Category: Your holiday

New Experiences in Cornwall

A visit to the unique county of Cornwall is the perfect chance to pick-up a new skill, learn something new, or try something different. It might be an old favourite in a new location, or an untested activity you’ve always hankered after. Here’s a round-up of what to do in Cornwall this year and what your stay by the sea could offer this year…

Discover new skies

Cornwall offers dramatic landscapes for night time adventures. In December 2021, West Penwith was recognised as an International Dark Sky Park, joining Bodmin Moor with this designation and the Dark Sky Discovery Site at Carnewas and Bedruthan Steps where you can see the Milky Way pass overhead.

Image credit: Graham Gaunt Photowork

Spend time on ocean time

Why not take some time out from the normal rhythm of life to follow the beat of the tides? From expansive beaches of golden sand and rocky pools teeming with hidden life to high-adrenaline coasteering and water sports at high water. Then there’s reading the waves as they come and go, learning the natural signs of the sea so you can decide what best suits the day’s conditions, from heading in for a swim to grabbing the surfboard.

Go to the ceramic source

China clay is synonymous with St Austell and its surrounding villages; a rich heritage that’s embarking on an artisan revival. Operating out of St Austell’s newly relaunched Market House, along with a host of other makers, Flookan runs a four-week introduction to ceramics course, in the home of china clay, where you can learn a range of skills for working with clay. There’s also one-off workshops and taster sessions running through the year, with private bookings on request.

Image credit: Flookan 

Seek out supper from the sea

Foraging seaweed can be a sustainable, tasty, invigorating journey into a new cuisine. The Fat Hen offers a two-day course in identifying, gathering, preserving and cooking with 15 different seaweeds. You’ll also learn how seaweed can remineralise the body in baths and skincare products.

Find the vines

Cornwall’s relatively mild climate and long sunlight hours make it one of the finest regions for wine production in the UK. The Wild Wine School near Padstow has a commitment to sustainable viticulture, and deals in wine with distinctly untamed notes: its mission is to share wine knowledge and passion “in surroundings that enliven senses and expand minds, calling on nature to add a technicolour edge to your experience”. In its workshop on Organic and Biodynamic Viticulture, you’ll learn the basic concepts of organic and biodynamic viticulture, “from lunar cycles to the special alchemy of plants”, taste six sustainably produced wines, and have the chance to try making one of the Biodynamic preparations.

Image Credit: Ingrid Pop

Ride the West Kernow Way

An 230km off-road route – funded by the European Regional Development Fund’s Experience project – exploring west Cornwall is now fully open. It takes in many of the highlights of the western half of the Cornish peninsula, including the Botallack tin mines, the Bronze Age monument Mên-an-Tol, Land’s End, St Michael’s Mount and Lizard Point. Expect spectacular coastal scenery, hedgerows bursting with wildflowers and ancient tracks across isolated moorland.

Image credit: The West Kernow Way

Explore sea life

Graceful and silent, take to a kayak to explore aquatic habitats and the chance to share secluded coves with seals and cormorants.  Koru Kayaking offer North Coast kayaking around the caves and mining heritage of St Agnes, and the sheltered creeks and coves of the Helford River near Falmouth. For the more experienced, Sea Kayaking Cornwall run a week-long adventure island hopping by kayak around the Scilly Isles.

Image credit: Koru Kayaking

Apnea or freediving, descending under water on a single breath has a long history, with roots in yoga, meditation and breathing techniques. Explore the wilderness underwater with Aquacity, based in the sheltered Porthkerris Cove on the Lizard. Aquacity offer a half-day introduction to freediving from May. There’s also a more advanced course giving an entry-level qualification.

Image credit: Daan Verhoeven

Take the geothermal waters

Jubilee Pool, the striking Art Deco sea water pool on Penzance’s promenade now has its new geothermal pool up and running, heated to 30-35 degrees via its own 410m deep geothermal well. So the pool now offers Geo & Dine, where you can enjoy an evening dip under the moonlight in the steamy geothermal pool, followed by a specially selected, fresh locally-sourced three-course meal. Or try its Geo & Fizz sessions, where you can buy an alcoholic drink from the cafe and enjoy some bubbles in the water.

Find a discounted stay by the sea on our special offers page, and browse our various beach locations to explore a new place this year.

Beach safety in Cornwall this summer

Here’s what you need to know if you’re planning a trip to the seaside…

We hope you’re excited for your stay by the sea. While Cornwall is generally a safe place, each year there are accidents on our coastlines.

To ensure this doesn’t happen to you during your time with Beach Retreats, Newquay Activity Centre have produced some beach safety guidelines for you and your family to follow. Their instructors are fully trained lifeguards and work closely with the RNLI.

Save the image below to your phone and share with your loved ones ahead of your holiday to Cornwall.

You may see a flag with a red stripe on top and a yellow stripe underneath. There will be two of these red and yellow flags on the beach, and these mark out the area that it is safe to swim between. This area will be covered by lifeguards.

