This summer is the first time I visited Cornwall, and I can’t believe how much I was missing out on.
I live in Brighton, which is a beautiful seaside town and it has been filling my need of being close to the sea for the past 10 years. I never felt the urge to venture out and explore different beaches in the UK, until I met my other half. Will grew up in the Midlands and not living by the sea meant having frequent trips to Norfolk, Wales, and Cornwall with his friends and family.
While living together in Brighton, he got to learn how much I enjoy the beach walks, summer swims and the peace that comes watching the waves crush into the shore, and he convinced me that I’ll absolutely love Cornwall! He was right, I’d go back in a heartbeat and I’ve promised to keep a yearly tradition of Cornish holidays!
Day 1 - We started our trip nice and early on a Wednesday and drove 5 hours from Brighton to Bodmin. We made sure to leave at 7am, to avoid heavy traffic and have a full afternoon to visit The Lost Gardens of Heligan.
The trip was easier as I had imagined, at least from the judgement of being in the passenger seat.
We had pre-booked our Heligan garden tickets and spent nearly 3 hours enjoying the beautiful views, wildflower fields and learning the history about the biggest garden restoration project in Europe.
They seem to have seasonal projects and activities, as we visited in July and it was all about the bees, wildflowers seas and the sweet scent of summer.
I absolutely enjoyed walking around, breathing the fresh air and crossing a very wonky bridge in the jungle area.
We had booked a 2 night stay at Cornish Tipi Holidays and had our own medium size Tipi in a private pitch area. I was surprised to see how big the Tipis were, ours was 5m diameter and was suitable for 2-4 people. We chose a private pitch due to the current COVID-19 situation, as the restrictions have just been lifted a few weeks ago.
We had to bring our own mattress, duvets, blankets and pillows, but they provided all the cutlery, plates, mugs etc., and we had a little stove and a fire pit to cook on.
We planned our meals ahead and made this delicious Sweet Potato Stew on day 1, and had vegetarian Sloppy Joes the next day.
There was a lovely lake with a spectacularly green water. It had boats and kayaks available to use and lots of people were swimming and fishing.
We weren’t very lucky with the weather, so it was raining for the most part, however, we feel like we made the most of it, hence I wanted to share all the activities we managed to do in case you’re in a similar situation.
Day 2 - we woke up to a bit of rain, which was quite shocking, as the weather forecast looked very bright and sunny! We realised that we needed to change our activities, as the initial plan was to spend most of out time visiting all the beautiful beaches.
We drove to Wadebridge and walked half of the 5 mile Camel Trail route to Padstow. You can rent bikes from the shop just before the trail begins, but it was so rainy and we didn’t fancy cycling in that weather, so we decided to soak up the views by walking.
There was lots of shelter from trees, so cycling would’ve been just fine, and many people were braving the rain.
The route is so beautiful, with the Camel River on your right and so much greenery! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a brighter green in my entire life, I still see it when I close my eyes, the views were just breathtaking.
Once we walked back to Wadebridge, we stopped at Malcolm Barnecutt Bakery for some fresh pasties, had the most amazing salted caramel fudge for dessert at GRANNY WOBBLYS FUDGE PANTRY and found a delicious bottle of wine to go with our dinner at Wadebridge Wines.
We walked around the town for a bit until it started to pour, so we hid in The Old Tea House, having our very first Cornish tea with the jam first and cream second.
We drove to Polzeath Beach for a nice evening stroll admiring purple rocks, watching big waves and finding beautiful shells in rock pools. My first thought was: ‘So many people are surfing!’
And there it was, a little spontaneous idea to learn surfing the next day.
Day 3 - It was check out day from our Tipi, so we got up nice and early to have our last breakfast in the wild , go to the lake, and pack everything up. We left at 11 and headed straight to the Crantock Beach to try out a bit of surfing. The weather was brightening up, but it wasn’t very sunny. Once we got there, we saw so many people swimming and surfing, so we decided to go for it. We rented some wet suits, surf boards (the soft kind, for beginners) and walked through sandy dunes to a very low tide beach, so it was a far walk. By the time we reached the sea we were ready for the water!
Will has had some surfing lessons in the past, so he gave me a few tips and off we went, catching the waves and trying to stand up on the board.
Needless to say that I swallowed more sea water than ever and spent a fair amount of time underwater grasping for air, but I managed to stand up a few times and it felt like a huge achievement! It was probably one of the best days I’ve had in a while, I am definitely hooked!
After our sea adventures we had a quick packed lunch, changed and continued our journey.
We had pre-booked tickets to the Eden Project and spent the rest of the afternoon wondering through the rainforest, exploring different climates and plants, learning about different cultures and taking in all the sweet scents and fresh air in their outside gardens.
Day 4
We booked our last night to stay in lovely Airbnb place, and woke up in an actual bed, had a hot shower, and had a laid out breakfast waiting for us in the morning. Can’t compare to the life in wildirness of course, but as the weather hasn’t been very good, we enjoyed not waking up to the sound of rain.
We were determined to make the most of this day and wanted to visit Carnglaze Caverns - a lovely underground river, but unfortunately the tickets were sold out, but I’m sure it would’ve been wonderful!
Instead, we went to Carnewas at Bedruthan Steps and the views were just breathtaking. Unfortunately the steps and access to the beach were closed due to a landslide, but we had a lot of fun walking the trail for nearly 3 hours and looking at the waves, coves and breathing in the sea air.
There was a nice little tea room to grab a lunch, so we went for pastries again, to fill us up with energy for all the walking.
We headed home straight after and were back in Brighton around 8pm.
It was a wonderful little staycation with so many memories, we will definitely be back next year! I miss surfing already, the Bighton waves just don’t crash into the shore the same way they do in Cornwall!
I hope this is helpful if you’re planning a trip of your own, I’d love to hear your experiences in comments or any more recommendations to add on!
