Kynance Cove
Serpentine rock, turquoise water and one of Cornwall’s most dramatic approaches on foot.
Explore Cornwall
Cornwall, seven at a time.
Beaches, surf, walks, pasties, pubs, rainy days, fishing harbours, restaurants, ice cream, wildlife and woods - seven picks in each category, in no particular order.
A useful short-list
Not a league table.
Cornwall is too varied for a single “best” anything. These are seven strong choices in each category: places with character, scenery, food, wildlife or simply enough of a reason to make a day of it. The order is deliberately meaningless.
For beaches, surf and boat trips, check tides, weather, lifeguard information and local conditions before setting off. Opening days and menus can change seasonally.
Beaches · Nature outings · Walks · Pasties · Pubs · Rainy days · Fishing ports · Restaurants · Ice cream · Surf breaks · Woodlands
Seven of Cornwall’s best beaches
From sheltered coves to Atlantic sand.
Porthcurno
Bright sand, steep cliffs and astonishingly clear water below the Minack coast.
Lantic Bay
A wilder south-coast beach reached on foot, with the walk in helping preserve the sense of escape.
Sennen Cove
A broad far-west beach that works as both a family day out and a serious surf stop.
Watergate Bay
Two miles of sand at low tide, huge skies and an exposed Atlantic setting just north of Newquay.
Perranporth
Vast sand, dunes, surf and enough space for a proper long beach walk when the tide is out.
Polkerris
A small sheltered harbour beach near Fowey with watersports, food and a particularly easy-going atmosphere.
Seven of Cornwall’s best nature outings
Seals, dolphins, birds and wild coast.
Cornish Seal Sanctuary, Gweek
A working rescue and rehabilitation centre where the animal welfare story is as important as seeing the seals themselves.
AK Wildlife Cruises, Falmouth
Naturalist-led sea trips looking for dolphins, seals, basking sharks and seabirds around Falmouth Bay and beyond.
Padstow Sealife Safaris
Wildlife-watching boat trips from Padstow for seals, dolphins, puffins and whatever else the north coast produces that day.
Helford River
Wooded creeks, mudflats, dolphins and seals, wading birds and quiet water - excellent by foot, ferry, kayak or paddleboard.
Godrevy Headland
Big Atlantic scenery and one of Cornwall’s best-known places to watch grey seals from a respectful distance above the coves.
The Lizard National Nature Reserve
Rare geology, unusual plants, migrant birds and a coastline that feels biologically different from much of the rest of Cornwall.
Screech Owl Sanctuary, Goss Moor
A rescue and conservation-focused animal park with a large collection of owls and regular flying displays.
Seven of Cornwall’s best walks
Cliffs, creeks, woods and old routes.
Fowey Hall Walk
Ferries, wooded creeks, views across the Fowey estuary and one of the most satisfying circular outings close to Ennal’s Pool.
Looe to Polperro
A classic stretch of South West Coast Path joining two harbour towns through coves, cliffs and old smuggling country.
Kynance Cove from Lizard
Rare heath, serpentine geology and the reward of one of Britain’s most recognisable coves.
Pentire Point & The Rumps
A five-mile headland walk above Padstow Bay with huge coastal views, archaeology and volcanic geology.
Boscastle to Tintagel
Wild north-coast walking through slate cliffs, Rocky Valley and some of Cornwall’s most theatrical coastline.
St Ives to Zennor
A rougher, longer coastal outing through granite headlands and coves, finishing in one of west Cornwall’s great villages.
Lanhydrock Parkland & Woods
An inland change of pace: ancient woodland, the River Fowey, parkland and veteran trees in a manageable circular walk.
Seven of Cornwall’s best pasties
A subject on which Cornwall can happily argue all day.
Ann’s Pasties
A Lizard institution with deeply local sourcing and a devoted following for generously filled traditional pasties.
Philps Pasties
Family-run Hayle bakers using traditional methods, with shops across west Cornwall.
Gear Farm
A destination pasty stop on the Lizard Peninsula, famous for large, hand-made pasties and farm ingredients.
Malcolm Barnecutts
A long-established Cornish bakery family with shops across the county and a particularly strong Bodmin presence.
St Agnes Bakery
Baking in the village since 1905, with pasties alongside breads, cakes and other traditional bakery staples.
Niles Bakery
A useful local pick for Ennal’s Pool visitors, with Cornish bakery shops around St Austell, Fowey and Newquay.
Mary’s Pastys
A much-loved independent name in mid Cornwall, including Mevagissey - close enough to combine with a harbour day.
Seven of the best pubs near Ennal’s Pool
Roughly within half an hour.
Traffic and tiny Cornish lanes can alter that estimate considerably.
Fisherman’s Arms, Golant
A village pub looking over the River Fowey - especially good when the estuary is part of the reason for going.
Rashleigh Inn, Polkerris
An inn literally on the beach, with sea views, local food and an excellent sunset position.
New Inn, Tywardreath
A proper village pub with local ales, traditional food, a garden and regular live music.
Crown Inn, Lanlivery
A historic longhouse-style country pub with fires, local ales and the Saints’ Way passing through the village.
Rashleigh Arms, Charlestown
Close to the Georgian harbour, with a relaxed bar, local beer and easy access to Charlestown on foot.
Pier House, Charlestown
Harbour-front rather than hidden-away: sea views, outside seating and a good place to watch Charlestown change with the weather.
Ship Inn, Pentewan
A village pub near the beach and the Pentewan Valley trail - handy after a walk, cycle or day at the coast.
Seven of Cornwall’s best rainy days
Because Cornwall does weather properly.
