h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

... would be good to go on holiday in September?

With two children, one three and one three months. We'd want access to a beach I suppose, but also to a town(s).

Oh and we'd be driving from London.

I'd say your best bets are narrowed to a few, Newquay, Bude, Peranporth, porthleven, Falmouth or looe. I'd personally suggest Bude, it has two beaches (town beach and crooklets bay) which are walkable from the town centre. The town in a decent sized town which has plenty of small time businesses and not many large cemercial businesses ( there is a boots and llyods and a few others but the rest are local owners or small businesses.) Bide also has a morrisons supermarket, a sainsbury's supermarket and a large co-op. Near the morrisons store (across the road) is a swimming pool named splash and a bowling alley named harlequins (which also has a large indoor play area for younger children, I take my 2 sons there after visits to my sisters house) there is also a swimming pool by the town beach. Also there quite a few hotels, restaurants and pubs, a couple of clubs. There is also widemouth bay beach which is a mile outside of bude and has a lot of sand, a few shops and a few cafes. There are a number of holiday parks and campsites surrounding bude there are also plenty of days out for adults and kids in north Cornwall and most places have a tourist board( morrisons have one) which has a multitude of leaflets and flyers (some with money off coupons) showing days out, bude to Newquay is about a 45 min drive down the A39 your also a short car journey to north devon and Bideford (which has Atlantic village, a shopping mall and kids adventure area called Atlantis) Barnstaple, westward ho and Ilfracombe are a few places that are nice to visit. The best way to get there would be M3 to just past basingstoke, then join the A303 to the south (ehich joins the A30) from there you join the M5 for a short while. Head down the M5 to Exeter, from Exeter on the A30 to Launceston then from there you can either head north to holsworthy then to bude (well signposted) or head on the a396 to davidstow then head north on the A39 to bude.

St Ives! Three beaches within two minutes walk of each other and each one with their own micro climate. I used to have a flat there. You can be on the beach and if it starts to rain, just get up and walk over to the next one where it will probably be sunny. Plenty of art galleries to look around (including St.Ives Tate) and if you're going between the 10th and the 24th, book up now because the festival will be taking place - lots of music and arty stuff (including Ade Edmonson and the Shepherds playing punk music on folk instruments)

http://www.stivesseptemberfestival.co.uk/

Tch! Bad shepherds.

That's really helpful, mikeyd, thanks! I was dithering, never having been to Cornwall, but Bude does sound about right.

Incidentally, that is almost enough for a Guide Entry, I reckon, if there isn't one on Bude already. I'll testify that people will want to read it! Welcome to h2g2!

St Ives is down the bottom end, isn't it, RTG? I was thinking that might be a bit far. I like a good road trip myself, but there are limits to how many times I want to hear 'are we nearly there yet?' and there are only so many packets of crisps I feel comfortable letting my son eat in one morning.

Still, one day...

Nah, you just play 'count the windmills' on the way down. Loads of wind turbines for the kids to look at. It's worth it when you get there and if you go the scenic route via the Torpoint ferry at Plymouth they get a boat ride too (and a toilet break).

I've been twice, north and south. I found Bude fine but a wee bit touristy for me. Eventually stayed at Michaelstow, close to Port Isaac and Tintagel, and close links to Cracklington (a Cornish hidden gem).

The beauty of Cornwall is you aren't far from anywhere, si a trip to St. Ives, Eden, Heligan, Camelford, Bude, is only a maximum 30 minutes away.

Enjoy, wherever you end up.

MMF

o/-

I've been to all those mentioned, and I recommend them all (with the possible exception of Newquay)

If you're worried about the length of the drive, then North Cornwall / North Devon is great. The beaches are superb.

If you can cope with the extra few hours sitting in queues, then St Ives is one of the best resorts on this planet. It's also a short drive from the prehistoric stones of Penwith: A56585398

At the risk of sounding all 'Ed Milliband', why don't you try Butlins at Minehead? I know it's not Cornwall, but it's out of season, so could be fairly inexpensive, and you'll have loads of entertainment on site to keep the kids happy, and they probably do a nanny service so you could enjoy a free evening.

That said, you really can't beat Cornwall , I'd recommend the seal sanctuary at Gweek- especially at feeding times- to keep the kids entertained. And don't forget the Cornish cream

Enjoy your break

Not recommending the monkey sanctuary at Looe then Ed?

D'ya know, I've never actually been.

Be like a family reunion (shudder)

Can't fault St Ives as a suggestion, the only slight disadvantage it has is it's relatively far away from the Eden Project, which is a must see.

I wouldn't stay in Falmouth as it's very much a working town and not that attractive. Got a lot to see though - Pendennis Castle is pretty cool and they've often got special events like jousting on during the summer. Gyllingvase (or however you spell it) beach is nice, if very busy. Plenty of nice restaurants and the Maritime museum is worth a look. Falmouth is also a great base for exploring the Carrick Roads and Roseland, using the ferries. I can personally recommend the walk around from Penryn to Flushing, catching the ferry back to Falmouth - lovely walk, really simple and only 3/4 miles. St Mawes is gorgeous and very swanky and the Roseland is stunning with lovely little secluded beaches and great cliff walks.

