Cornwall takes more planning than any other county in England — it is a long way from anywhere, the roads are slow, and there is more to see than you can comfortably fit in a week. The pages on this site cover the National Trust and English Heritage sites we have been to, the harbour towns we keep returning to, and the wilder destinations (Land’s End, the Lizard) that anchor the western and southern ends of the peninsula. Use the section links to jump to what you need, or scroll through for the full picture.
What Cornwall is actually like
Cornwall is the most distinctive county in England — partly because it isn’t quite England (it is its own duchy, with its own flag, its own language and its own deeply Celtic identity), partly because it is so geographically extreme. The Atlantic on one side, the Channel on the other, granite moorland in the middle, and an extraordinary concentration of mining and maritime heritage that the wider UNESCO Cornish Mining Landscape designation acknowledges. Family planning here is a balance between the headline-grade visitor attractions (Eden, St Michael’s Mount, the Tate at St Ives) and the slower pleasures (a beach, a clifftop walk, a fish pasty on a wall in a working harbour).
The seven harbour towns
Most family Cornwall trips revolve around one or two of the harbour towns. Pick by side of the peninsula and the kind of holiday you want.
- St Ives — north-coast art town with four beaches and Tate St Ives.
- Padstow — north-coast harbour, Stein restaurants, the Camel Trail.
- Falmouth — south-coast harbour town, Pendennis, Maritime Museum.
- Fowey — south-coast estuary town, Daphne du Maurier, the Polruan ferry.
- Polperro — south-coast smugglers’ fishing village; tight harbour, no cars.
- Mevagissey — south-coast working fishing port, gateway to Heligan.
National Trust properties (16)
Cornwall has more high-grade National Trust properties than any other county in the south-west — the Cornish Mining UNESCO sites alone make membership worthwhile. Join the National Trust here if you don’t already.
- St Michael’s Mount — tidal-island castle off Marazion.
- Glendurgan Garden — sub-tropical valley garden on the Helford with the famous laurel maze.
- Trengwainton Garden — gentler walled-and-woodland garden near Penzance.
- Levant Mine & Beam Engine — UNESCO mining site with the only working Cornish beam engine.
- Botallack — clifftop tin-mine engine houses (the Poldark filming locations).
- Trelissick — woodland gardens overlooking the Fal estuary.
- Godolphin — Tudor estate near Helston with one of England’s oldest formal gardens.
- Penrose Estate — Loe Pool (England’s largest natural lake) and family walks near Helston.
- East Pool Mine — two preserved Cornish beam engines on the A30.
- Trerice — Elizabethan manor house near Newquay with the famous east window.
- Bedruthan Steps (Carnewas) — granite stacks on the north Cornish coast.
- Godrevy — Virginia Woolf’s lighthouse and the seal colony at Mutton Cove.
- Lanhydrock — late-Victorian country house and family cycle trails near Bodmin.
- Cotehele — Tudor manor on the Tamar with quay, water mill and barge.
- Antony — Tim Burton’s Alice-in-Wonderland topiary garden on the Rame peninsula.
- Tintagel Old Post Office — medieval yeoman’s house in Tintagel village.
English Heritage castles (4)
- Tintagel Castle — the Arthurian cliff fortress with the 2019 footbridge.
- Pendennis Castle — Henrician artillery fort guarding Falmouth harbour.
- Restormel Castle — perfect circular Norman keep near Lostwithiel.
- St Mawes Castle — Henrician clover-leaf fort on the Roseland (foot-ferry from Falmouth).
Flagship paid attractions (4)
- The Eden Project — the biomes near St Austell.
- The Lost Gardens of Heligan — restored Victorian estate gardens with the Mud Maid.
- Geevor Tin Mine — UNESCO Cornish mining museum with the underground tour.
- National Maritime Museum Cornwall — Falmouth’s maritime museum and tidal-zone tower.
The wild ends — Land’s End & the Lizard
- Land’s End & the Penwith peninsula — far-west cliffs, Sennen Cove, the Penwith stones, Cape Cornwall and Minack Theatre.
- The Lizard peninsula & Kynance Cove — Britain’s southernmost point, the famous turquoise cove, and Mullion and Cadgwith.
Where to stay in Cornwall
Cornwall is the largest single self-catering market on the Sykes Cottages platform — there is more good accommodation here than anywhere else in the south-west. We use Sykes Holiday Cottages for most of our family weeks here. (Affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.)
Places with a swimming pool in Cornwall
Cornwall has 59 self-catering properties with pool access in the current Sykes inventory — a strong selection across the region, from larger private-pool retreats to family parks with on-site pools. Our top picks below. Cornwall is also the best county in Britain for swimming outdoors without paying for it: Bude Sea Pool is a free tidal pool below the cliffs, Penzance has the Art Deco Jubilee Pool with its geothermally heated section, and Plymouth Hoe’s Tinside Lido is just over the Tamar — all in our directory of UK lidos and open-air swimming pools.
Fistral Surf, Newquay
2 bedrooms · From £4,183 per week
A first-floor apartment looking straight onto Fistral beach, with pool access too — wake, check the surf, and let breakfast wait.
