Destination Guide: Newquay, Cornwall

The Why: Summer is here, Cornwall is beautiful. Beaches as good as anywhere in the world, Stunning harbours, Great food and party vibes.

Its easy to look beyond the UK for holidays with foreign climbs close and inexpensive, I have to admit it took me several decades to give Cornwall a try but I have to say I’m a convert. Cornwall’s beaches and farm shops certainly have a better reputation than its town centres and cities recently but Newquay has a bit of everything.

Transport: You can fly into Newquay but in reality flights aren’t regular enough to be reliable and a train from Paddington can be as little as 4 and a bit hours with no requirement to sit in an airport for 2 hours before. The latter part of the journey takes you down the inlet at teignmouth and past a range of stunning little villages and seaside towns. Always check GWR for special offers in addition to your usual train providers and consider using the SeatFrog app for a cheeky upgrade. Newquay station is just a short hop from shops, pubs, hotels and several lovely beaches.

Beaches: Newquay is home to several great beaches, Sheltered by the rocky landscape with additional caves, surf schools and shops. Great Western Beach is the closest, but I might suggest a small pitstop. The Great Western Hotel has a beer garden as good as anything anywhere and some of St.Austell Brewery’s finest produce.

To the east are two private beaches: Tolcarne and Lusty Gaze, This is still rare in the UK but in this case they seem to allow for better facilities and events, Admission to the beach is still free but with the latter they are known to close for Weddings and other events. Magical venue surely. To the West are the town centre, which certianly seems lively by Cornwall standards and not short of somewhere nice to eat and drink, the Harbour with its amazing Boathouse venue – home to multiple fooderies and bars in almost a food court style but with awesome produce. Try the Crab roll, thank me later. Even further round is Fistrall beach with a very different feel, a famous chippy beloging to Rick Stein off the telly and Boardmasters beach club for live music.

Food: Spending a couple of days its dfficult to do any kind of survey of the food scene as a hole and with sheer size there is good variety but here are some favourites, as above the Boathouse at Newquay Harbour, and The Great Western Hotel deserve honorable mentions. I’d add Counter Culture. A Basque inspired eatery in town not far from Walkabout and other bars in the noisier part of town. Absolutely amazing food and great service. There has to be a good chance in Summer months that a food festival of sorts will be on too.

Activities: Their are a lot of events amd activities set around the beaches from Surf lessons and competitions to fishing and sightseeing boat trips, Stand up paddleboarding, and even more food and drink related activties. Newquay also boasts a Zoo and an Aquarium.

Further afield: If you are going to come all the way down then why not tag on a trip to see some more of the region. St Austell is around an hour away, and while its town centre is hilly and unwelcoming its bay is stunning and is handy for things like the amazing Eden project, The Lost Gardens of Helligan, Charlestown and Megavisse harbours. St. Ives and a hundred other places will also stake their claim. Go and Wander.