I’ve lived in Cornwall for four years now, but I lived mainly in Falmouth on the South Coast with no car. As a child, my dad always told me fond stories of his childhood holidays in North Cornwall around Port Issac, Tintagel, Padstow and more. I couldn’t believe I’d never explored there.
This summer my family and I took a day trip to North Cornwall and managed to see a lot in one day, so I thought I’d share my tips on seeing all of those places in one flying visit. Like I did in this recent guide to Penzance.
It took us nearly two hours driving from Helston to Padstow so definitely set off earlier than we did to make the most of it.
We drove into Padstow around mid-day. As you’d expect from Padstow in July, it was packed (this was even before the summer holidays from school). In Padstow all the car parks were full, so at that point, we just drove through the town.
Next, we made our way to Boscastle. Boscastle was the one place I hadn’t heard as much about. A tiny village with some shops leading to the harbour. Boscastle is lovely to walk around, but the most exciting thing is the museum of Witchcraft and magic on the front. The museum is easy to miss at first, its a bit of a TARDIS building. The museum is independently run, researched and has been there since 1960.
Tickets to enter cost just £5 and they recommend around 45 minutes, but we weren’t in there that long. It’s a very cool and interesting look at the history of paganism and witches, notably how witches were unfairly treated in society full of some cool art. If you have an interest in spirituality and magic, it is worth a trip.
Next, we drove onto Tintagel. I’d heard lots about Tintagel, as the village and nearby Tintagel Castle are associated with the legends surrounding King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. Unfortunately when we visited the Island and the castle was closed due to the bridge being refurbished. We could still walk down to the castle grounds and walk along the coast there which was still worth it, the water was the clearest I’d seen all summer which is saying something. You can also walk down to Merlins cave beach if the tide is out. However, you don’t have to worry as it as since been reopened so you can properly explore the iconic castle. However, be warned of the steep hill you have to walk up to get back into the town.
We then had a wander in some of the gift shops in town. There is a charming antique toy shop. We then headed to a pub for a cider.
After Tintagel, we drove onto Port Issac. Another place my dad told me so much about from his childhood holidays, and it is used as the set for a few TV shows, notably Doc. Martin, so I had a rough idea of what to expect. Port Issac was so much pretty than I imaged, its a beautiful place to get lost in the narrow streets.
The main road through the village was closed as they were filming Doc. Martin at the time. It was so exciting getting to see a TV show being filmed in the village.
Finally, to close our whirlwind adventure, we started driving the back we came and went back into Padstow, which was so much quieter than it had been in the morning, so we explored properly. Looking for somewhere to eat Padstow had plenty of choices; however, it was hard to get a table without booking. We stumbled across an Italian restaurant called, Pucelli’s above a shop on the waterfront. We managed to get a table with a view and enjoyed a fantastic meal. I went for a favourite of mine, a seafood pizza which was just amazing.
I couldn’t believe how much we crammed into this one day and once I’m driving I’ll definitely be exploring more of North Cornwall. Have you explored North Cornwall, where is your favourite place in this post?
Love Charlotte xxx