North Cornwall Ideas

Some ideas for your adventure in North Cornwall.

Wild Camp

North Cornwall is a brilliant place for wild camping. Most beaches are deserted at night (beware the tide coming in), the grass on some cliffs is springier than a mattress and there are miles of secluded sand dunes. Just remember to pitch late, leave early and leave no trace of your being there. All who wander are not lost!

Understand Geology at Millook.

Millook Haven is not only home to the cliffs voted by the Geological Society of London as one of Britain's top 10 geological sites, leading the "folding and faulting" category, but also the home of one of the best waves in Britain. A reef just offshore sometimes produces perfectly formed left handed waves.

Fly a kite

Westerly winds are a feature of being on the North Cornwall coast so take advantage of their lift to go fly. Miles of open sand at low tide provide pylon free playgrounds!

Star Trek

The night skies in Cornwall really are better than many other places. Scientific experiments have shown that the air is cleaner so you really do get to see out to the stars and there is very little street light pollution. Bedruthan Steps is a designated Dark Skies Reserve but to be honest you can find plenty of places along the north coast where the night skies really Wow!

Make a movie

Others have had a go at this along the North Coast footpath so maybe it's your time! If it's not in your budget to finance a feature film then visit the film locations instead. You'll understand why Kieffer Sutherland was inspired by "For the Fallen" at Pentire Head and the connection between James Bond and "Swept from the Sea" within a stone's throw of the same spot. Let me take you on a movie tour if this didn't make sense.

All who wander are not lost...Be a Cornish pilgrim

Join an all night pilgrimage across Cornwall. Like the one from Truro to Piran Round in early March to celebrate Cornwall's favorite Saint. St Piran landed on the North Cornwall coast in the sand dunes at Penhale and you can too! Cornwall is a pilgrim's dream and you'll not have problems tracking or trekking the Saints' Ways here!

Volunteer for a Scrub and Spud Day

Watch the sun sink below the horizon after a full day's volunteering with the National Trust clearing the scrub at Pentireglaze. Share your spud lunch cooked over an open fire with other volunteers. This may not be available anymore but there are still plenty of volunteering opportunities with the biggest landowner on the north coast.

Be inspired by The Eden Project.

You'll need a full day here! Although it's not on the North Coast. The Eden Project is just too inspirational to miss on a trip to North Cornwall. It's just less than an hour away.

Visit a Garden Project

If you can't get to the Eden Project there are lots of gardens in Cornwall that are worth exploring. The Lost Gardens of Heligan and Lanhydrock are an easy and inspiring day trip from the North Coast. Otherwise why not enjoy your own home grown on a cliff top near Port Isaac with Doc Martin one evening?

Cycle Padstow to Bude

This spectacular day ride takes you through tranquil woods, old Cornish towns, and along the Camel Estuary with views of creeks, sandbanks and rocky shores. Up a deep wooded valley alongside Bodmin Moor you'll find National Cycle Route 3 all the way to Bude!

Write a North Cornwall Poem

Leave the coast path near Boscastle to find St Juliot's Church down a long mossy lane. Thomas Hardy found so much inspiration here that it triggered a poetic outpouring later in his life that some claimed changed the course of English Literature!

Climb Rough Tor and Brown Willy

Trekking up to the top of Cornwall's highest point is a must whatever the weather. In winter, at dusk, make your way down Rough Tor to listen to probably more than 3 million starlings as they fly home to roost and see their sky-show murmurations by the National Trust car park. On a fine cold clear evening you will not be alone.

Catch a mackerel in Port Quin Bay

Kayak out of Port Quin or fish off the rocks at Carnweather Point and get lucky. Peaceful fishing in a spectacular location.

Eat at a celebrity chef's Cornish restaurant

Take your pick from Rick Stein, Jamie Oliver, Nathan Outlaw, Paul Ainsworth and the rest on the ever-growing list of celebrity chefs with bases in Cornwall.

Make your own Cornish pasties

Follow a recipe, or get lessons on how to make this most traditional of Cornish treats. Hold it on the pastry handle so you don't eat traces of arsenic from your day down the mine.

Enjoy the walks and views or Visit Obby Oss Day in Padstow.

Padstow is home to one of the oldest May Day celebrations in the country and there are some lovely walks once you quickly get away from the shoppers in the centre of town.

Explore a Poldark, Fisherman's Friend or Doc Martin Film Location.

Spend a half day exploring St Agnes Head or head for Port Isaac and maybe you'll catch a film crew in action. Iwalk Cornwall have put together a number of Poldark film location walks which you can follow on a mobile app for just a few pounds.

Eat a Rock oyster at the Rock Oyster Festival

For fans of the oyster there is little better than a festival devoted to the iconic shellfish. Camp out the night early in July to be there for the weekend family festival close to the Camel Trail.

Visit Tintagel

Like so many places linked to King Arthur, the truth may be lost in the mists of time, but this is still one of the most atmospheric spots on the spectacularly long Cornish coastline. Maybe he did really exist. The marketing team from English Heritage certainly thought so and have targeted this small town, perched on the cliffs, as one of their most important sites. Ranking now alongside Stonehenge, expect to share the place with a few other tourists at the height of summer.

Go For Your Own Guided Walk

If you want a fistful of ideas for a great guided walk anywhere in Cornwall, and can't for some reason use me, then look no further than www.iwalkcornwall.co.uk!  Brilliant information, maps and a walking app for your phone so you can't really get lost.

Discover your Dreams with Carl Jung

It's been a hundred years since his incredibly successful Polzeath Seminars. Find out what inspired one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century to travel from Zurich to Polzeath. Strangely it might well have been the music coming out of  Tintagel. Request a guide, psychoanalyst, Beach Art session, or join a centenary convention run by "Jung by the Sea".

Old Lead Mine Guided Walk

There were many more mines in North Cornwall than you probably realise, including a gold mine. I run free walks that follow the main lode (a vein filled with mineral in the rock) from Pengirt Cove near Pentireglaze, all the way to the golf course at St Enodoc. Come along or contact me for details.

Discover Pirate Caves and Coves

Cruel Coppinger might not have been based on anyone we know  but there are caves that you can explore that probably were used by those avoiding their taxes.

Nuclear Bunkers and World War Airfields

North Cornwall has them all. Four airfields in a row between Padstow and Newquay that must have helped German bombing runs.  Find out more about Cornwall at War with me or on a trip to the excellent museum at Davidstow (or both).