OCTOBER
October Half Term
Autumn settles in. The light turns gold, the surf comes back, and the dogs finally have every beach to themselves.
THE COLLECTION
St Ives
Hillside
Sleeps 8 · 3 Bed · 4 Bath
From £1,235/Week
St Ives
Springfield Villa
Sleeps 6 · 3 Bed · 2 Bath
From £1,430/Week
Mousehole
Trevene
Sleeps 6 · 3 Bed · 2 Bath
From £1,285/Week
Bude
Halekulani
Sleeps 8 · 4 Bed · 3 Bath
From £1,035/Week
Crackington Haven
Trevigue Cottage
Sleeps 6 · 4 Bed · 2 Bath
From £1,358/Week
Crackington Haven
Atlantic Haven
Sleeps 2 · 1 Bed · 1 Bath
From £975/Week
Portreath
Harbour Heights
Sleeps 6 · 3 Bed · 2 Bath
From £1,230/Week
St Ives
Salubrious House
Sleeps 9 · 4 Bed · 3 Bath
From £1,530/Week
Falmouth
Waves
Sleeps 9 · 4 Bed · 4 Bath
From £2,035/Week
Padstow
The Grain Store
Sleeps 5 · 3 Bed · 3 Bath
From £1,330/Week
Perranuthnoe
Trekoa
Sleeps 8 · 3 Bed · 3 Bath
From £1,035/Week
St Ives
Porthminster Mews 2
Sleeps 4 · 2 Bed · 2 Bath
From £830/Week
St Ives
Vitamyn Sea
Sleeps 8 · 4 Bed · 2 Bath
From £1,435/Week
St Ives
Sea View House
Sleeps 10 · 5 Bed · 5 Bath
From £1,530/Week
St Ives
Tresillian
Sleeps 12 · 6 Bed · 4 Bath
From £1,530/Week
Padstow
Peacehay Barn
Sleeps 12 · 6 Bed · 5 Bath
From £2,935/Week
Porth
Seascape
Sleeps 6 · 3 Bed · 3 Bath
From £1,035/Week
Padstow
Kismet
Sleeps 8 · 4 Bed · 4 Bath
From £1,235/Week
Feock
Creek End
Sleeps 10 · 4 Bed · 4 Bath
From £2,235/Week
Bude
Ravenscourt
Sleeps 10 · 5 Bed · 4 Bath
From £2,530/Week
Charlestown
Orchard Cottage
Sleeps 4 · 2 Bed · 2 Bath
From £1,285/Week
Carbis Bay
Tintin Cottage
Sleeps 2 · 1 Bed · 1 Bath
From £505/Week
Carbis Bay
Hummingbird
Sleeps 4 · 2 Bed · 2 Bath
From £1,205/Week
Padstow
Kendra
Sleeps 6 · 3 Bed · 3 Bath
From £1,060/Week
Where these cottages are
October Half Term across Cornwall
The october half term cottages we look after, grouped by where they are
Where these cottages are
Locations approximate — exact addresses provided on booking confirmation.
EDITORIAL
Autumn is when Cornwall quietly comes back to itself
October half-term lands at one of the most underrated moments in the Cornish year. The summer crowds have gone home, the sea has held onto its August warmth, and the light shifts into that low autumn gold that turns every clifftop into a film set. Coast paths empty out, harbour-side cafés relax back into local pace, and for the first time since May, you can park anywhere you like in St Ives.
The weather behaves more honestly than it does in June or July — you’ll get bright, breezy days and dramatic Atlantic skies, with average highs around 14°C and the sea still around 14°C too (genuinely warmer than April). Pack waterproofs, walking boots, jumpers, and a wetsuit if you’re a surfer or a brave swimmer. Around eighteen days of the month see some rain, but the gaps between the showers are reliably stunning, and there’s no such thing as a bad coast-path day in October.
There is a lot on. Halloweden at the Eden Project runs the full half-term week and is the headline kids’ event of the Cornish autumn — themed quests through the biomes, the ice rink, storytelling, pumpkin trails. The Lost Gardens of Heligan run their Carved Pumpkin Trail through the meadow. Trelissick, Trengwainton, Lanhydrock, Glendurgan and Godolphin all host autumn trails. Trevaskis Farm near Truro does pick-your-own pumpkins. And the Falmouth Oyster Festival — Cornwall’s biggest autumn food weekend — lands in the middle of the month.
