Cornwall ?

nax-ian

Not having lived in the UK for some years I'm bit out of touch.
Do people still go on holiday down Cornwall- way, Newquay, St. Austell, Bude , Looe, that kinda area?
I know Project Eden is down there somewhere, expect that gets a few visitors.
Anyone ?

Ginjafro

Yes they do. Also check out St Ives, St Agnes, Praa Sands, Perrenporth, Port Issac, Tintagel, Boscastle and Mousehole on the Coast and Bodmin Moor for the Moors. Also, allied to the Eden Projest is The Lost gardens of Heligan which is pretty good and loads of big Country Houses, if that's your kind of thing. If you like beer then plenty of Cornish breweries producing some great real ales sold in some brilliant pubs. If you want to MTB then apart from a few good spots in Cornwall then Dartmoor is just over the Tamar and just brilliant for getting down and dirty.

2Phat4Rapha

The north Cornish coast is exposed to the Atlantic so it has long sandy beaches with good surf.
Surfing = young people.
Young people = drinking, lots of it!
Places like Newquay can be fun but they can also be like the Wild West at times.

The south coast has more cliffs and pretty little fishing villages and is more family oriented. Watch out for Falmouth though as it now has a university so can be rowdy in the evenings. Great sailing though.

You might wanna check out http://www.pzwheelers.co.uk/ (Penzance) or www.falmouthwheelers.co.uk if you just happen to be interested in cycling too!

One Man And His Bike

Please tell me Fistral beach is still stunning and the harbour and surrounding cliffs are still awesome fun for jumping off of?

2Phat4Rapha

One Man And His Bike wrote:

Please tell me Fistral beach is still stunning and the harbour and surrounding cliffs are still awesome fun for jumping off of?

Yep.

One Man And His Bike

Awesome sauce.

I still regret moving away from Newquay and those are two of the things I missed the most.

Thank you. (:

Pross

The most beautiful part of England, I go there regularly (although most of my holidays are in Devon as its that bit closer). Newquay has gone a bit down the stag and hen do route and is also becoming slightly notorious for under age kids parting to celebrate the end of exams but still a great beach. Prefer St. Ives myself and then the likes of Sennen Cove for seclusion. Padstow has become one of the best pllaces in Britain for restaurants due to the number of City types with second homes down there or across the water in Rock (Salcombe has a similar feel in Devon).

derbygrimpeur

Went to St Ives (beautiful area) last year and off to Bude for a week in June this year.

mroli

derby grimpeur - you taking your bike? There's some great (horrible) little climbs around there - South of Bude there's a long drag through Widemouth Bay which is lovely, then carry round into Crackington, down into the harbour and a bugger the other side then continue down the coast to Boscastle. Boscastle "High Street" is a real sod too, not really a high street, more a steep, slippy farmer's single lane road!

Love it.

Gazzaputt

Loved it when I stayed in Little Petherick just down from Padstow.

Bloody up and down riding though!

benno68

I stayed in St. Agnes last weekend for a wedding, managed to spend Sunday afternoon in St. Ives, a beautiful part of the country. Just wished I could have stayed a bit longer!

nax-ian

Appreciate the input guys.
Many thanks

Vesterberg

Pross wrote:

The most beautiful part of England.

I beg to differ. Overrated IMO. Newquay is pretty shabby and lots of Cornwall is bleak - not to mention holes like St Austell and Camborne.

It's also the poorest county in England.

Dorset and Devon trump it everytime for my money, not to mention the Lake District.

balthazar

Vesterberg wrote:

Pross wrote:

The most beautiful part of England.

I beg to differ. Overrated IMO. Newquay is pretty shabby and lots of Cornwall is bleak - not to mention holes like St Austell and Camborne.

It's also the poorest county in England.

Dorset and Devon trump it everytime for my money, not to mention the Lake District.

I partly agree, even though I grew up there and now live in Cornwall again. I don't think anywhere in England (that I've been) competes with the Lake District for drama and sheer awesomeness. We're lucky to inhabit such a beatiful island with such geographic variety.

