holidays in cornwall

Danny M

I mght have the chance of renting out a self catering holiday cottage in the center of cornwall near Truro. My plan would be to advertise as cycling holidays, its a two bedroom cottage that sleeps 4. It will have secure bike storage and bike cleaning equipment for the guests use, BBQ area, wifi etc. I have good of local knowledge of the area and have cycled all around Cornwall. I can provide guests with maps and routes.

Has anybody done something similar?

Where would be the best place to advertise?

will this work as a cycling holiday or do i just rent the cottage as normal holiday cottage?

Looking in cycling weekly all of the holidays seem to be abroard?

Advice needed!

thanks dan

wall17

You could advertise on all of the bike clubs in the uk?

go on britishcycling and click on clubs and search them all they would all have their own websites if they were a keen club.

And i think it would work as me and my mates are doing a ride from Bridgwater(somerset) to lands end in june so we would use you as a pit stop if you were near the coast but you say your in the center so cant.

you could have it as a cycling holiday and just as a b & b for cyclists and if you didnt have a lot of cyclists you could just go normal b & b aswell.

Put a advert in cycling weekly but do it when people are on holiday, because im in cornwall at the moment and its not the warmest place haha.

hope i helped kinda :shock:

Aggieboy

Danny M wrote:

I mght have the chance of renting out a self catering holiday cottage in the center of cornwall near Truro. My plan would be to advertise as cycling holidays, its a two bedroom cottage that sleeps 4. It will have secure bike storage and bike cleaning equipment for the guests use, BBQ area, wifi etc. I have good of local knowledge of the area and have cycled all around Cornwall. I can provide guests with maps and routes.

Has anybody done something similar?

Where would be the best place to advertise?

will this work as a cycling holiday or do i just rent the cottage as normal holiday cottage?

Looking in cycling weekly all of the holidays seem to be abroard?

Advice needed!
thanks dan

You need to maximise your rental potential and make money, don't you? Just advertising for cyclists is very restrictive to your market. I come from there and one the reason people go abroad is the dependable weather, as Cornwall doesn't have that. With cheap flights available to other countries, it's also not cheap. I'd advertise your place to the general public with cycling as an added option if required. Don't forget the market is also there for walkers,surfers, family beach holidays etc.

sophie80

Danny M wrote:

I mght have the chance of renting out a self catering holiday cottage in the center of cornwall near Truro. My plan would be to advertise as cycling holidays, its a two bedroom cottage that sleeps 4. It will have secure bike storage and bike cleaning equipment for the guests use, BBQ area, wifi etc. I have good of local knowledge of the area and have cycled all around Cornwall. I can provide guests with maps and routes.


Hi Dan,

Did you manage to set the place for rent?. My husband and I are thinking in taking a cycling holiday in cornwall and rent out a cottage. That will be in the holiday week of April from the 23rd for the whole week or possibly only for days to five days.

Cheers

Sophia

getjim

Sophia
Have a chat with Rick and Leonie Iddison at Roseland Holiday Cottages. Lovely people and some great properties in some of the most stunning locations. I have no business interest, I just maintain their properties and have seen some absolute stunners.
The Roseland peninsula offers some beautiful if challenging cycling and you're well situated to get to North, South & West Cornwall.


http://www.roselandholidaycottages.co.uk/about

kieranb

Problem with cornwall, is parts of it too hilly for families with young children/unfit partners. Weather is hit and miss and from my own experience the worst was narrow winding country roads with high hedges and fast local cars.

I would go to cornwall for the coastal walks and beaches though.

Chris87

I've spent the last three years in falmouth just down the road and I'd agree that you want to target general holiday makers as well as cyclists, truro is a great location for regular holiday makers so targeting them and then also increasing your market by targeting cyclists as well would make sense.

getjim

kieranb wrote:

Problem with cornwall, is parts of it too hilly for families with young children/unfit partners. Weather is hit and miss and from my own experience the worst was narrow winding country roads with high hedges and fast local cars.

