Cornish / Devon beach holiday...

weeble

weeble

weeble

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Want to take the wee lad (16 months) to the sea side for up to a week, and have no idea where's nice. Not fussed about the star system, so long as the beaches are good (I used to go to remote scottish one's when I was a lad, and loved it) and not crawling with people.

Any suggestions?
 
Ilfracombe is a cracking place. Some really nice beaches (some of them have got some awesome surf as well)... some really quiet coves if you want peace. There's some pretty nice campsites & B&Bs around that way and there's a big castle (can't remember the name!) that does guided tours that you can easily spend all day in.

Not far from newquay as well. It's right at the top of the foot.
 
Whitsand Bay has some fantastic beaches, nice and big with clean sand and water but also with lots of rock pools and little streams for kids to play in (I know I used to enjoy it!!). Only downside is that you have to walk down (and back up!) quite a lot of steps to get there but it's well worth the walk IMO.

Still very unspoilt as well, there's Whitsand bay holiday park if you want to camp or get a mobile home, also the chalets or you could stay in a B&B in Kingsand/Cawsand (nice places too).

I may be slightly biased though as that's where I grew up from age 2-12 :p
 
Peranporth for a fantastic holiday specialy if the sun comes out. Lots of beach and loads of caravan and camping parks, and a few hotels. Its also a good place to start out from if you wanted to go to other places around the cornish country side as its fairly central.

My parents took us there every year for a holiday up until i was 20. And now they want to take my girlfriend, me and the baby there too :D
 
Some nice places suggested. So far, I'm liking Ilfracombe, Perranporth, and Whitsand Bay. Are there many more nice places?

Lizard Point interests me, but I doubt the troops would be so interested. Would also island hop, as they remind me of the remote scottish one's (but probably a lot warmer).
 
Crantock beach used to be the nutz.
other side of newquay is morgan porth and porth - nice beaches there.

island hop? where prey tell?

If you can afford it, you wont find better than the Isles of Scilly to the South West. My dad grew up there, and we used to holiday there as a family to see Granny.
Dad's 60th this year, so we are going back to re-live the good old days, shrimping, boating, swimming, and drinking :cool:

(Expensive to get there though, and to stay really)
 
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Portleven is a lovely little seaside fishing town on the south coast. Nice little beach there, and a bit out of the way of Newquay meaning it's not flooded with tourists, only locals who like a nice quiet, unspoilt beach ;)
 
Yeah, avoid Newquay like the plague during the summer, its pretty nasty. Perranporth can get really busy too, but is definitely nicer, if only for The Watering Hole :p .

I would recommend checking out some of the smaller beaches... can't go wrong with the majority of the north coast.
 
Chapel Porth beach is lovely on the north coast. Very secluded, hard to get to down some single track lanes. When the tide's in, it's just a rocky cove, but when the tide goes out, you can walk out round the corner and onto the lovely big, deserted beach. Watch you get back before the tide comes back in though!
 
Pickers said:
island hop? where prey tell?

If you can afford it, you wont find better than the Isles of Scilly to the South West.

Dad's 60th this year, so we are going back to re-live the good old days, shrimping, boating, swimming, and drinking
Click to expand...

You answered it - distances became irrelevant since my trips to Oz (3hrs to nearest town); could be done with a cessna maybe...

Envious of your return trip - used to do exactly that in scottish hebrides (except lobsters and crabs instead of shrimps). Guess you don't get those infuriating midges!!

Still prefer the mainland for this years trip though.
 
perrenporths nice
godrevys got a nice little camp site (or 3) close to it, cycling from and to the beach from them is easy enough too
its huge (the actual beach extends for miles) and not as crouded as newquay area (less clubby too).
watch out tho as some areas of the beach are used by kiters (like me) as they are long, flat and straight (and mostly devoid of people too).
the waters nice and clean, theres car parks just by the beach if you want to drive, if your a national trust member theres a free car park too (nice cafe, V worth visiting)
theres surf areas and bathing areas, its good for kids as its slow to drop off, and has a lifeguard hut on site (patroled most of the summer, check flags)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godrevy
info.
also theres
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-godrevy/

it must be one of my fave beaches, I spend every day I can over there, its close to St Ives and Hayle if you wanna vist em.
theres loads to do in that area and truros not more than 15 mins drive from there.
the back lanes are worth having a cycle down (or even a drive)!

heres the google links (most of 1st page is good read/info)
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=e...ell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=godrevy&spell=1
 
Newquay is best avoided in the summer, unless you are a student. It's a bit too lively (full of drunks).
Perranporth is too close to Newquay, and has a huge holiday camp.
Ilfracombe is very run down, and is a real pain to get to.

If you want a quiet family holiday, you can't beat The Lizard. Excellent beaches at Ruan Minor/Kuggar (Kennack Sands), and several smaller beaches either side. Small fishing villages (Coverack, Cadgwith), and some spectacular cove beaches (Kynance Cove).

Further towards Penzance, the beach at Porthleven (Loe Beach/Loe Bar), and Praa Sands are good, and Mount's Bay is worth a visit.

The north coast is where all the rabble go, the south coast is for families.
 
clockworks said:
The north coast is where all the rabble go, the south coast is for families.
Click to expand...

I disagree with that some beaches in the north are very nice for families.
 
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