A lot of the places between Falmouth and Truro like Penryn (where I lived), Feock or Mylor are lovely and could make a good base. Truro is very nice with a proper old fashioned cinema and a lot of nice pubs and restaurants around the main square/plaza. The cathedral is worth a visit too.

The Helford River system is spectacular - places like Heligan Gardens and Gweek are worth a visit and again, it can be done in a ferry trip from Falmouth. Helston is pretty enough with some really nice old sandstone buildings and places to eat/drink but is mainly somewhere to pass through on the way to the Lizard which is, in my opinion, the most spectacular bit of Cornwall. The walk from Kynance Cove to Church Cove, going right around the Lizard (and including the most southerly point in Great Britain) is awesome and has the best coastal scenery in the county.

If you're after miles of sandy beaches then Mounts Bay between the Lizard and Penzance is probably your best bet - Praa Sands and Porthleven Sand are probably your best bet but they can get quite busy (I always preferred the small sandy or pebbly coves for the seclusion). Hayle on the north coast is also worth a mention for beaches.

I've got a real soft spot of Penzance, really attractive, people are friendly and there's just a nice atmosphere to the place. The gardens that beack the promenade are worth taking a stroll though and there's a couple of kids parks in there. It's worth going beyond Penzance, just don't go as far as Land's End - huge disappointment. Mousehole, which is an easy walk around from Penzance, takes the p*ss with how attractive it is and Porthcurno with the Minack theatre (open air theatre on the cliffs) - I really regret not seeing a play at the Minack while I lived down there - is worth visiting. The north coast between Lands End and St Ives is a lot wilder and more rugged (the north coast in general is wilder and more rugged).

St Ives is, as mentioned, pretty much a perfect holiday destination and the coast between it and Hayle is basically one long beach. Camborne and Redruth are as close to grim as you get in Cornwall. Perranporth is nice and a more chilled alternative to Newquay. Newquay is really becoming a sort of Blackpool of the south. It's nice enough and there's some good walks around there but I wouldn't want to spend too much time there.

Never got to explore much of the county north/east beyond Newquay and St Austell but I was reliably informed it was very nice: Fowey is like a miniature Carrick Roads/Helford River and Padstow is a quintessential Cornish fishing town.

Right, that's my essay done for the day - can you tell I rather enjoying living in Cornwall?

I second the Lizard, but cliff walks are not ideal with young children in tow.

And don't miss out on buying boogie/body boards if you visit the north coast. Its so easy to get that surfing experience. You just lie on the board rather than stand up. Its absolutely brilliant fun.

St Ives was REALLY busy in July. Suppose it'd be better in September.

Penzance was thoroughly underwhelming, too. Falmouth is nice, but I found it over-run by poorly behaved kids.

I'd go for North Coast between Newquay and Padstow. Lots of interesting little coves and beaches and plenty of places to eat too.

B

I live in Cornwall rather depends on how touristy you wish to be, and type of accommodation? Some places are over hyped and over priced
The Rame Head area where I live is a ferry ride from Plymouth and some huge, sandy, under-rated beaches

North Cornwall is noticeably quicker to get to with a carful of children. Last time we set off at midnight and drove down through the night - I wouldn't actually recommend arriving at a campsite at 6am while everybody else is still asleep, and we did all need a very early night, but it did reduce the 'are we nearly there yet?' factor significantly, and there were no traffic jams. Plus we had Taunton Deane entirely to ourselves in the middle of the night.

I have also travelled to Cornwall on the overnight sleeper but this of course has the huge disadvantage that you have no car once you arrive.

Crealy Adventure Park is toddler-friendly. And mostly harmless. You can get admission using tokens from one of the supermarket reward schemes (every little helps).

Check the mobile phone coverage at beaches you might go to before you go down there. The Star will run off and you and husband will need to keep in mobile contact to track him. Also worth choosing a beach with lifeguards (I think Cornwall Council's website lists them somewhere).

We quite liked the Blue Reef Aquarium at Newquay. It was a good way of seeing the rockpool things that are hard to find in rockpools.

Mol

"Crealy Adventure Park is toddler-friendly. And mostly harmless. You can get admission using tokens from one of the supermarket reward schemes (every little helps)."

Smooth...

B

Hmm, conflicted again now. But in a good way. Clealy if we go to Bude this time, we'll have to go to St Ives next time and then work our way along from there.

Ah well, once I've broken my Cornwall cherry I'm sure we'll go back.

St Ives WILL be busy in September, Mu B, because of the September Festival. The Golden Lion is St Ives is a must for David Bowie fans. He spent most of his holiday there a few years back and thanked them by donating one of his paintings to the pub. It's on the wall in the rear bar.