Out & About Cornwall's Coastline

Situated near St. Austell, these remarkable gardens were recently rediscovered after being unknown and unseen for nearly 100 years. Having been fully restored they are a truly wonderful day out as an immersive educational and entertaining experience. 

Fowey is an exceedingly pretty town and estuary renowned for its sailing heritage, and recently for its food offerings, matching Padstow, Falmouth and St.Ives for its superb choice of restaurants, pubs and pop-up food shacks. Hire boats to explore local hamlets and creeks up the estuary or take one of the ferries across to some small villages or out to Mevagissey. Sailing Week is a big summer event and the Christmas Market has become arguably the best in South West. 

Polperro is a traditional Cornish fishing village nestled in the heart of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . Explore the 500 year old pubs around the harbour and learn about the smuggling heritage in the village, or take an early morning fishing trip with one of the locals. Venture through the lanes to discover local shops and restaurants or journey along part of the longest coastal trail in Britain (www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk) to explore nearby beaches, historic buildings and the towns of Fowey and Looe. 

Padstow is a wonderful place to browse the unique and interesting craft and gift shops and there are a great variety to choose from.  In addition, you’ll find Padstow town very well equipped with food shopping including deli’s and locally produced fudge shops most notably ‘Buttermilk’ – the first fudge shop in Padstow.

You also have in the town surf shops, art galleries, independent clothes shops in addition to chains such as Seasalt, Fat Face, Joules, White Stuff. There is also a bank, hairdressers, estate agents and of course all the bars, restaurants and cafes you could possibly wish for.

Image Copyright Roy Parkhouse

There are plenty of places in the nearby area to take off to should you want an explore further afield – one lovely place to visit is the beautifully grand Elizabethan Manor Prideaux Place in Padstow. You can explore the house, the gardens and have tea or something stronger in their terrace overlooking the deer park and further beyond to the Camel Estuary.

Image Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

If you are a thrill-seeker then you’ll love the high speed boat rides on offer at Padstow. They take you around the Camel Estuary at high speed and are not for the faint hearted!

If you fancy venturing a little further, Sealife Safaris offer trips out of the Camel Estuary and up to the famous village of Port Isaac, where the TV series Doc Martin was filmed.

Learn to Surf

Got the bug for being on the water? Why not try a new sport while you are here on holiday? You can learn to surf in Padstow and the surrounding area, why not have a look at Harlyn Surf School  or Padstow Surfing for more information:

Waterskiing

If surfing doesn’t take your fancy, waterskiing might! You can learn this fun and exhilarating sport just across the water in Rock – find out more here

Once you’ve spent a few days exploring Padstow, you may like to take a trip across the water to the beautiful village of Rock. You can get an inexpensive ferry or taxi across the water and explore the beauty the other side of the water, including a trip along the South West Coastal Path to Daymer Bay – you can even go as far as Polzeath if you want to! If you decide to stay around the village of Rock, there are small selection of cafes and restaurants for you to spend some time in, all while enjoying the view across the harbour.

Padstow is situated in an area of immense natural beauty, so we highly recommend you take advantage of it during your stay.

Situated on the Camel Estuary, a lovely safe and traffic-free walk or cycle ride to explore is the Camel cycle trail which is a disused railway line which weaves its way along the Camel river through to Wadebridge – you can even go as far as Wenfordbridge and Bodmin if you want to. Bikes can be hired from Padstow so there’s no need to bring your own – you can take advantage of Padstow Cycle Hire or TrailBikeHire and they will also give you advice on the Camel trail and cycling in the area.

Hiking the South West Coastal Path is a must for a lot of people who visit Padstow, and we highly recommend a lovely walk from Padstow up to Stepper Point (as featured in Poldark), where the Camel meets the open sea! There is a little tea shop/café situated at Hawkers Cove en-route and it’s called ‘Rest a While’ – it’s signposted 50m off the coastal path and gives you a chance to reward yourselves for the effort!

A favourite of ours is Greens of Padstow – they have a superb, elevated position overlooking Padstow and the Camel Estuary and offer wonderful and full menu, plus a fun crazy golf course for all the family.

Greens Of Padstow is a licensed cafe and crazy golf garden perched high above Padstow harbour, with panoramic views over the Camel Estuary and town.

There are plenty of pubs to while away some time in Padstow, including the very popular Old Custom House, right on the harbour.

As well as offering award-winning ales, the pub also provides a fantastic, varied menu which you can enjoy while looking across the harbour. You can even sample Cornish oysters and freshly caught seafood from the Cally Oyster Bar!