For wildlife, October is grey seal pupping season — head to Mutton Cove at Godrevy at low tide and you’ll see a hundred-strong colony hauled out on the beach below, with newborn pups on the rocks. The Cornish Seal Sanctuary at Gweek is at its busiest of the year. For walkers, the South West Coast Path is genuinely empty — Pentire Head, the Lizard from Kynance to Mullion, the West Penwith stretch from Zennor to St Ives, all yours. For surfers, the autumn swells return after a flat summer and the line-ups stay quiet until half-term week kicks off. And for dog owners, every Cornish beach is dog-friendly again — the summer restrictions all lift on 30 September.
October half-term 2026 falls across the week of 26–30 October; 2027 lands in the same window. Cornwall half-term cottages move quickly — autumn is the second-busiest cottage peak of the year after the summer school holidays, and the larger properties go nine months out. Browse what’s still available below — every cottage personally vetted, every one we’d happily send a family to.
Good to know
Questions
The things people ask before they book
-
Cornwall's October half-term 2026 falls across the week of 26–30 October (some schools take the full fortnight 19–30 October). The 2027 half-term lands in the same window — typically the last full week of October. Term dates vary slightly by academy and trust, so check your child's school directly. Cottages start moving from spring onwards, so book early if you want a sea view, hot tub, or large house.
-
Mild and atmospheric. Daytime highs average around 14°C, dropping to around 8°C overnight. October sees roughly 18 days with some rain — usually showers rather than washouts — and the Atlantic produces the dramatic skies Cornwall is known for. Daylight runs from about 7am to 6pm at the start of half-term, dropping to 6pm by the clocks-back weekend on 25 October. Pack waterproofs, layers, walking boots, and a swimsuit if you fancy the sea.
-
Yes — and arguably the best time of year for both. The sea is still around 14°C, genuinely warmer than April or May, because the Atlantic takes months to cool down. Autumn swells return after the flat summer, so surf schools at Fistral, Polzeath, Sennen and Watergate run all through half-term. A 4/3 wetsuit is plenty. Wild swimmers are in year-round; the geothermally-heated Jubilee Pool in Penzance stays open through to early November.
-
Yes — and October is the best month of the year for it. All the summer dog restrictions on Cornish beaches lift on 30 September, so by half-term every beach in the county is dog-friendly again, including Fistral, Polzeath, Watergate, Porthmeor, Gwithian, Sennen, and the Lizard beaches that were restricted from Easter onwards. Many of our properties welcome dogs — filter by 'Dog Friendly' or browse the Dog Friendly collection.
-
Most of them. The Eden Project runs Halloweden (themed quests, ice rink, pumpkin trails) for the full week. The Lost Gardens of Heligan runs the Carved Pumpkin Trail. The Cornish Seal Sanctuary at Gweek is at its busiest with pupping-season rescues. The National Maritime Museum in Falmouth runs a full half-term programme. Newquay Zoo runs Spooky Zooquay. National Trust gardens — Trelissick, Trengwainton, Lanhydrock, Glendurgan, Godolphin — all run autumn trails. Tate St Ives and the Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden stay open year-round.
-
October is peak grey seal pupping season in Cornwall (the breeding window runs roughly September to January). The best wild viewing spot is Mutton Cove at Godrevy on the north coast — walk down from the National Trust car park at low tide and you can watch a hundred-strong colony hauled out on the beach below. For close-up rescue work, the Cornish Seal Sanctuary at Gweek on the Helford runs daily feeds, pup hospital tours and a busy half-term programme.
-
Most of them, yes. The bigger food towns — Padstow, Falmouth, St Ives, Porthleven, Newlyn, Mousehole — run essentially year-round; Rick Stein's, The Hidden Hut, Paul Ainsworth, the harbour-side pubs are all open through half-term. Smaller seasonal beach cafés on the more remote coves start closing for winter from late October onwards, but everywhere with a year-round local trade keeps going. Sunday roasts in old Cornish pubs are arguably better in October than in any other month.
-
Six to nine months for most properties; nine to twelve for the larger or more sought-after ones (hot tubs, sea views, sleeps 8+). October half-term is the second-busiest cottage week of the Cornish year after the summer school holidays, and demand has crept earlier every year. If you're reading this in spring, you'll still find plenty; if you're reading it in late summer, the best ones will have gone.
Still have questions? Talk to us →