I agree with the others, I personally would avoid lands end - its too touristy and expensive. Sennen Cove is beautiful as is the lizard, much more the rugged quiet coastline than lands end. Chapel porth near St Agnes is nice, there is a nice cliff top walk (with free parking!) along the coastal path to the beach. (steep though). Perranporth is a lovely big beach but will be busy and expensive to park - nice pasties though.
Southern cornwall is quite nice aswell, we took our dog on Gorran Haven beach near mevagissey (bear in mind we went in september), Caerhayes beach Near Mevagissey is a national trust beach (with free parking!) and hardly anyone on it.
The best site we have stayed on in cornwall is Trethem Mill near St Mawes - very quiet site with huge meadow onsite for walking the dog and very clean facilites.
Best to check out dog friendly beaches before you go online and as other have said Cornwall is a complete rip off for parking!
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Some beaches now allow dogs on early in the morning and after 7pm. Gwithian is a example and if the tide is out you can walk for 4 miles....and then walk 4 miles back....enough beach for any dog! There is another beach near Lealant (St Ives area) and this allows dogs at any time and it is virtually free of bathers. It is one of my favourite beaches as given a sunny day (some hope!) the water looks like the Caribbean and there is acres of sand, it's really beautiful and totally uncommercial. It's popular with dog walkers in the know, but most locals without dogs can't be bothered to walk there.
I've talked to our local dog warden and he isn't too impressed with the way the councilors pass these rules without any thought for common sense! We need to be off of our beach at 7am, but I'm lucky if I can get there by then! We are basically banned from many of our local beaches from Easter (March) till October, thanks to the council knowing what is best for us....how nice of them.
I'm not sure that the situation is any better in the rest of the country, we're of to south Wales in September and the situation seems the same there.
The walk from Sennen over to Lands End is spectacular - we parked in the layby by the school on the main road in Sennen and walked down to the beach then along the coastal path. The views are lovely.
Zennor is worth a visit too. As is Fowey (paying car park), Charlsetown (free on road parking), Porthleven for a nice pub - right on the harbour (free on road parking).
We never pay for parking if we can help it as we are fit enough and enjoy walking so its OK.
Another nice walk is parking at the Penzance end of Newlyn (once again in a back street) and walking along to Mousehole
The rules for dogs on the Penwith beaches have changed.You can now take a dog on any beach before 8.00am and after7.00pm and on any of the dog friendly beaches at anytime.
------------- Nigel
March 2012 - Dove Meadows
6th July Moving to Hayle
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Don't remember Lands End being any great shakes at all tbh. Much rather visit some of the beaches and St Ives, Mousehole etc. Parking is extortionate throughout the county.
If you are going Bank Holiday week expect it to be heaving everywhere!
At Sennen it's cheaper to park near the lifeboat station rather than the beach end, and to be honest it's only a few quid at Lands End. You do not have to do the tourist attractions.
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The West Penwith area is a delight. Here are a few of our favourite eateries in and around the area. Great pubs - The Tinners Arms at Zennor for a most unusual and VERY tasty burger with a good pint. Mousehole (pronounced "Mousel") is worth a visit combined with lunch at The Ship right on the harbour. The Balnoon on the road from Lelant up to Halsetown has quite a good value carvery with the most decadent desserts you'll find anywhere every evening. The Balnoon doesn't open at lunchtime.
Coming east, Cadgwith Cove on The Lizard and the Cadgwith Cove Hotel - locally caught fresh crab sandwiches to die for. Philps Bakery on the The Quay in Hayle for the best pasties in the area. There's always a queue in the morning. We found the pasties from The Pasty shop on The Lizard a bit too "doughy" for our liking and not overly filled with meat.
Finally our favourite place for a cream tea is Little Pengelly Farm just off the road from Leedstown to Helston. There's a sign by the side of the road about a mile and a half the Helston side of Leedstown. You sit in the most idyllic setting - a beautiful garden - and the lady brings you out lashings of cream, jam and home baked scones. No meanie servings here and a lovely strong cuppah to wash it down. Not the cheapest but not the most expensive either.
All this and great beaches - what more could you want? Plenty of waterproof and windproof clothing. It can rain and blow in biblical proportions with little warning in Cornwall so go really well prepared.....and have a great time.
Hi, sitting in my tent in Cornwall with a glass of wine testing out the campsite WIFI (kids are asleep , book finished!) It is very wet here so bring your wellies and a coat and warm socks!! Its still very beautiful though & having looked around other sites whilst here (I'm very nosey) I can definately reccomend our site Tregarton Park its stood up to the weather very well (no mud here unlike others) is well looked after and the pool is as warm as a bath, kids have been in even on wettest days. Also noticed Perranporth beach had lots of dogs on so assume it's allowed. Have fun Lou
SNAP! I'm sitting typing this on Tregarton too!We arrived last Saturday in the pouring rain but were soon set up and comfy inside with a cuppa thanks to dear Robert doing our pitching for us. They are true stars on this site!
We were here at the same two weeks in August last year when we were fortunate enough to only have 3 wet days.......hmph......reckon this one will be lucky to have three DRYBut to we care??? Nah, love it here and in Cornwall in general.
Pooch is with us for his first time and he's loving it too, just a shame his introduction to camping has been soooooo soggy. Thank heavens we're on a hard standing pitch coz it does restrict the amount of mud walked in, just a tad.
Actually spotted a teeny bit of red in the sky tonight......fingers crossed for a better day tomorrow.
------------- Hippychick
Life
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Hi Hippy Chick,
We left Tregarton this morning (as planned got to go back to work!) & although the weather was a bit of a downer we had a lovely holiday & I think it is the best campsite we have been to (or had a nosey around).
I hope you have a fab time & heres wishing for some lovely Cornish sunshine for you!!
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: First trip to Cornwall - any advice?
We arrived last Saturday in the pouring rain but were soon set up and comfy inside with a cuppa thanks to dear Robert doing our pitching for us. They are true stars on this site!
