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Me and Mrs Pac-Man At My Wife are off for a cheapo holiday camping in Cornwall and Devon first week of June. Anyone got any recommendations of places to go, things to do, places to see, food to eat, secrets to find? Thanks! |
Cornwall and Devon recommendations?
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Pac-man-ate-my-wife 7,087 posts
Seen 4 days ago
Registered 18 years ago -
smoothpete 37,743 posts
Seen 7 hours ago
Registered 17 years agoWell the old Eden jobby is an essential -
Carlo 21,801 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 16 years agoThere are no power pellets in Cornwall, so be carefull down in that corner of the map Pacman -
Eden's amazing but careful with your timing, try to avoid the tour groups!
Are you 100% fixed on Devon & Cornwall? IMHO Pembrokeshire is like the south-west without the crowds. -
Salaman 24,162 posts
Seen 6 days ago
Registered 17 years agoWe were there last year around the start of May (Cornwall).
We were based in Mevagissey and mostly explored SW-wards from there.
I think we enjoyed our afternoon going from Marazion to Penzance & Mousehole + then onwards to Land's end for a walk along the cliffsides the most.
Didn't like St. Ives. We arrived there late on the same day and after Penzance, Mousehole and the lovely cliffside wals near Land's end, it didn't appeal. We drove into St. Ives, saw the throngs of tourists and drove straight out again. -
X201 22,150 posts
Seen 10 hours ago
Registered 16 years agoPac-man ate my wife wrote:
Anyone got any recommendations of ... food to eat,
If the signs on every other building are anything to go by, everyone in Devon lives on Cream Teas. -
caligari 17,956 posts
Seen 2 months ago
Registered 20 years agoThis weather is perfect for surfing in Newquay. \o/
/used to go there all the time for his family holidays -
Salaman 24,162 posts
Seen 6 days ago
Registered 17 years agoWe also went to the Eden thing and turned back as we only had half a day and the price seemed ridiculous steep.
Our B&B was a few miles from the lost gardens of Heligan which we visited the day before Eden. Somehow Eden didn't seem to appeal after that.
I can highly recommend Heligan. -
pjmaybe 70,666 posts
Seen 12 years ago
Registered 20 years agoHeligan's ace - but again try and avoid the old biddy tour groups unless you like walking at 2ft per hour.
(damn Sal beat me to it)
Can also recommend a short visit to Roche Rock - if only for the photo opportunity and the fucking weird cat that follows you around for your entire visit to the place. -
Bill Door wrote:
!!
Parts of the Pembrokshire coast are nice but its a bit of a trek and some parts are really chavvy imho.
Must be a different Pembrokeshire!
I confess I'm really struggling to see the appeal of windswept cliffs, bird sanctuaries, dolmens and rocky coves for the charver crew! -
Ginger 7,256 posts
Seen 2 weeks ago
Registered 19 years agoIf you can get down to St Ives I second harrys recommendation - it's a fantastic place, really picturesque and has a Tate down there for cultural improvement too -
Pac-man-ate-my-wife 7,087 posts
Seen 4 days ago
Registered 18 years agoThanks guys, this is really good!
Been to the Eden Project before so we'll be missing that (although enjoyed it loads when we went there).
The Lost Gardens look really good - thanks for the heads-up..gif)
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magicpanda 15,130 posts
Seen 6 hours ago
Registered 17 years agoThere's a castle right on the sea cliffs somewhere in that area... Tintagel I think. Well worth a look. -
pjmaybe 70,666 posts
Seen 12 years ago
Registered 20 years agoFor walks n'stuff, there are some awesome trails up and around the Cheesewring - lots of abandoned tin mines for photo opportunities too. Every single bloody time I've been there though it's rained, even in the height of summer. -
Alastair 24,828 posts
Seen 17 hours ago
Registered 20 years agosmoothpete wrote:
Well the old Eden jobby is an essential
Not far from there are the Lost Gardens of Heligan, which is also nice.
Edit: Doh - beaten to it by everyone.
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Oh, and if you pass through Truro, wave at the Trelisk County Hospital - I was born there. -
Pac-man ate my wife wrote:
Nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
Cornwall and Devon recommendations? -
Amajiro 2,214 posts
Seen 5 years ago
Registered 20 years agoI can strongly recommend Fowey - a lovely fishing village on the south coast where I got married. Some great pubs and restaurants and they have a great regatta in August. -
dr_swin 4,929 posts
Seen 3 weeks ago
Registered 16 years agowoolacombe bay has a nice beach - pretty busy though when the sun shines. lots of surfers and bodyboarders. somewhere like ivybridge is well placed for exploring dartmoor. We have always thought dartmouth is really nice. -
shamblemonkee 17,967 posts
Seen 4 days ago
Registered 17 years agoThere's also an orangutan sanctuary and that weird man who lives with wolves down that way.
Also badger watch nights if those tickle your fancy.
tintadgel(sp?) coast walk
ponies and der on Exmoor
deep sea fishing
Squires fish and chip restaurant in Braunton.
and also again lost gardens of heligan -
shamblemonkee 17,967 posts
Seen 4 days ago
Registered 17 years agodr_swin wrote:
woolacombe bay has a nice beach - pretty busy though when the sun shines. lots of surfers and bodyboarders. somewhere like ivybridge is well placed for exploring dartmoor. We have always thought dartmouth is really nice.
have a flat on the hill above woolacombe, and agree it is great, recocmend you go to the next beach along in the summer though as it does indeed get very busy and it's nicer anyway. -
Tricky 5,088 posts
Seen 3 days ago
Registered 20 years agoIf you can work it into your travel schedule, then Lydford Gorge is nice. It has the Devil's Cauldron there which is a very dramatic set of whirlpools carved out over thousands of years.