Eden Project
The obvious local answer: enormous covered Biomes, exhibitions, food and enough indoor space to occupy a very wet day.
Wheal Martyn Clay Works
Indoor museum galleries plus industrial history that makes much more sense once you have seen the landscape around St Austell.
Bodmin Jail
An immersive indoor attraction built around Cornwall’s former county jail, with a strong theatrical streak.
National Maritime Museum Cornwall
Falmouth’s big indoor maritime museum - particularly good for families who like boats, engineering and hands-on displays.
Tate St Ives
Modern art with Atlantic light outside the windows; a rainy day that still feels unmistakably Cornish.
Geevor Tin Mine
Mining history, machinery and underground interpretation in far west Cornwall - rain arguably improves the atmosphere.
Discovering42
An inventive Bodmin science-and-art attraction built around interactive installations, engineering and recycled materials.
Seven of Cornwall’s best fishing ports
Working harbours, boats and streets that still lead to the sea.
Mevagissey
A distinctive twin harbour where fishing boats still land catches among pubs, cafés and steep little streets.
Newlyn
One of the UK’s major fishing ports - less polished than some harbour villages and all the better for seeing the industry itself.
Looe
A working fishing port wrapped inside a lively seaside town, with boats returning through the river mouth.
Padstow
Foodie reputation aside, it remains a working harbour in a beautiful position on the Camel Estuary.
Port Isaac
A compact, steep-sided north-coast harbour where the fishing tradition remains visible beneath the television fame.
Mousehole
A small historic harbour with tightly packed streets, stone quays and one of Cornwall’s most complete village settings.
Cadgwith
Working boats hauled onto a shingle cove, lobster pots on the shore and a village that still feels strongly tied to fishing.
Seven of Cornwall’s best restaurants
Places worth building a day around.
Paul Ainsworth at No.6, Padstow
Polished modern cooking in the middle of Padstow, and one of the county’s long-standing destination restaurants.
Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen, Port Isaac
Small-scale seafood cooking in a tiny old building close to Port Isaac harbour.
Ugly Butterfly, Newquay
Adam Handling’s ambitious Cornish restaurant, built around local produce and a strong sustainability ethos.
North Street Kitchen, Fowey
A relaxed Fowey seafood restaurant where the short menu follows what is good and available.
Narla, Fowey
Modern British cooking in Fowey, with a more refined feel but without losing the connection to local produce.
Edie’s, St Austell
The closest entry on this list to Ennal’s Pool: modern British cooking and a useful serious-food option without crossing the county.
Sardine Factory, Looe
Seafood-led cooking in a working harbour town, well suited to a day that already includes Looe or the coast path.
Seven of Cornwall’s best ice-cream stops
Farm milk, clotted cream and seaside excess.
Callestick Farm
Farm-made Cornish ice cream from the Parker family’s own herd, served at the on-site parlour near Truro.
Moomaid of Zennor
Farmhouse ice cream made above the Atlantic, with parlours including St Ives and Porthtowan.
Jelbert’s, Newlyn
One flavour - vanilla - made fresh by hand. Add clotted cream and a Flake if restraint has already failed.
Roskilly’s, the Lizard
Jersey-cow ice cream made on the farm, with enough flavours to make choosing unnecessarily difficult.
Mr B’s, Hayle
A dedicated artisan ice-cream parlour with an Italian-gelato influence and a loyal Hayle following.
Chapel Porth Café
Home of the famous “hedgehog”: Cornish ice cream buried under clotted cream and crushed hazelnuts.
The Little Ice Cream Shop, Lostwithiel
A useful local stop for Ennal’s Pool guests and a current Treleavens scoop destination in one of Cornwall’s nicest small towns.
Seven of Cornwall’s best surf breaks
Atlantic energy, with one south-coast exception.
Fistral
The benchmark Newquay beach and the historic centre of British competition surfing.
Sennen
Consistent swell in the far west, with a broad beach and plenty of room when conditions allow.
Watergate Bay
Long, exposed and capable of handling a range of conditions, with surf infrastructure on the beach.
Perranporth
A classic sandy break with a long beach, Atlantic swell and an established surf scene.
Polzeath
A north-coast favourite with surf schools and a long history as a learning and progression beach.
Gwithian
Open Atlantic beachbreaks beneath the Godrevy lighthouse landscape, often with room to spread out.
Porthleven
Cornwall’s famous reef break - powerful, consequential and for experienced surfers rather than beginners.
Seven of Cornwall’s best woodlands
River valleys, ancient trees and industrial ghosts.
Cardinham Woods
Forestry England woodland near Bodmin with marked walking routes, streams, cycling and enough scale for repeat visits.
Luxulyan Valley
Right on Ennal’s Pool’s wider doorstep: a deeply wooded valley where viaducts, leats and china-clay history sit among the trees.
Lanhydrock Great Wood
Mature mixed woodland, veteran trees, bluebells and the River Fowey wrapped around the wider Lanhydrock estate.
Golitha Falls
Ancient oak woodland in a gorge along the River Fowey, rich in mosses, lichens and the sound of fast water.
Idless Woods
Quiet woodland just outside Truro with a network of paths, wildlife and a less formal feel than a country-park visit.
Tehidy Country Park
West Cornwall’s largest woodland, with lakes, more than nine miles of paths and a mixture of formal and wilder areas.
Kennall Vale
A wonderfully atmospheric reserve where woodland, water and the remains of an old gunpowder works overlap. Best avoided at busy weekends.
Use Ennal’s Pool as the middle of the map.
Stay close to Eden, the Clay Trails and St Austell, then head in a different Cornish direction each day.