In large part, inland Cornwall is farmland familiar to anybody who's been to the english countryside, and the relative poverty is evident everywhere. However, the Lizard and Roseland peninsulas are jewels of gentle, forested beauty; and the contrast, toward Land's end, between the soft green south coast and the swept, granite north coast only ten miles apart, always moves me — and makes for some beautifully varied rides.

MichaelW

The Lizard is one of the Jewels of the SW, so easy bypass. When you reach Roskilly's IceCream farm, turn South and enjoy.
http://www.roskillys.co.uk/

Anonymous

We have a weeks holiday in Febuary each yaer 9 miles down from Padstow near Constantine bay, love it.

derbygrimpeur

mroli > hoping to yes, but not 100% sure yet. Was hoping to get some good hilly rides in

Warwickshire Whizzer

I'm a regular down to Padstow, love the place. Especially hopping across to Rock and enjoying a pint or two of Doom Bar.

Back there for Easter, with the bike this time.

I love Cornwall more now than when I was a kid holidaying there, I could spend forver on the coastal walks.

thegibdog

Warwickshire Whizzer wrote:

I'm a regular down to Padstow, love the place. Especially hopping across to Rock and enjoying a pint or two of Doom Bar.

Back there for Easter, with the bike this time.

Do you know any good routes? Will be down there with my girlfriend and bikes the week after Easter.

nax-ian

I Love how a simple off-the -cuff question almost becomes a debate/ chat between you guys.
I always wonder about if the question hadn't been asked...

balthazar

Nax-ian wrote:

I Love how a simple off-the -cuff question almost becomes a debate/ chat between you guys.
I always wonder about if the question hadn't been asked...

It's the best aspect of internet society. Not the Q&A, but the asides/departures/trundlings off. Those who complain about "off-topic" never understood that.

gareth1234

Used to live in St Austell myself, back down there in 2 weeks time for a few days to replenish my memories. Fish and chips in the Pickwick restaurant in Perranporth, pasties from the Admirals pantry in Fowey and a Kebab from Kings in St Austell.

Can't take the bike this time, the Family are coming with me

Pross

Vesterberg wrote:

Pross wrote:

The most beautiful part of England.

I beg to differ. Overrated IMO. Newquay is pretty shabby and lots of Cornwall is bleak - not to mention holes like St Austell and Camborne.

It's also the poorest county in England.

Dorset and Devon trump it everytime for my money, not to mention the Lake District.

You've picked out the few bad parts there! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that but I love the rugged coastline and some of the moorland isn't bad either. I have to admit I do also love the Lakes but it is too far for me to go regularly. I have a mobile home in South Devon and spend weeks there every year and again it's beautiful but I still prefer Cornwall (spent years going to North Devon in the past too). Don't really know Dorset though. I've recently started to really appreciate the beauty of my own area in South Wales which I always took for granted growing up.

Warwickshire Whizzer

thegibdog wrote:

Warwickshire Whizzer wrote:

I'm a regular down to Padstow, love the place. Especially hopping across to Rock and enjoying a pint or two of Doom Bar.

Back there for Easter, with the bike this time.

Do you know any good routes? Will be down there with my girlfriend and bikes the week after Easter.

Padstow to St Ives - 50 Miles, 3500ft of climbing. The routes a doddle if you avoid the A30, only one other way to do it. Worth a go.

Slack

Newquay is grotty. Bude is boring. Padstow is owned by a cartel and also has nothing going for it. St Ives is quaint but full of overpriced pretentious restaurants. The coastline is great though. My fav is St Ives Bay, Godrevey ( I am surfer though). Not been to the giant greenhouse yet, despite living relatively nearby in Plymouth.

bartimaeus

MichaelW wrote:

The Lizard is one of the Jewels of the SW, so easy bypass. When you reach Roskilly's IceCream farm, stop and enjoy.
http://www.roskillys.co.uk/

Fixed that for you...

Roskilly's ice cream, Rowe's Yeast and Saffron Buns - and Saffron Cake, Fish & chips at the Gem in Falmouth, Pasties... great stuff!

