trip you are looking to take? Are you looking to have a relaxing break by the seaside? or a visit seeing all the incredible sights? To be honest, we had a mix of sightseeing, taking it slow, enjoying lot’s of local foodie delights whilst also camping which is an option too! There really is so much to do and see in Cornwall but I totally appreciate that it is a gorgeous place to take it slow and relax. I can imagine there is no better place to just stay on the coast and enjoy some chill out time. There’s some amazing wellness breaks along the South East Coast if that is what you are looking for.

Where are you going to stay?

As i mentioned, we stayed in Newquay and actually did a spot of camping. One of the main reasons for us camping was us visiting at the end of the Summer break and there wasn’t a lot of availability in Cornwall and what was left was pretty expensive. So for that reason, I would 100% recommend booking very well in advance to get the best deals.

Newquay is one of the larger towns along the Cornish Coast and offers a lively town centre, lot’s of bars and restaurants and access to Fistral Beach which is a surfers haven. We stayed at the Trenance Holiday Park which was nearby to Newquay Zoo and a walkable distance to the town centre (albeit up the largest hill ever). St.Ives is another popular coastal resort, it’s absolutely beautiful and another great base with plenty of restaurants and a great base for visiting other popular beautiful Cornish spots.

When are you visiting?

As you can imagine the height of Summer will be a very busy time to visit Cornwall. We visited in the first week of September and it was still pretty busy as children were still off school. I’d say if you are looking to visit in Summer with lighter crowds June, early July and September would be a great time.

where are you eating?

I’ve already written a blogpost about everywhere we dined in Cornwall. Before our trip I did some extensive research mainly on Instagram looking at the Eat Drink Cornwall page or the hashtag #EatDrinkCornwall. Highlights for us certainly was The Boathouse Street Food in Newquay and The Longstore in Charlestown but you can read all about it in the aforementioned post.

If you are looking to dine at some of the more popular restaurants from chefs such as Paul Ainsworth or Rick Stein, I would recommend to book as in advance as possible. We looked around two months before our trip and still had no luck.

how to get there

Whilst it was an eight hour trip down to Cornwall from Yorkshire, Cornwall is actually pretty connected with an airport outside of Newquay and pretty good rail connections. Penzance and Truro offer national connections from across the country rail-wise and these connect with some pretty scenic rail routes along the coast. We happened to notice the rail line at Carbis Bay (just outside of St.Ives) running right along the coast – Surely it’s got to be one of the most scenic routes.

We found driving into Cornwall okay but I had heard that there is one main road and it can get congested easily in busier times.

what do you want to do?

Unless you are planning a relaxed week in Cornwall, I’d say an itinerary is key. I’d drafted up a list of places we wanted to visit and worked out which would be the best day to visit given the route we were taking from our base in Newquay each day. I’ve listed a few of our highlights that we visited and some unmissable attractions.

Places to visit

Padstow
St.Ives
Mevagissey
Charlestown
Mousehole
Marazion
Porthcuno
Carbis Bay
Port Isaac
Tintagel

Unmissable Attractions

The Eden Project
Tintagel Castle
The Lost Gardens Heligan
Saint Michaels Mount
Land’s End
The Minack Theatre

#1 tip: book in advance

I cannot stress enough how the number one tip from this blogposts would be to book everything in advance. Whether that is your accommodation which I recommend booking as far in advance as possible or your dining reservations and tickets in to places such as the Eden Project or local attractions. Things can get so busy even in quieter times and it’s always best to be booked, organised and ready to go.

Hopefully this post has helped a little if you are planning a trip to Cornwall. Let me know if you have been before in the comments. Where was the best place you visited?