Things to do

Eating out

Farming and fishing are in the blood of many Cornishmen and women, so it’s no surprise to find plenty of great food made with fresh and seasonal ingredients big thing here. Perhaps because we are a rural as well as a coastal community, Cornish food traditions blend happily with newer Mediterranean influences. The following is an entirely subjective list of our favorite places to eat — simple, posh, and in-between. Please add your favorites by adding a Facebook comment, or emailing us some info.

In St Ives…

Alba is our favorite fish restaurant — they are passionate about the very best ingredients and present imaginative and classic dishes.

Porthminster Café and Porthgwidden Café and both pleasers. The former is a little more formal and is hugely popular with the arty set, the latter slightly for casual. Both are right on their respective beaches… and both have great outdoor dining areas. By the way, neither are cafés, as such.

In and near Gwithian…

Right on the Towans are the Jampot and Sunset Surf. The jampot is tiny: a former “huer’s hut” and great for an al-fresco breakfast. Sunset Surf serves all day and is as good for a pot of tea, as for a hearty lunch or dinner. A ten-minute stroll from Gwithian towards Godrevy gets you to the Godrevy Café (lovely views, lovely food, lovely people… they only do evening meals in the summer, and we advise you to book)… and nearby there is the chic-ish Sandsifter (re-opened fairly recently and building a sound reputation for modern cuisine in a “funky” environment). In Gwithian village there is the Red River Inn with good pub food (and ales of course) – very good local farm steaks. Now, if you want a classic Sunday lunch (well, lunch or dinner on any day of the week, come to that) with puddings that will finish you off, look no further than Trevaskis Farm (but book ahead!). Trevaskis, with its butchery, daily fresh fish, amazing bread, organics fruit and veg, wines and beers and and pick-your-own is also the best place to get your food provisions for miles around, and is open from 8-8 every day. Hayle has more takeaways than people (fish and chips, Indian, Chinese, pizza, Thai…)… but don’t miss Philp’s the famous pasty emporium on the corner.

Porthleven…

Porthleven is getting a great reputation for food — a bit like Padstow ten years ago. Our favorite, right at the head of the harbour is Kota – with its exquisite Asian/New Zealand/Cornish fusion menu… not quite such a well-kept secret any more, and gets very busy so you may want to book ahead to avoid disappointment. Next door is the Lugger bistro, simpler fare and a little cheaper but vey good too. For pub grub try the Harbour Inn.

Arts and culture

Wherever you go in the area you will come across galleries, both public and commercial. Check out the local media for details (‘The Cornishman’ and the ‘West Briton’ come out on Thursdays – and we’ll have left one in the cottage for you).

Newlyn and Penzance…

For the discerning, Newlyn is steeping in art history. It was of course home to the Newlyn School of ‘plein-air’ painters including Stanhope Forbes, Lamorna Birch, Norman Garstin and Walter Langley. You can see many of the breathtaking originals in Penlee House. But it’s not all history, check out Newlyn Gallery and The Exchange for the contemporatry and the conceptual. There are lots of commercial galleries and craft shops in Newlyn and Mousehole too, but for a real piece of work in progress check out ‘the Copperworks’ behind the Chandlers on the strand. There are a variety of small venues playing live music throughout the summer.

Our favourite walks

We love to walk, so maybe you do too. Whether it’s a winter beach stroll as the stormy surf lashes the coast, a moorland ramble in autumn taking in bronze age monuments and the historic architecture of the a landscape shaped by tin-mining , a springtime jaunt along coast paths and lanes bejeweled with wild flowers, or a classic cliff-top walk at any time of year, Cornwall has it all.