Mark Kelly is the Beach Lifeguard Trainer and Assessor at Newquay Activity Centre and says:

“The beaches are busy, and we’ve experienced a big swell recently that has already sadly caused fatalities and rescues. We urge surfers and swimmers to be aware, check the weather, tide and forecast.

For small children, there is also fun to be had in the rockpools and paddling in the shallows. We really hope that the RNLI are able to fully patrol the beaches soon, but we want people to understand how dangerous the sea can be and to stay safe at the beach”.

If you’d like to participate in a safe ocean activity this summer under the watchful eye of a trained lifeguard, or you would like to train as a lifeguard, please contact newquayactivitycentre.co.uk

Dine at your self-catered retreat with Lobster Box

Enjoy all the flavours of fine dining in the comfort of your retreat, without the hassle of food prep and cooking. Lobster Box does all the hard work for you and makes delicious dining easy. 

Lobster Box is a small local company set up by Cam, who chefs up delicious hand-prepared seafood meals.

Lobster Box has an ethos of small batch, hand flavoured, fresh, tasty and super easy to enjoy food. The unique selling point is that the food is already prepped, requiring minimal fuss. The fish is locally caught and Cam’s main supplier works out of Padstow.

Cam’s Seafood Adventures started at the age of 19 on a Deep Sea Trawler in New Zealand. Having grown up in Cornwall as an avid waterman, Cam left his home turf to seek experiences and found himself working at sea. Being around the freshest fish caused him to develop a passion for cooking, and his chef style draws on inspiration from his travels. From curry making tips and secret ingredients used in Sri Lanka, to rustic Boat tucca in Australia, working as a head chef at multiple locations at home and abroad, Cam has a wealth of invaluable experience. In 2016 – 2019 he put his heart and soul into his own restaurant on the Isles of Scilly, somewhat closer to his home of Cornwall.

Lobster Box recipes follow this journey, reflecting Cam’s love of cooking seafood with spice and fruit. Boxes come either ready to eat or ready to finish off at home, with hand flavoured sides and sauces, making them ideal if you don’t want to cook or want to take something out to the beach with you for some sundowners. The ethos is minimum effort, without compromising on texture and flavour.

Cam says “I do believe that it is possible to eat fine seafood without compromising on flavour, as easily as possible, from anywhere.”

And that’s why we love Lobster Box. Fuss free, full flavour food, ready to eat wherever.

Order your Lobster Box to your self-catered retreat and enjoy the best of Cornish cuisine at your leisure.

Cam from Lobster Box is now also running Kooked, a holiday arrival ready meal service. Beach Retreats guests get exclusive Kooked delivery from Thursday – Sunday, and can pre-order a delicious, exclusive fish pie, alongside other tasty options, to be waiting for you in your retreat on your arrival day.

The Importance of Play

Fun, adventure and the childlike nature of play are all important to our wellbeing, allowing us to switch off from day-to-day responsibilities and embrace our inner child. We explore how you can incorporate play into your family holiday, and the benefits this can bring.

When you’re in need of a real break, (like so many of us are right now), holidaying with the kids can be tricky. Their constant energy and endless need to be entertained often means you don’t get much chance to truly relax, and you may find you aren’t quite as revitalized as you’d hoped after a family day on the beach.

However, spending an uninterrupted week on holiday with your children is also an opportunity. A chance to switch off from day to day working life and responsibilities and get back in touch with your own childish side. Children are a great reminder of the importance of play, inviting you to become involved in games, adventure and exploration. Studies show that play for adults helps to release endorphins, improve brain functionality, and stimulate creativity. It can even improve memory and stimulate the growth of the cerebral cortex. Embrace a playful mindset and view your time away through younger, inquisitive eyes – it could bring a whole new lease of life to your beach days.

Here’s a few suggestions for how to dial up the play in each moment of your beach stay.

Rise

Wake up with the peach tinted rays of the morning sun. Waking early aligns best with children’s’ natural body clocks and gives you a great start to the day, allowing you to make the most of the hours of beachside adventure which lie ahead. Over breakfast, let your children choose the task for the day (set a list for them to pick between if you think it’s too risky) then plan together. Make a scavenger hunt list of things to look out for, play hide and seek with the things you need to pack – if you make the getting ready as much of the day as the outing, you’ll enjoy yourselves from the very start.

Roam

Head out, little feet skipping along dusty paths lined with Cornish montbretia and sea pinks. This is the most exciting moment of the day- when the anticipation for seeing the sea takes over, and you are yet to spot the first glimmer of blue in the distance. Make it a challenge- the first to spot the beach, a surfer, a bird….

