Things to Do in Cornwall: The Big Guide

Cornwall is not a place you tick off. It is a place you keep returning to, season after season, and still leave with a list of things you never quite got round to. The county narrows to a finger of land between two seas, and that simple geography gives you everything at once — sunrise on one coast, sunset on the other, surf on the north shore and sheltered creeks to the south, all within a morning’s drive.

The trouble with such abundance is knowing where to start. So consider this your map. We have grouped the very best of Cornwall by what you might be in the mood for — a day on the sand, a long walk with a view, a famous garden, a proper Sunday lunch — so you can dip in wherever your week takes you. Plan loosely, leave room for weather, and let the place do the rest.

Beaches and surf

If you came to Cornwall for one thing, it was probably this. The coastline stitches together hundreds of beaches, and no two are quite alike. The north coast takes the full Atlantic swell — wide, golden, bracing — while the south sheltered the old fishing trade and rewards you now with calmer water and warmer afternoons.

Surfers gravitate north, where the breaks are reliable and the surf schools are plentiful. Families often prefer the gentler coves, where rock pools at low tide keep small explorers busy for hours and a flask of tea makes the whole thing feel like a small expedition. Wherever you land, the rhythm is the same: arrive early for the good parking, stake your claim, and stay until the light goes amber.

We have walked the lot, sandy mile by sandy mile, to bring together our pick of the best beaches — from broad surf strands to hidden coves you reach down a single cliff path. A few things worth knowing before you go:

• Check the tide. Some of the finest beaches all but vanish at high water, and a few coves can cut you off entirely. A quick look at the tide table turns a frustration into a plan.
• Mind the flags. Where lifeguards patrol, swim between the red-and-yellow flags and never on a beach flying red alone. The Atlantic is glorious and it does not negotiate.
• Go early or go late. The middle of a August day is the busiest a Cornish beach gets. Dawn and the golden hour before dusk belong to the lucky few who made the effort.
• Take it all home. The cleanest beaches stay that way because people carry their litter out. Leave nothing but footprints.

The South West Coast Path

You do not have to walk all 630 miles of the South West Coast Path to fall for it — though plenty have. The Cornish stretch is, for many, the finest of the whole route: a ribbon of trail that clings to the cliff edge, dipping into fishing villages and climbing back out to headlands where the only sound is gorse, gulls and the sea working away below.

The beauty of it is that you can take as much or as little as you like. An hour’s amble from a harbour to the next cove and back makes a perfect morning. A full day, packed lunch and all, links a string of beaches into something properly memorable. Wear sturdy shoes, carry water, and remember that the path earns its drama with the odd steep pull. The view at the top always pays you back.

Iconic attractions

Cornwall punches far above its size when it comes to landmarks, and a handful have become known the world over. They are popular for a reason, and a little forward planning — early arrivals, booked tickets where you can — keeps the crowds from getting between you and the magic.

High on most lists is the Eden Project, where vast biomes rise from a reclaimed clay pit and hold whole climates inside them — a steaming rainforest under one dome, a Mediterranean hillside under the next. It is part garden, part theatre, part gentle lesson in how the living world fits together, and it works on grown-ups and children alike.

For something altogether wilder, the the Minack Theatre is carved into the granite cliffs above a turquoise cove near Land’s End, an open-air amphitheatre where the sea itself forms the backdrop to every performance. Even with no show on, the setting alone is worth the journey.

Then there is St Michael’s Mount, the tidal island crowned with a medieval castle that you reach on foot across a cobbled causeway when the sea pulls back. Nearby, the Lost Gardens of Heligan tell a quieter story — a once-grand estate left to sleep for decades, now lovingly woken, its jungle valley and walled kitchen gardens a marvel of restoration. And in the bright fishing town of St Ives, the Tate gallery brings modern art into dialogue with the famous light that drew painters here in the first place.

Harbour towns and villages

Some of Cornwall’s deepest pleasures cost nothing at all. Wandering a working harbour as the boats come in, watching crab pots stacked on the quay, finding a bench with a pasty and a view — this is the county at its most unhurried.