I would go to cornwall for the coastal walks and beaches though.

There's plenty of flat cycle paths and quiet Sustrans / NCN routes to choose from if you know where to look. The Camel Trail i(Bodmin - Padstow) s ideal for kids as is the path along Pentewan valley and the Mineral Tramway from Devoran to Portreath is all along the valley from South to North coast. Idless Woods and Tehidy Woods are great fun for those who like a bit of trail riding.

kieranb

I'll take your word for it! The few times I been there on holidays, we've been in hilly areas.

Monty Dog

IME Cornwall is great cycling country, but can be a pretty serious propostion for beginners and families - the Camel Trail is more the exception and can get pretty busy in high season. Providing clear maps and directions is a big help to help allay fears.
My key consideration is the ability to accept dogs - we often leave the places cleaner than we arrived. Frankly, many self-catering places are rip-offs charging £800/pw in high season and yet furnish them with junk furniture / tired appliances - some owners have neglected to consider than cable / satellite TV and WiFi is the norm at home - sometimes it feels crossing the Tamar Bridge is going back 20 years.

Danny M

Cottage that sleeps four is now available also flat that sleeps two, Fantastic cycling location pm me if interested

londonlivvy

My folks are based down near Falmouth - I took the bike once last year but since then have stuck to walks. I found Cornwall rubbish for cycling - either tiny, very steep lanes with cars coming too fast the other way, or very busy A roads with trucks.

I'm not looking for 20km family routes, but more 80-100km reasonably keen road cyclist routes. Any suggestions from people?

getjim

Cornwall rubbish for cycling?
I think I should strongly disagree with that seeing as I live and ride in Cornwall. There are some absolutely stunning rides all round the county on very quiet country lanes. Yes they can be narrow and yes there are some steep sharp climbs, but nothing that your average keen cyclist cannot overcome.

Example, rode 40+ miles last Sunday at average 14mph barely saw a car and went nowhere near any busy 'A' roads. Busiest road was a brief stint (15mins) on the A390 into Truro and then we were off into the quiet stuff. It's easy to find a low traffic route, it just takes a little bit of prep with an OS map and you're away.

Danny M

londonlivvy wrote:

My folks are based down near Falmouth - I took the bike once last year but since then have stuck to walks. I found Cornwall rubbish for cycling - either tiny, very steep lanes with cars coming too fast the other way, or very busy A roads with trucks.

I'm not looking for 20km family routes, but more 80-100km reasonably keen road cyclist routes. Any suggestions from people?

Cornwall rubbish?

Its perfect for cycling!

londonlivvy

I researched quite widely, downloaded garmin routes that people suggested and yet, honestly, it was crap. I found myself going downhill at less than 10mph due to the very restricted sight lines and lose stones on the roads, and going up 20% hills swearing, then edged off roads more scary than the south circular by speeding motorists/ trucks. I'm not scared of climbs (I'm doing the marmotte) but I am scared of tiny lanes with walls either side with plenty of gravel and speeding locals.

If you guys have great routes to recommend (and it sounds like you do!) then please do send them - it'd be great to take my bike again and be able to escape and destress from family time occasionally. Thanks to anyone who can help.

balthazar

londonlivvy wrote:

My folks are based down near Falmouth - I took the bike once last year but since then have stuck to walks. I found Cornwall rubbish for cycling - either tiny, very steep lanes with cars coming too fast the other way, or very busy A roads with trucks.

I'm not looking for 20km family routes, but more 80-100km reasonably keen road cyclist routes. Any suggestions from people?

From Falmouth– the back road to Gweek, via Constantine, is the base of many of my rides. You can extend it by taking in all the Falmouth beaches (Pendennis Point/ Gyllyngvase/ Swanpool/ Maenporth), then turning left at Mawnan Smith, past the gardens (Trebah) to Porth Navas. That will eventually lead onto the Gweek road. Go through Gweek, and maybe turn left at the bottom of the exit hill, signposted St Keverne. Make a loop as far as you like onto the Lizard, perhaps past Goonhilly Satellite station, and return either via the same Gweek road, or the main Helston road, or a combination.