Collect

The shoreline and surrounding coast are dotted with treasures- from seashells, flowers and mother of pearl to striped feathers, driftwood and smooth sea glass, start a hunt and see what you can find. Collect as many different things as you can, or pick one category and see how many different kinds of that thing you can find. There are hundreds of different patterned pebbles, types of shells, or varieties of seaweed you can gather and discover once you start to look. Through rockpooling secret ponds, scaling the shore or delving into the flora, collecting seaside treasures is a great way to while away the hours whilst finding keepsakes that hold the memory of these beach days. Whoever finds the best seashell wins!

Picnic

Make sure you’ve packed up plenty of fuel. Find a serene spot overlooking sea views and tuck in. Spread jam and dollop clotted cream on scones, the classic Cornish snack which kids love. Food is all part of the fun, so let the little ones get involved in assembling their snacks- don’t worry about the mess! For more food inspiration, have a look at our Cook and Carry blog with ideas on beach friendly meals that can be easily transported from pan to sand.

Navigate

Help keep the little ones engaged on the walk home by letting them navigate the route. Do they remember any particular landmarks passed on the way? Do they recognise the route they mapped out earlier? Are there any detours or artefacts they want to look at? You could even have a go at reading natural signs- look at where the sun is in the sky and track its movements or examine the sea and how the tide has changed throughout the day. This will engage the kids in the elemental forces at play by the coast, giving them a fuller understanding of what nature can teach us. Read our Natural Signs blog here.

Relax

Once you’ve returned to your retreat, the kids should be tired out. If they still want to play, suggest drawing, journaling or scrapbooking moments of the day, or set up a board game out on your balcony. Your beach retreat is equipped with all the entertainment you need for an evening in, so you can sit back, relax, and indulge in a well-deserved glass of wine.

10 reasons to stay in Hayle

Ever considered holidaying in Hayle? This estuary town sits on a dramatic stretch of the west Cornwall coast, between St Ives and Gwithian, and is home to Cornwall’s longest beach, Gwithian Towans, which stretches three miles from Hayle to Godrevy head.

Despite its natural beauty, Hayle is often the lesser spoken-about destination compared to the nearby holiday hotspots of St Ives and Mousehole. We’ve come up with 10 reasons why you should pick Hayle for your next trip to Cornwall.

Visiting Cornwall for a romantic adventure? Check out our romantic cottages.

Away from the crowds

Hayle is just outside of the bustling streets of St Ives, and you’ll find quieter beaches and plenty of untouched nature to explore. Due to the size of its sandy beach, you’ll always have space to yourself, even on the busiest of summer days.

The train into St Ives

If you do fancy an excursion out of town, the five minute train ride from Hayle to St Ives is one of the most scenic in the UK. Be sure to grab a window seat on the right hand side, as you’ll pass the tropical waters of Carbis Bay and will have panoramic views of St Ives ahead of you, spanning all the way back towards Godrevy in the distance.

Thinking about staying in St Ives? Have a look at our luxury St Ives holiday properties.

Godrevy lighthouse

Further along the three mile stretch of beach, you’ll come across Godrevy, where you can see the iconic lighthouse standing proud on the skyline. This very lighthouse inspired Virginia Woolf’s novel To the Lighthouse, and is a must see on your visit to Hayle.

The best sunsets

As Hayle is on the north west coast of Cornwall, the sun sets directly above its horizon, meaning fiery red sunset skies. Head out along the coast path towards Godrevy, where you can see it set behind the lighthouse, causing the iconic white building to glow gold.

Seal spotting

Walk past Godrevy lighthouse and over the National Trust owned headland and you’ll come to the inaccessible Mutton Cove, home to a Grey seal colony. Because it can’t be reached by humans, it’s a perfect place for them to gather and bask, while interested wildlife spotters can peer down unobtrusively from above.

Food and drink

Hayle is home to an array of delectable eats, from its iconic Philps pasties which are famous around Cornwall to fine dining with a sea view in many waterfront restaurants. Check out our guide to eating out in Hayle for more recommendations.

Nature and sand dunes

Beyond its sandy shores lies a fascinating natural landscape to explore. Look around Upton Towans nature reserve that leads onto a mass of sand dunes which border the beach. Or take a walk or cycle along the RSPB reserve, passing the estuary, tidal pools and marsh in and around the town.

Bird watching

The estuary is a great spot for wildlife, as it attracts various flocks of birds throughout the seasons. Spend a day around the wetlands area and you may catch a rare sighting. The nearby Saltings nature reserve is also a prime place for murmurations in the shoulder months.

Coastal walks

From Hayle you also have easy access to the South West Coast Path, where you can get to St Ives on foot. The walk is just over six miles, but the coastal views along the way and the promise of a seafood lunch in St Ives will keep you going.

Interested in finding the best walks in Cornwall? Check out our blog on our favourite autumnal walks.

Watersports

Gwithian is a great spot for budding surfers to pros, with its wide shoreline and consistent swell. The area is also famous for windsurfing. There is a selection of surf and watersports schools dotted along the coast, meaning you can hire equipment and head out on a lesson if you don’t feel confident in the water.

Find out more about Hayle here, and take a look at our retreats in Hayle for your next trip below.