And, yes, the Lizard is great - especially Kynance and Mullion. I also really like the Helford - great walks from Mawnan and then over the ferry and on to St Anthony-in-Meneage.

Drysuitdiver

Bartimaeus wrote:

MichaelW wrote:

The Lizard is one of the Jewels of the SW, so easy bypass. When you reach Roskilly's IceCream farm, stop and enjoy.
http://www.roskillys.co.uk/

Fixed that for you...

Roskilly's ice cream, Rowe's Yeast and Saffron Buns - and Saffron Cake, Fish & chips at the Gem in Falmouth, Pasties... great stuff!

And, yes, the Lizard is great - especially Kynance and Mullion. I also really like the Helford - great walks from Mawnan and then over the ferry and on to St Anthony-in-Meneage.

Callestick Ice cream , penhallow. beats roskilly easily. and right next to Healeys cider farm .

Philps of Hayle do the best pasties , only Annes of Lizard come close.

mullion is a great place and the diving there is superb, have nben teased by seals very often when diving mullion rock

balthazar

Drysuitdiver wrote:

Bartimaeus wrote:

MichaelW wrote:

The Lizard is one of the Jewels of the SW, so easy bypass. When you reach Roskilly's IceCream farm, stop and enjoy.
http://www.roskillys.co.uk/

Fixed that for you...

Roskilly's ice cream, Rowe's Yeast and Saffron Buns - and Saffron Cake, Fish & chips at the Gem in Falmouth, Pasties... great stuff!

And, yes, the Lizard is great - especially Kynance and Mullion. I also really like the Helford - great walks from Mawnan and then over the ferry and on to St Anthony-in-Meneage.

Callestick Ice cream , penhallow. beats roskilly easily. and right next to Healeys cider farm .

Philps of Hayle do the best pasties , only Annes of Lizard come close.

mullion is a great place and the diving there is superb, have nben teased by seals very often when diving mullion rock

Hmm. I'm a Roskilly's, + Annes, fan myself. Not to mention, that the only decent fish and chips in Falmouth is from "thank-god-he-opened-it" Stein's, not the Gem..! (previous post). However, I'm with you with Mullion (and I don't dive). Housel Bay just left of Lizard point is a favourite too, and Rinsey Head beach (next to Praa Sands).

CiB

Just spent a week in & around Bude, and it was superb. If you like walking, get the relevant OS maps and do a bit of the Coastal Path. Stunning views, always a pub in range and - call me a tourist as that's what I was - the cream teas are great. One in Boscastle served up by what must have been Miss Cornwall 2011 was worth every penny.

I love the place.

beverick

Been to Devon five times in the last seven years, managed Somerset and Dorset on three of those and Cornwall once.

I love the area and we'll be down there again in June. Mind you, I'm biased, I used to work in Taunton.

Favourite seaside places include Swanage, Lyme Regis, Beer, Sidmouth, St Ives (probably our favourite seaside place in England), Lynton & Lynmouth and Dartmouth.

Favourite towns include Exeter and Taunton.

Places to avoid include Padstow, Newquay, most of Torbay which are over commercialised and are just too busy even out of season. Many other of the towns and cities in the area appear fairly run down when compared to more afluent parts of the UK.

For beer it's got to be Otter!

The one thing is that if it's poor weather and raining the SW is the most boring, uninspiring and drab place to be. You're reminded just how far you are from anywhere else in the country!

Oh, and I know I'm going to upset someone here, but under no circumstances go to Ilfracombe. It's a dump, despite what anyone else may say!

Bob

da goose

Blimey those comments about St Awfull are a little harsh...
Yes its poor economically and Cornwall always has been,but its getting better,.....honest!
I don`t really want to blab on about Eden which in reality has brought wealth to so few, well Mr Smit really!!!
But his creation at Helligan is a great day out, and look a little closer as others have said...The Roseland area`s beaches match any in the world, the North coast has a beauty of its own,and it takes a brave soul not to enjoy rugged west Cornwall`s mythic charm.

Oh yeah, if you are riding make sure you have the legs lungs and gears?
Enjoy......