That could be anywhere from about 40 miles to 100. Hilly, of course, so those are hard miles, but it's varied and interesting.

Otherwise, I think the best riding is further south, which may be a car ride. There's another post recently on this subject (maybe page 2 by now), where I and others described some top spots.

londonlivvy

balthazar wrote:

londonlivvy wrote:

My folks are based down near Falmouth - I took the bike once last year but since then have stuck to walks. I found Cornwall rubbish for cycling - either tiny, very steep lanes with cars coming too fast the other way, or very busy A roads with trucks.

I'm not looking for 20km family routes, but more 80-100km reasonably keen road cyclist routes. Any suggestions from people?

From Falmouth– the back road to Gweek, via Constantine, is the base of many of my rides. You can extend it by taking in all the Falmouth beaches (Pendennis Point/ Gyllyngvase/ Swanpool/ Maenporth), then turning left at Mawnan Smith, past the gardens (Trebah) to Porth Navas. That will eventually lead onto the Gweek road. Go through Gweek, and maybe turn left at the bottom of the exit hill, signposted St Keverne. Make a loop as far as you like onto the Lizard, perhaps past Goonhilly Satellite station, and return either via the same Gweek road, or the main Helston road, or a combination.

That could be anywhere from about 40 miles to 100. Hilly, of course, so those are hard miles, but it's varied and interesting.

Otherwise, I think the best riding is further south, which may be a car ride. There's another post recently on this subject (maybe page 2 by now), where I and others described some top spots.

Humn. Perhaps I'm being picky or it may be a case of one man's meat is another man's poison. I personally found that the road from Mawnan Smith to Gweek (or towards Maenporth) was dreadful for cycling (though undoubtedly v.scenic). You have to go downhill so slowly cos you can see naff all and it's gravelly and full of cars and awful. The first bit by porth navas is particularly bad with cars reversing and making a hash of it then accellerating like loons. Ugh. The bit past Goonhilly was ok but I didn't like Helston bypass much.

By south do you mean by Penzance?

balthazar

londonlivvy wrote:

Humn. Perhaps I'm being picky or it may be a case of one man's meat is another man's poison. I personally found that the road from Mawnan Smith to Gweek (or towards Maenporth) was dreadful for cycling (though undoubtedly v.scenic). You have to go downhill so slowly cos you can see naff all and it's gravelly and full of cars and awful. The first bit by porth navas is particularly bad with cars reversing and making a hash of it then accellerating like loons. Ugh. The bit past Goonhilly was ok but I didn't like Helston bypass much.

By south do you mean by Penzance?

By south, I mean the South-west peninsula, especially the north coast road between St Ives and St Just. Have a look at the other thread for some good ideas. Driving to Penzance and riding from there is sensible unless you love mega-miles.

The route I described is certainly narrow and hilly, but I ride it averaging 16-17 mph, and topping 40mph on plenty of the descents. I don't find the sightlines so bad, though there are moments. Maybe I'm used to it.

The Helston road is horrible to me, but plenty like that kind of time-trial drag. However, the last short part of bypass dropping into Falmouth is good for well over 50mph with the right wind, and I finish most rides with it. 60 there eludes me still.

I look for rides with light traffic, fierce hills, fun descents and great views. I don't find that difficult here.

Alibran

I used to live in the far south west of Cornwall, and I can't think of many places in the UK I'd rather cycle. There's a huge choice of fun and sometimes challenging routes, and you don't need to spend much time on main roads at all. If you can go outside the peak holiday season (while the kids are still at school) you'll find the driving is overall much better. I always made a point to stay off the A30 during the school holidays, but the rest of the time, it was great riding.

I'd agree that Penzance is a good place to base yourself (or start rides from), and Hayle is also a good choice if you want to explore more of the north coast, and the roads around Land's End are still within reach.

I still miss cycling in Cornwall, even though the cycling here is fantastic (but hard) and the weather is so much better!