How to spend 6 days in Cornwall
How has it taken me 32 years to visit Cornwall?! What an absolutely beautiful part of the UK. How you spend 6 days in Cornwall depends on where you are based in the UK (to take into account travel time) and also how busy you want to be. We opted for a whirlwind road trip all around Cornwall. It was busy but a super fun way to see some of the main areas.
Day 1 in Cornwall: Lizard
We haven’t included travel time as we broke up our journey from London with an overnight stay in Devon near the Jurassic Coast.
Our first stop of our 6 days in Cornwall was the Lizard Peninsula, the most southerly point on the UK mainland. The large cliffs are shaped by the Atlantic Ocean and are surrounded by countryside, beaches and nature. We stayed at the wonderful Old Bakery B&B ideally located just a couple of minutes from the small village. It also less than a 5 minute drive from the National Trust car park for Lizard Point.
The walk from Lizard Point to Kynance Cove was one of my favourite parts of Cornwall. The rugged cliffs, extensive farmland and turquoise Atlantic Ocean make for a very scenic walk. You can read more about the walk here and make sure you go to Polpeor Cafe.
In the afternoon, drive 10 minutes to Cadgwith and walk from there to Poltesco cove which takes around 1.5 hours. More details on the walk can be found here.
Day 2 in Cornwall: St Michael’s Mount
Head from Lizard to St Michael’s Mount which takes approximately 35-40 minutes. St Michael’s Mount is a rock island home to the St Aubyn family and a very small community, with the oldest buildings dating from the 12th century. The main feature is the medieval church and castle but the gardens are pretty spectacular on the incline up to the castle with amazing views of Mount’s Bay.
You can read more about visiting St Michael’s Mount here. After your visit, you can head into the main town, Marazion, or drive straight to St Ives for the evening which takes around 20 minutes.
Day 3 in Cornwall: St Ives
Day 3 was spent exploring St Ives. We stayed at Old Tom’s Yard apartment which was a 20 minute walk outside town. Our morning and afternoon in St Ives was spent eating breakfast overlooking the beach, seal watching, wandering around the harbour and windy streets of the town.
Happy hour cocktails were the best way to start our evening, followed by a wonderful dinner at The Cellar Bistro. More details about how to spend a day in St Ives is here.
Day 4 in Cornwall: Padstow
One of your 6 days in Cornwall has to be in Padstow, which was one of my favourite places to visit. Padstow is a vibrant, colourful and charming harbour town in Cornwall only 10 miles from Newquay which is very convenient for the airport and around 1 hour 20 minutes from St Ives.
My ‘A Day in Padstow‘ blog post contains great ideas for how to spend your time in Padstow. It includes where to eat and drink and a easy 15 minute walk to a beautiful cove. If you are foodie, you will love the choice of restaurants in Padstow but make sure you book in advance.
Day 5 in Cornwall: Wine Tasting and Port Isaac
After breakfast in Padstow, head to Trevibban Vineyard which is located 10 minutes from the centre. The award winning vineyard is surrounded by 11,000 vines and 1,700 apple trees and hosts a large collection of Cornish wines and ciders. We sampled 7 still & sparkling wines (approx. 40ml) for £15. If you get hungry, I thoroughly recommend their mixed hummus selection – their Spiced Carrot & Turmeric is fantastic.
After wine tasting, spend the afternoon in Port Isaac which is located 30 minutes from Padstow. It is a small picturesque fishing village with narrow streets, winding walkways and white washed buildings. Read more about visiting Port Isaac here and make sure you walk to Port Gaverne – it is stunning!
Day 6 in Cornwall: Tintagel
Our final day was spent in Tintagel which is a historic area in North Cornwall. We stayed at The Avalon Hotel which offered stunning panoramic views of the surrounding countryside and cliff tops from its terrace area. [UPDATE: it now appears to only be a Air BnB for larger groups].
Ideas of things to do in Tintagel are set out in this post. Tintagel Castle and Trebarwith Strand are definitely worth adding to your list.
Well that is how I spent 6 days in Cornwall – I hope this post has inspired you for your trip.
East London Girl: 6 Days in Cornwall
2 Comments
Stefan (BerkeleySqB)
December 14, 2020 at 16:59We’ve visited Cornwall several times, but your beautiful post still put a lot of new items on our to do list. Tintagel Castle and Port Isaac look great.
eastlondongirl
December 14, 2020 at 19:59Absolutely love Cornwall!