It's just on the north west edge of Dartmoor, so it's an option on your way in or out of Devon/Cornwall really. -
Sorbicol 591 posts
Seen 5 months ago
Registered 16 years agoDepends what you are going there for. Avoid Newquay like the plague however, over the last ten years it has turned into chav's ville surfing centre and quite frankley is dire. Not sure about Padstow, it used to be lovely down there but I'm told it's suffering the same sort of problem due to the Rick Stein restaurant effect.
Erm, The coast around Perranporth (which has the best beach in Cornwall) is lovely and well owrth a visit or a stroll along the coast path. I still like St. Ives although it gets very busy in the summer, Lands end is a commerial hell hole although you can walk round the back of it and get access to the cliffs now. Personally I much prefer the North Coast of Cornwall than the South Coast, although I admit Mousehole is a very nice place to go as well.
Dunno if Flambards is still open but that's good a rainy day, the host gardens at Heligan are also well worth investigating as well. There is a seal sanctuary near Helford that's good if the wifey is into the whole nature & cute animals thing. Also definitey worth it is the Mynack Theatre near Penzence - it's a open ampitheatre cut into cliff face looking out over the Atlantic Ocean and seriously good for a spot of culture - they do a lot of shakespear there over the summer and it can be magical on a hot summer's evening
For Devon, Linton and Lynmouth are worth investigating going down towards the valley of the rocks on the North Coast, as is the whole of Dartmoor and Exmoor. Widdicombe on the Moor (Dartmoor) and Dulverton (Exmoor) are both excellent places to visit for proper cream teas. Go to Wiviliscombe for the Cotleigh and Exmoor breweries if your taste lie in other directions though. Clovelly is a love thatched cottage village now near Barnstable also well worth visiting.
Oh, and as has been said before The Eden Project should be your first port of call. That place is amazing!
My Tourist promotion for the West Country is now concluded -
dr_swin 4,929 posts
Seen 3 weeks ago
Registered 16 years agothe national aquarium in plymouth is worth a look as well. especially if there are any little pacmen to consider. -
Fatfish 3,377 posts
Seen 11 years ago
Registered 18 years agoCan't recommend the Camel Estuary enough for a nice day out.
Drive to Wadebridge and hire bikes (if you haven't got your own) and ride along to Padstow - only a few miles along the Camel Trail which runs along the river and is nice and flat. Catch the ferry across to Rock (5 minute trip) and lock up your bikes.
Follow the headland paths round and up on to Bray Hill (where my fiance and I got engaged last year - one of the best views in the SW!). Head down the other side of the hill to Daymar Beach. It's beautiful and secluded, but can get a bit busy during the height of the summer.
Head across the beach and up the other side on to the next headland and then walk over to Polzeath. Have a look around the village - plenty of surf shops - grab some lunch and an ice cream. If you've got time, have a sunbathe on the beach - or even better, hire a surfboard and suit and get wet! - before then heading back along the same route to get home.
Probably takes around 2-2.5 hours each way. It's a lovely way to spend the day and the scenery is gorgeous.
And if you really want to treat the other half, there's Rick Stein's restaurant in Padstow, if you like seafood - personally though, I thought it was a bit over rated.
edit: Places to avoid include - Newquay, (especially!!) Torquay, Plymouth (unless you're after a day out shopping), Bodmin (the town itself, not the moor), Truro, Liskeard and St.Austell. They're either all over run by chavs on holiday or have nothing of interest and are populated by local chavs.
And yes, I speak from experience - I've been living in Devon and Cornwall for the last 12 years!
Oh, and while I remember, Dartmouth is also very picturesque, but can be a bugger to get to and is normally over run by 'yachty' types during the spring/summer. -
Tricky 5,088 posts
Seen 3 days ago
Registered 20 years agoDartmouth is lovely - we tend to use that as our base for when we go down to the south coast to stay. There's some pretty good restaurants there too. -
Bill Door wrote:
I've never even heard of Broadhaven!
We stayed in Broadhaven which was chavvy in the extreme. Although a short drive/long walk took us to nicer places. You can see the local refinery for miles and miles though.
I've been to the Pembrokeshire in Wales, is there another one?
We've always stayed near St David's with outings to Tenby.
I have to confess I'm really not a big fan of Cornwall. Devon's OK though Clovelly is pure Disneyland, would be lovely if it didn't feel so incredibly fake. In Cornwall my best experiences have been out of season and on the south coast. The Lizard is nice in parts. Newquay is absolutely dire and should be avoided at all costs, ditto Padstow. -
pjmaybe 70,666 posts
Seen 12 years ago
Registered 20 years ago/hates Devon.
Dunno why, place always depresses the living fuck out of me. Some parts of the moors are OK though.
Agree on Padstow and Newquay. Two of the reasons you should head off the beaten track as much as possible in Cornwall. Ditto Lands End which has been turned into a fucking "pay to enter" theme park style job (at least if you drive there. You can still walk the coastline for free if you get there by other means). -
Make sure you go to see the monkeys!!!
http://www.monkeysanctuary.org/
Also nearby is the cave where they shot the cover for this. When I briefly worked in Cornwall took the missus for a day out to both. The cave is bonkers and apparently they have gigs in there occasionally.
Avoid Camborne as well as other places mentioned - chav scum proliferate there.
Also loudly let it be known how you despise the concept of summer homes for rich Londoners as a quick way to befriend / calm enraged locals if you have a posh accent.
(Edited for lynch-worthy offence of misspelling Camborne) -
pjmaybe wrote:
/hates Devon.
Dunno why, place always depresses the living fuck out of me. Some parts of the moors are OK though.
/hates peej
Yer better off up north bey. We don't want yer type round ere anyhow!
.. and while I'm at it: "Get orf moi laaaaaaaaaaand!"
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