Top Ten Things To Do In Cornwall
Have an arty afternoon in St Ives
What with its Tate gallery and the garden of the sculptor Barbara Hepworth to discover, St Ives is Cornwall’s cultural hotbed.
The beachfront art gallery has works by the St Ives school of artists who lived and worked in west Cornwall in the 20th century, as well as stuff by the self-taught fisherman-artist Alfred Wallis, who influenced the modern painters with his naïve creations.
Barbara Hepworth died in 1975, but the garden of her house is now a treasure trove of her sculptures in bronze, stone and wood, to be discovered on a calming walk amid plants and flowers.
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www.tate.org.uk/stives
Take to the waves in Falmouth
Pretty Falmouth, in south Cornwall, is one of the world’s deepest natural harbours, and it’s a wonderful place to learn to sail.
Take a lesson with the Falmouth School of sailing, and as you glide along on the – hopefully – sun-sparkly waters, learning to tack, and to hoist your jib, you can admire the castles of Pendennis and St Mawes, which stand guard on each side of the harbour.
You may well end up capsizing in your little dinghy, but at least the water’s a mild temperature around these parts.
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www.falmouth-school-of-sailing.co.uk
Meet the monkeys in Looe
In a woodland setting overlooking Looe Bay, the Monkey Sanctuary is a charity organisation that has provided a sanctuary for mistreated or unwanted South American monkeys for 50 years.
Amazonian woolly monkeys are the most abundant, but there are also lots of capuchin and macaque monkeys, each with a different name and his or her own distinct personality. Meet characters such as cock-of-the-walk Frosty and proud, strong-willed Ivor, as they go about their business in their large, interconnected enclosures.
There are also bats to see, and an award-winning vegetarian café to get some refreshment after your tour.
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www.monkeysanctuary.org
Walk ‘across the sea’ to St Michael’s Mount
This tiny island, dramatically situated offshore from beautiful Mounts Bay, has been occupied for nearly 1,000 years.
Time your visit well, as the causeway is covered by the sea at high water. Once over there, you’ll find a castle, home to the St Aubyn family for several generations. The island has its own harbour, and there’s a proper community living around it, though they have to come over to the mainland to visit the pub.
Look round the castle and its tiny church, explore the sub-tropical gardens and most of all, enjoy the fabulous views.
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www.stmichaelsmount.co.uk
Catch a clifftop show at the Minack Theatre
The simple idea, in 1929, of a village play under the stars has burgeoned into one of Cornwall’s great successes, a 750-seat open-air theatre, built into the rocks on the Cliffside at St Levan, near Land’s End.
Visit by day and in the excellent visitor centre you can learn about the theatre’s history, tour the amazing theatre itself (the stage is right on the cliff edge, and the ‘seats’ are grass-covered terraces of rock, carved out of the cliff) and admire the sub-tropical rockeries.
Shows in late summer 2009 include Amadeus and a production of Othello.
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www.minack.com
Have a pint at the St Austell Brewery
Beers from the St Austell brewery, such as Tribute ale, have become nationwide successes, and for beer-lovers visiting Cornwall, a visit to this historic brewery is a must.
See the brewing process first-hand in the Victorian brewery building, as the cellarmen malt the barley and add the hops. And discover the snucked-away spring that supplies the water for Cornwall’s ‘amber nectar’.
Pleasingly, the tour ends at the bar, where you can try the various beers, straight from the barrel. Then, in the shop, you can pick up some bottles to take home with you. Down the hatch!
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www.staustellbrewery.co.uk
Discover Trebah Gardens
There are more famous – and hence rather more busy – gardens in Cornwall, but there are few as lovely as those at Trebah.
Making the most of Cornwall’s mild climate, they grow interesting sub-tropical plants and trees here. You’ll find bamboos, and palm trees including the windmill-like chusan palm from China. There are agave cacti from Mexico (the ones used to make tequila) and some beautiful Chilean laurel trees.
There’s an excellent café, and the gardens tumble down to a private beach on the Helford River, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a fine place to enjoy a picnic.
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www.trebah-garden.co.uk
See otters at the Tamar Otter and Wildlife Centre
The otter is one of the UK’s most graceful, animals, but it’s also highly elusive. Here are this centre near Launceston, in east Cornwall, you are guaranteed a good, long look at these wonderful creatures.
You’ll spy British and Asian otters playing and being fed by hand – there are otters bred at the centre, as well as wild ones.
There’s other wildlife here, too, including fallow dear in a woodland enclosure, owls in an aviary and a variety of wading birds on the lake. Take the woodland walk to a waterfall in the old quarry.
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www.tamarotters.co.uk
Go surfing at Sennen Cove
There’s some great surf at this lovely beach, way out west, close to Land’s End. It’s patrolled by lifeguards throughout the summer, and there’s surfing for everyone from beginners to experts. When there’s a westerly swell and a light easterly wind, it’s fantastic.
There’s a great, laid-back atmosphere at Sennen, and the Sennen Surfing Centre will supply lessons, whether you need to learn the basics or brush up on your technique. Boards, wetsuits and other equipment can all be supplied.
You’ll find a restaurant on the beach to feed hungry surfers after all that exertion.
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www.sennensurfingcentre.com
Sail along to the National Maritime Museum, Falmouth
Cornwall has a rich maritime history, and it’s brought to life in a fun, fascinating way at this harbourside museum.
Follow Falmouth’s story, from the days when packet ships took mail to the British Empire, through to the 19th-century, when the harbour was the first stopping point for ships returning from all over the world. And learn about the harbour’s modern role as the start and end point for adventures such as Ellen Macarthur’s round-the-world sailing feat.
The Survival Zone tells amazing stories of those who capsized at sea but got through it, and children will enjoy the sailing the remote-controlled yachts.
More info:
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www.nmmc.co.uk
