Good stuff to do in Cornwall - recommendations please

[Inspectorclueso]

We've opted to holiday in Cornwall in the summer - late July into August for 2 weeks. I want to get some decent stuff planned so any recommendations welcomed. I have two teenage boys and a younger girl, but happy to take them off individually if needed to do what might suit them.

So any good recommendations from experience.. I'm thinking adventure sports, boats / sailing, particularly good beaches (must be dog friendly, good places to visit.

We're staying in a small village just south of Newquay, but happy to travel around

[PH5121]

We've been to Cornwall a couple of times and did lots of touristy stuff.

St Eval go karting was a hit with my boys when we stayed in the area. It's outdoors on part of a WW2 airstrip, there were different cc karts depending upon the age of the driver.

The Healeys cider farm tour was good, it's not far from Perranporth. Perranporth has a large beach and several surf schools. I even had a go at surfing there (it's a bit run down and old fashioned but I liked it there). It reminded me of the Yorkshire coast where I holidayed with my grand parents as a child.

Padstow was nice, we went on a couple of boat trips from there, fished from the harbour, walked on the Camel trail, and you can get the ferry across to Rock.

Charlestown was interesting, it has a museum and historic harbour.

St Agnes was a nice beach and the kids had a go at surfing.

Tintagel was good, as was St Michaels Mount if you like old stuff.

Mawganpoth was a nice beach, the kids surfed there and we went one evening had pizza on the beach watching the sun set. It seemed like a nice spot.

[Inspectorclueso]

Thanks ! Some good stuff there, all going on the list.... Karting top I think !

[kh06]

A day trip to the Isles of Scilly, you can fly from Newquay or Lands End, or get a boat from Penzance. Stunning place, lovely beaches, lots of opportunity for water sports.

[GreatGranny]

We go regularly to North Devon and take bodyboards and wetsuits so if the weather is decent we are in the water/on the beach all day.

Good to try surfing but it's pretty hard to get any good in a short time so we just bodyboard as it's much easier to catch waves etc.

[David_M]

The Adrenalin Quarry is great fun - coasteering, zip lines and messing about in the water

https://www.adrenalinquarry.co.uk

[Gnevans]

Eden Project
Cornish birds of prey centre
Flambards

[85Carrera]

Gnevans said:

Cornish birds of prey centre

Not a patch on the Norfolk owl sanctuary …

[Lynchie999]

... there's a banger racing track somewhere....

[zetec]

I haven’t been for years, but The seal sanctuary at Gweek is worth a visit. Set along the Helford river there is plenty scenery around to admire too

[foliedouce]

Minack Theatre on a sunny day

https://www.minack.com/

[moorx]

You mentioned dog-friendly. If you're looking for a nice dog-friendly walk, try the Luxulyan Valley - a beautiful place:

https://www.luxulyanvalley.co.uk/

We always went to Looe for fish and chips.

[croyde]

Somewhere inland of Porthowan near the A30 there's a quad place. I took my teens there thinking it would be a trundle in the woods.

I was wondering why they fitted us out with full Motox armour.

It's a track with jumps and banked turns. Brilliant fun. We all got a bit competitive.

[-BFG-]

Quadding at The ATV Centre. (Where the poster above is referring too)

We love Mevagissey, we weren’t overly impressed with Flambards.

The Zoo is ok to loose a few hours.


I’ll be keeping an eye on this thread as we’re off in June.

[Uncle boshy]

Outrigger canoe from st ives is pretty cool,

https://www.oceansportscentre.co.uk/ocean-sports-c...

Surfing at loads of places near where your staying

Eden project, including the zip wire across the site.

[Inspectorclueso]

Thanks so much to everyone, some great suggestions and hopefully of use to others !

[NDA]

Clovelly is a bit of a jaunt from Newquay, but if you find yourself up in that part of the world, then it's worth seeing. From there, Westward Ho! is close by, small and hugely touristy, but a massive sandy beach.

Heading south from Newquay is Fowey, which you really should see. Very pretty and quite large village/town. Also Mevagissey is worth seeing too.

[The Rotrex Kid]

85Carrera said:

Gnevans said:

Cornish birds of prey centre

Not a patch on the Norfolk owl sanctuary …

No, but that's in Norfolk

Plus, we have the Screech Owl Sanctuary too.

CBOP is a great little family run place, you can tell they really care for the animals too. An old bird (not my MIL) of ours is homed there, we go up a couple of times a year to visit.

[Nimby]

Inspectorclueso said:

... beaches (must be dog friendly... )

We found a lot of Cornwall beaches did not allow dogs.

[The Rotrex Kid]

Nimby said:

Inspectorclueso said:

... beaches (must be dog friendly... )

We found a lot of Cornwall beaches did not allow dogs.

Normally they are restricted in the summer months. Still lots of beaches that do allow dogs all year around though.

Edit: Here's a list - https://www.cornwall-beaches.co.uk/dog-friendly