Places to stay with a sauna in Cornwall
Cornwall has 26 self-catering properties with sauna facilities in the current Sykes inventory. Our top picks below are sorted by descending headline price.
Cragford, near Sennen Cove
4 bedrooms · From £6,551 per week
Four bedrooms near Sennen Cove at the wild Land’s End tip of Cornwall — and the rare prize of this list: its own sauna for the post-Atlantic warm-up.
Pine Cottage, Maenporth
2 bedrooms · From £3,049 per week
Two bedrooms on the Maenporth Estate’s 29 acres of gardens and woodland near Falmouth — the gentler south coast, done properly.
Surf Song, Kenegie Manor
2 bedrooms · From £2,710 per week
An apartment in the grounds of Kenegie Manor outside Penzance — a practical, well-priced base for St Michael’s Mount and the Penwith coast.
Riverside Exclusive Retreat, Black Cross
1 bedroom · From £2,293 per week
A one-bedroom houseboat retreat with its own garden room — easily the most original way to sleep in Cornwall on this list.
Dog friendly places to stay in Cornwall
Cornwall has 368 dog-friendly self-catering properties in the current Sykes inventory — plenty for a long weekend with the family dog. Our top picks below are sorted by descending headline price.
Chy Lowen, St Ives
5 bedrooms · From £9,061 per week
Five bedrooms in a detached house close to St Ives — room for the whole party (dog included), with the Tate, the harbour and Porthmeor sands nearby.
The Old Forge, St Just
3 bedrooms · From £8,618 per week
A three-bedroom base in St Just, England’s most westerly town, with a woodburning stove — and fuel and power included in the rent, which matters more than people admit.
Cragford, near Sennen Cove
4 bedrooms · From £6,551 per week
The same four-bedroom house near Sennen Cove earns its second mention here: dogs are as welcome as their owners, and Sennen’s great sweep of beach is made for both.
OS map coverage for Cornwall
Mobile signal is patchy across most of Cornwall, especially on the moors and the cliff paths — a paper or downloaded OS map is more reliable than your phone for finding car parks, footpaths and the way home. Nine sheets cover the whole of Cornwall:
- OS Explorer 102 — Land’s End, Penzance & St Ives. Penwith, St Michael’s Mount, St Ives, Trengwainton, Levant, Botallack, Geevor.
- OS Explorer 103 — The Lizard. Kynance Cove, Lizard Point, Helston, Glendurgan, Godolphin, Penrose.
- OS Explorer 104 — Redruth & St Agnes. Godrevy, East Pool Mine, Camborne and the central north coast.
- OS Explorer 105 — Falmouth & Mevagissey. Falmouth, Pendennis, Trelissick, St Mawes, the Roseland.
- OS Explorer 106 — Newquay & Padstow. Padstow, Trerice, Bedruthan Steps, Newquay.
- OS Explorer 107 — St Austell & Liskeard, Fowey & Looe. Eden Project, Heligan, Restormel, Fowey, Polperro, Mevagissey.
- OS Explorer 108 — Lower Tamar Valley & Plymouth. Cotehele, Antony.
- OS Explorer 109 — Bodmin Moor. Lanhydrock and the moor.
- OS Explorer 111 — Bude, Boscastle & Tintagel. Tintagel Castle, Tintagel Old Post Office, Boscastle and the north-east coast.
FAQs
How long do I need in Cornwall?
A week as the minimum — Cornwall is too far to drive for a long weekend, and the proper Cornish pace doesn’t suit short visits. With a week you can comfortably base in one or two harbour towns and day-trip to most of the headline NT, EH and flagship attractions.
North coast or south coast?
North if you want surf and dramatic cliffs (Padstow, St Ives, Bedruthan, Tintagel). South if you want sheltered harbours, calmer water, and serious gardens (Fowey, Falmouth, Heligan, Trelissick, Glendurgan). The Lizard and Penwith straddle both.
Best base for a Cornwall family week?
St Ives is the most popular north-coast base. Falmouth is the best south-coast all-rounder (good links to St Mawes, Helford, Heligan and the Lizard). For deeper-into-Cornwall stays — Newquay (centre-north), Helston (centre-south), or Bodmin (centre, near Lanhydrock and the moor).
Can we visit in winter?
Yes, but with caveats. The harbour towns are quieter and properly atmospheric in winter; the beach and clifftop walks are spectacular. Many NT and EH properties close from late October through March. Most flagship attractions (Eden, Heligan, Geevor) stay open year-round; Pendennis and Restormel run reduced winter hours.
Is Cornwall good for very young children?
Yes — most of the harbour towns are walkable with pushchairs (Padstow especially), the family cycle trails (Camel Trail at Padstow, Lanhydrock estate trails) work for under-5s, and most NT properties have step-free routes. The exceptions are St Michael’s Mount (steep), Tintagel Castle (steep), and several of the smaller mining sites.
How do we beat the summer traffic?
Travel midweek if you can; Saturdays in July and August are the worst. Within Cornwall, the small ferry crossings (King Harry, Padstow-to-Rock, Falmouth-to-St Mawes, Fowey-to-Polruan) often save 20-40 minutes of road driving and turn the trip into part of the day.
Correct as of 7 August 2026 — please check before you travel, especially on Bank Holidays, Easter and between Christmas and New Year.