Each town has its own character. St Ives stacks whitewashed cottages above three beaches and that legendary light, its lanes threaded with galleries and tucked-away cafes. Further along the north coast, Newquay is the county’s surf capital, all big beaches and easy energy, with enough going on to fill a family week.

Beyond the headliners, half the joy is the villages you find by accident — a row of fishermen’s cottages around a slipway, a single pub, a church tower against the sky. To explore by region, West Cornwall draws you towards Land’s End, the old mining coast and the artistic heart around Penzance and St Ives, while North Cornwall offers the surf beaches, dramatic cliffs and the legend-soaked ruins of Tintagel.

Gardens worth the detour

The mild, damp Cornish air does something remarkable to plants. Sheltered valleys here grow species that would sulk anywhere else in Britain, and the county has become a kind of paradise for gardeners and garden-lovers alike. Tree ferns and palms thrive in the warmth; great banks of camellias, magnolias and rhododendrons set the spring alight.

Heligan’s jungle is the famous one, but Cornwall is dotted with gardens great and small — subtropical creekside plantings, formal terraces, woodland walks that smell of wild garlic in May. A garden makes a lovely counterpoint to a beach day, and many come into their own in spring and early summer, well before the high-season crowds arrive. If a slow morning among rare plants sounds like your idea of a holiday, you will not be short of choices.

Food and drink

Cornwall feeds you well. The seas around the peninsula bring in some of the best seafood in the country, landed in the morning and on your plate by lunch — crab, lobster, mackerel, line-caught fish cooked simply and proudly. The county’s name is on pasties and clotted cream the world over, and there is genuine pleasure in having them where they belong.

A few rituals are worth building a day around:

• A cream tea, done the Cornish way — jam first, then cream — in a garden or a harbourside cafe.
• A fresh-off-the-boat seafood lunch at a quayside table, watching the same boats that caught it.
• A proper pasty eaten outdoors, ideally with a sea view and a stiff breeze.
• Local ice cream made with that rich Cornish cream, queued for happily on a warm afternoon.

Farmers’ markets, farm shops and roadside honesty boxes are everywhere if you fancy cooking back at the cottage — and there is something deeply satisfying about a holiday meal built from things grown and caught within a few miles of your kitchen.

Days out for families

Cornwall is made for children, and not only because of the sand. The whole place runs on the kind of simple, outdoor, slightly muddy fun that holidays are supposed to be about — and the memories tend to stick.

Rock-pooling at low tide is free, endlessly absorbing, and quietly educational. Coast path walks become adventures when there is a cove with a stream at the end. Boat trips to spot seals and seabirds turn an afternoon into a story. The bigger attractions — biomes, gardens, harbours with ice cream — all welcome families and pace themselves to small legs. When you are choosing where to stay, our family cottages are picked with exactly this in mind: space to spread out, gardens to run in, and the right beaches close at hand.

Rainy-day rescues

Let us be honest — this is Britain, and the weather will, at some point, do its thing. The good news is that a wet day in Cornwall is no day wasted. Some of the county’s best experiences are improved by a bit of drama in the sky.

The Eden biomes keep their own climate, so a downpour outside only makes the rainforest feel more authentic. Galleries, museums and aquariums turn a grey afternoon into something memorable. A long, lingering lunch in a pub with a fire and a sea view is its own kind of holiday. And there is a particular pleasure in pulling on a waterproof and walking a cliff path in the rain, then returning to a warm cottage to dry out, brew up and watch the storm roll through. Pack the layers, embrace the squalls, and you will find the bad weather makes the good days shine all the brighter.

Make it yours

The best Cornish holiday is the one that fits you — surf-and-sand for some, gardens-and-galleries for others, and for most of us a happy muddle of the two. The county is generous enough to give you all of it, if you give it the time.

Everything starts with the right base: somewhere to come home to, kick off the sandy shoes, and plan tomorrow over a cup of tea. Whether you are after a cottage by the beach with the sea on your doorstep or a quiet bolt-hole tucked inland, every one of our places is personally approved, so you can browse with confidence and book the holiday you actually want. Take a look, find the one that feels right, and start counting down the days.