It’s summer and there’s nowhere better to spend it than in Cornwall (in our completely unbiased opinion 🙂 ). However, with so many options, planning your trip can be a bit overwhelming once you’ve got past the classics such as The Eden Project, The Lost Gardens of Heligan and The Minak Theater. So we’re here to help! Here’s our advice on the top 5 things to do in Cornwall this summer.
1) Take in some live music
Whatever, your preference of music type Cornwall should have something for you and we have so many options on the doorstep of Ekopod. First up we have the Port Eliot Festival 25-28th July (50 mins from Ekopod). Day tickets are £65. It’s technically a literary festival but has headliners such as The Coral and Stealing Sheep on the Saturday and after hours DJ sets by Alfresco Disco. We then move onto the St Endellion Summer Music Festival on 30th July until the 9th August, just outside Port Issac (30 minutes from Ekopod). It boasts a symphony orchestra and covers Brahms to Broadway. Concerts are individually priced
Into August and from 7th -11th, is the huge Boardmasters surf and music festival (45 minutes from Ekopod). Day tickets are £74 and it is headlined this year by Florence + the Machine, Dizzee Rascal and Franz Ferdinand. Then at the end of August we have the Bude Jazz Festival 27th -30th August (20 mins from Ekopod) with local and national jazz musicians from around the world. Single gigs from £12, a day pass is £30.
Finally if you are a fan of the recent Fisherman’s Friends film, you can catch the Fisherman’s Friends performing at Port Issac on various dates over the summer (30 minutes from Ekopod).
2) Do some Poldark Stalking
With Poldark in its final season, number two of our top 5 things to do in Cornwall this summer is to visit some of the places made famous in the recent TV series. We’re on the edge of Bodmin Moor which is famous for scenes featuring the exterior of Nampara, and for the horseback and carriage journeys. 30 minutes from us is the village of Minions which is the site of some of the miners cottages. The Poldark Mine is well worth the 1hr 20 mins trip from us and great for a rainy day. Beautiful Charlestown (Poldark’s Truro) is also 40 minutes from us, sadly though we can’t guarantee you’ll bump into Aiden Turner!
Poldark not your thing? Did you know Port Issac is the base for Doc Martin and Fisherman’s friends, St Ives was used in filming Pirates of the Caribbean and The Eden Project (40 minutes) appeared in James Bond’s Die another Day.
3) Visit some of the mystical and historical sites around Cornwall
While Tintagel Castle itself is currently closed for renovations, you can still visit some other fascinating sites in the area. Many of the natural and man made sites of interest in Cornwall have myths and legends associated with them such as the beautiful waterfalls of St Necturn’s Glen or the 3 Hurlers stone circles at Minions on Bodmin Moor (good to combine with wild swimming at Gold diggings Quarry and / or a walk up to the Cheesewring. If the weathers not great (it might happen, this is Cornwall) The witch craft museum at Boscastle is a fascinating place to while away the hours.
4) Hike
The mention of the Cheesewring walk brings us nicely onto some of the beautiful walks in the area. Hiking is number 4 of our top 5 things to do in Cornwall this summer. Our favourite part of the South West Coast footpath has to be the section from Tintagel to Boscastle. Combine with a breakfast at Boscastle Farm shop which surely has some of the best views of any farmshop in the country. Our recommendation for a lovely day trip from Ekopod is to go to Boscastle Farm Shop for breakfast (20 mins from Ekopod) then drive into Boscastle, park there and get the 11.33am bus (at time of writing) to Tintagel. Then walk back (approx. 4 hours – hilly!) and celebrate with Fish and Chips in Boscastle!
Looking for a moorland walk instead? 15 minutes from us is Roughtor Car Park, from where you can do the walk up to Roughtor (30 mins to the top from the car park). Alternatively do the circular walk that also takes in Brown Willy the highest point in Cornwall, which offers views of the North and South coast on a clear day. If you do it in the morning you can stop off at Hilltop Farm Shop for lunch and spend the afternoon on one of the beautiful North coast beaches like our local Widemouth Bay. You can also get a gorgeous cream tea or homemade cakes from Rose at Roughtor Farm (01840 212505)
If you’d rather cycle than walk you could do the Camel trail from Wenford Bridge to Padstow (18 miles although you can join at various points for a shorter trip)
5) Finally and most famously the beaches!
Near us we have the lovely Widemouth Bay (20 minutes) which has easy access from the carpark and is dog friendly at The Black Rock end. You also have the town beaches of Cooklets (no dogs) and Summerleaze (dogs on leads until 7pm) at Bude. All of these beaches are easily accessible from the carpark, have various cafes you can get lunch at. You can also get surfboard and wetsuit hire and surfing lessons if you fancy a bit more activity on your beach trip. Trebarwith Strand is also 20 minutes away from us, this beach is very pretty but is tidal so go at low tide if you want the sand!
For white sands head to the beautiful Hawkers Cove on the Camel estuary, on a summers day the shallow waters there are a beautiful turquoise colour (50 minutes from Ekopod and this is great to combine with a trip to the very popular Padstow and the Rick Stein Restaurants. It is dog friendly but be aware if you have little ones it is a ten minute walk from the carpark! There isn’t a cafe on this beach but you can stop at the nearby Padstow Farm Shop for refreshments, or if you follow the South West Coast footpath for ten minutes from the beach you get to the cute Rest a while Tea Garden.
It’s not just the North Coast that has stunning beaches, 50 minutes away from us on the South Coast you can visit the beautiful beaches surrounding the harbor towns of Looe and Fowey. 1 hour 40 minutes to the Weet you have the famous Kynance Cove -reportedly one of the best Beaches in the World!
So that’s our top 5 things to do in Cornwall this summer – we hope you enjoy and have a lovely holiday in Cornwall