St Ives Bay…

Around Gwithian you have literally miles of coast paths and footpaths right on your doorstep. In spring the sand dunes are at their loveliest and a walk in the dunes back towards Hayle will take you for as long (or as short) as you wish. As well as the sporadically market South West Coast Path, there are literally hundreds of other meandering routes. In the opposite direction, a more adventurous one hour walk takes you to Godrevy Point. Take binoculars for a good look at the Godrevy lighthouse, an 86 foot white octagonal tower, opened in 1859 and manned until 1934. Virginia Woolfe could see Godrevy lighthouse from her childhood holiday home across the bay in St Ives and it became an important motif in her writing, and of course the inspiration for “To The Lighthouse”. Keep walking along the cliff path (be brave but take care!) and you will come to Seal Cove and Mutton Cove where, in spring and autumn you may be lucky enough to see dozens of seals basking on the beach far below. Push on and you will be rewarded by a cafe at aptly named Hell’s Mouth… still further along the north cliffs takes you the five miles or so to Portreath. If you like serious walking, our advice is to get an OS map before you come (Explorer No 102 is good).

Around Newlyn and beyond…

Newlyn sits on the side of a hill so a walk around its picturesque side streets will be enough for many. Or if you feel little more adventurous take the coast road footpath/cycle route south and find delightful Mousehole, a labyrinth of alleyways and surprises, a place of legend and tradition … and seagulls! For the more energetic keep on going!… to the coast path for a beautiful walk to Lamorna Cove for cream teas or a refreshing drink at The Wink public house. There is a bus stop nearby or you could arrange to be collected and driven home. Check the local guidebooks for some of the most breathtaking cliff top walks or moorland hikes on the Penwith peninsula. All spectacular.

Towards the Lizard…

A short drive away from any of out cottages will take you to one of our favourite places for relaxation – Porthleven Harbour, where you can spend the day on the beach followed by watching the sunset and enjoy the bobbing boats from one the excellent bars or restaurants, which include Amalie and the Ship Inn. Just a stone’s throw along from Porthleven there is a special place called Loe Bar, which sites a spectacular lake and woodland, taking you on a circular path where lake meets sea only divided by a band of sand, great for cycling, walking a dog or bird watching. For the ultimate beach experience try the beautiful National Trust beach, Church Cove situated in a natural setting of reed beds and golden sands, it is a safe beach with lifeguards in attendance, great for body-boarding and snorkelling.

Beach Life

Gwithian…

As you can probably tell, we are big fans of Gwithian. It may not be the best beach in the world, but don’t say that when we’re within earshot! You can easily spend a holiday in Cornwall and visit no beach other than Gwithian, and you’d not be too disappointed. Many do just that. Gwithian is a three-mile ribbon of fine golden sand with something for everyone. It offers rock-pools and safe sandy beach-pools to delight small children, acres of space at low tide for beach games and kite flying, as well as life-guarded bathing and surfing (daytime during the summer). If you crave seclusion take a stroll over the towans and find your very own sand-dune or quiet beach spot… or stay close to the facilities which include Sunset Surf which has all the ice-cream and beach gear you could wish for, or the ‘hidden gem’ of the Jam Pot, perfect for a cream tea, a morning bacon sarnie or something more exotic. Whatever your thing, take care on the beach… be aware of beach safety, and enjoy the Cornish sunshine but look after your beautiful skin!

From the Lizard to Newlyn, and beyond…

Where do you start! …Newlyn cheerfully greets the rising sun and as the whole of Mount’s Bay faces south, don’t forget your sun block. There is a wide, bright beach extending eastwards all the way from Penzance to Marazion with life-guarded bathing, ideal for sandcastles and for skimming stones, and internationally renowned for kite/wind surfing and dingy sailing. Beyond St Michael’s Mount, toward Porthleven and the Lizard Peninsular, lie many secret spots and smuggling haunt too numerous list here, but well described in local guides and in Ordnance Survey Explorer 102, which will act as a treasure maps for sun bathing, seal and basking-shark watching, and rock pools galore. In the other direction, heading west by bus or car, and you’ll find stunning Sennen Cove (and lesser known Whitsand Bay) for bathing, surfing and a setting sun. Another gem is Porthcurno for beach picnics and an evening of entertainment at the iconic outdoor Minack Theatre (very popular so check their website and in advance for a long season of plays and musicals).