If you’re thinking of taking a holiday this summer and don’t fancy heading abroad, you won’t go far wrong with a trip to Cornwall. Voted the best UK holiday destination in 2014 for the 6th time, Cornwall has plenty to offer for everyone.

Cram packed with attractions, beautiful scenery and lush beaches, not to mention a plethora of delightful accommodation choices, you’ll find that no matter whether you plan on visiting with your family or just taking a romantic break with the other half, you’ll never get bored.

So with all that said, let’s take a look at some of the best things Cornwall has to offer, and provide you with a short guide on where to go and what to see and do.

Probably one of the nicest places to visit in Cornwall is the picturesque harbour of St Ives. It has five beaches and numerous cafes, shops, art galleries and restaurants. Summer evenings here are delightful, especially if you take a stroll through the cobbled streets, breathing in the fresh sea air and catching a whiff of the many culinary delights that are on offer.

As we mentioned, there are five beaches in St Ives. Porthminster beach, the harbour beach in the centre of St Ives, Porthgwidden beach which is a tiny cove, the famous Porthmear beach that is popular with surfers, and finally a small, all year round dog friendly beach between the harbour and Porthgwidden.

St Ives is also home to the Tate Gallery which holds various art exhibitions, as well as the Barbara Hepworth sculpture garden and museum. All in all, St Ives is a wonderful place to visit, especially if you love art, and is also an ideal place for families and keen photographers.

Another great place to visit whilst on your holidays in Cornwall is the lively town of Newquay, which is further up the coast from St Ives. Again, very popular with surfers and families, Newquay offers plenty for young and old alike.

The world famous Fistral Beach is located here, which is home to the Boardmasters festival and numerous surfing championships. If surfing isn’t your cup of tea, don’t worry, there are plenty of other activities on offer, such as kayaking, sea fishing, coasteering, wind surfing and Kite surfing.

Newquay also has its own zoo, which is open all year round, (except Christmas day) where you can see over 130 different species of animals. Such as penguins, big cats, wildebeest, zebras, red pandas, meerkats and more.

Moving further up the north coast from Newquay, we come to Padstow, which is home to tv chef Rick Stein and well known for it’s fabulous selection of fish restaurants. It’s a lovely little fishing harbour that has some great shops and eating establishments.

Some of the main attractions in Padstow are The Camel Trail, Prideaux Place and The National Lobster Hatchery. Fishing trips and boat trips are also available from the harbour, along with speedboat rides.

Moving off the North Coast of Cornwall and travelling over to the centre you’ll find the former county town of Bodmin, here you’ll be able to visit the historic former prison known as Bodmin Jail.

“Bodmin Jail from Cardell Road” by Chris j Wood
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons

Most of the jail is in ruins, and when glanced upon from a distance can be rather eerie to look at. There are refurbishment works going on, and you can visit the museum and walk around the grounds, not to mention participate in Gost hunts that run from 9pm until midnight, which are very popular due to the fact that the jail itself was featured in an episode of “Most Haunted”. More recently, you might have seen it in the bbc TV drama “Poldark”Another attraction worth a visit is the Bodmin & Wenford Railway, where for a small fee you can travel by 1950’s steam train over 13 miles of track. You can also drive one of the locomotives and experience life as a driver for the day as a special package which can be bought online or via their on site shop for a fee.

Naturally if you plan on visiting Bodmin, then you might want to travel around Bodmin Moor, and it’s here where you’ll come across The Jamaica Inn, an old 18th century coaching inn, made famous by Daphne du Maurier’s novel of the same name, published in 1936.

The Jamaica Inn had a reputation back in the 18th century as a place where smugglers hid their contraband. Today it’s a pub and hotel, along with a museum which houses one of the finest collections of smuggling artefacts in the country.

So there we have a few places that are worth a visit if you plan on coming to Cornwall for your holidays, and we’ve only just scratched the surface!

Cornwall is home to many more quaint towns and villages, exciting attractions and things to do that are just waiting to be explored by you and your family. All that’s left now is for you to decide what type of accommodation you plan on staying in! If it’s a comfortable room you need, from which to explore the county, we’d be more than happy to welcome you to Seashells Guest House. Check out our rooms now.