Explore the local area
Places to Visit
our good beach guide
Beautiful Beaches
We’ve many beautiful beaches suitable for those with limited mobility but we’ve picked out our top ten beaches with disabled access and they’re all a short drive:
10 minutes – sit on the sand and enjoy the famous food and drink of Poldhu’s namesake café, walk the dog between the two sandy coves at Kennack Sands or be inspired at Gunwalloe Church Cove, a National Trust beach split in two by a stream but made magical by the medieval church sat just above your buckets and spades!
15 minutes – watch sunsets at Mullion Cove harbour or head to the opposite coast to the shores of Gillan Creek where fishing boats perch at St Anthony-in-Meneage beach.
20 minutes – all the ‘Ports’! Pilchards at Porthallow, quarry silos at Porthoustock and diving at Porthkerris where the Divers Beach Café is waiting. And from all three many an adventurer seeks the shipwrecks a mile off shore where the infamous Manacles Reef claims many a vessel.
Under 30 minutes – along the west coast of Cornwall are Praa Sands, a favourite for families with its waterside café and long flat beach and further still, Marazion Beach, famous for the castle on The Mount seemingly floating in the bay.
adorable seals
Cornish Seal Sanctuary
The Sea Life Trust Cornish Seal Sanctuary is a charity that rescues and rehabilitates grey seal pups from around the Cornish coastline.
Visit the Sanctuary to experience these wonderful marine animals and learn all about their individual stories. You can get up close to these fantastic creatures with the underwater viewing areas whilst Penguin Beach is home to their Humboldt penguins. There is also a ‘Paddock Animals’ area which provides a home for a variety of animals such as ponies, goats and sheep.
Accessibility information can be found here.
delightful donkeys
The Flicka Foundation
THEME PARK FUN
Flambards
Flambards Theme Park is a family day out with rides, award winning indoor attractions and entertainment. Take a spin on the Hornet Rollercoaster, check out the view from the top of SkyRaker, brave the Thunderbolt, journey through the dark on Space Race and get wet on the Colorado River log flume. For adrenalin junkies, why not ride Sky-Force, whizzing high above the park. Young families will love Ferdi’s Funland including traditional rides such as Teacups, Space Shuttles and a Pirate Ship. Discover dinosaurs in Jurassic Journey. With award-winning indoor attractions; explore the cobbled streets of the life-sized Victorian Village, see Victorian Britain frozen in time as you step inside the local pub, visit a Victorian home and see the divide between rich and poor. Discover the life-sized replica of a London street during World War II in the Britain in the Blitz attraction. There is even more to discover with the Pioneers of Flight, Concorde Replica and The Chemist Shop Time Capsule. A fun day out for all the family.
Accessibility information can be found here.
CORNISH ORGANIC working FARM
Roskilly's
Experience a real working Cornish organic farm. At Roskilly’s you can see the calves, goats, pigs, sheep, turkeys, geese, chickens and more. At the core of Roskilly’s Farm are the Jersey cows. You are welcome to watch the milking process from the viewing gallery (specified times). There are plenty of paths to explore on the farm, throughout the Old Withy Woods and through the valley meadows which have been left to grow wild.
The Bull Pen Gallery provides a showcase for the furniture and the fused stained glass and ceramics made on the Farm. You’ll also find work from other local artists, including driftwood furniture, pictures and paintings. The shop has an area devoted to children of all ages in which there is a wonderful selection of good quality wooden toys, unusual puzzles and games as well as other smaller gifts and toys for children.
A visit to Roskillys would not be complete without visting The Ice Cream Parlour full of indulgent ice creams all made on the farm for you to experience.
Glorious gardens
Glendurgan Garden
Set in a wooded valley dropping steeply to the hamlet of Durgan on the shore of the beautiful Helford River, Glendurgan is one of the great sub-tropical gardens of Cornwall. Exotic trees and shrubs flourish amidst open glades carpeted with wild flowers, and it’s packed with rare and exotic plants from around the world. During the spring the garden shows Bluebells, Lent Lilies, Columbines and Primroses followed by Rhododendrons, Magnolias and Camellias. Midsummer sees Bentham’s Cornel and later on in the year the Hydrangeas and Eucryphias take over.
The garden also has some individual gardens within it. The Holy Corner is planted with trees and shrubs associated with the Bible including a yew, a tree of heaven, an olive, a tree of thorns and a Judas tree. A tropical garden has been created with Bamboo, Tree Ferns and ‘Gunnera Manicata’.
The fully restored 1833 Laurel Maze and the ‘Giant’s Stride’ – a pole with ropes to swing from – are unusual and popular features enjoyed especially by children.
Accessibility information can be found here.
Photo: Looking down onto the cherry laurel maze at Glendurgan Garden. Photo credit: ©National Trust Images/Andrew Butler
majestic mount
St Michael's Mount
St Michael’s Mount really is a must-visit destination whilst on holiday in Cornwall.
Joined to the land by a narrow causeway exposed by low tide for just a few hours each day, the dramatic granite outcrop of St Michael’s Mount dominates the eastern end of Mounts Bay. It is possible to arrive onto the island by foot across the causeway from Marazion at low tides (check tides here). At other times there is a passenger ferry service (charge payable).
Visit the historic castle and exotic gardens as well touring the picturesque village and harbour, or maybe just relax in the café and enjoy the outstanding setting with a traditional
Cornish Cream Tea.
Accessibility information can be found here.
village life
Local Villages
They say time moves more slowly in Cornwall and that is evident in the quaint stone cottages and untainted landscapes of the local villages of the Lizard peninsula. We’ve a different way of life where you can relax and take a deep breath; mooch around Mullion, the largest of Lizard villages with a few little shops, more than one pub, café and restaurant and a handful of arts and crafts venues (not forgetting the famous Trenance chocolate factory!), seek out the most southerly point from The Lizard village where walks abound but you’ll also find famous pasties and precious stones, go back in time to Cadgwith, a tiny historic fishing village where locals maintain the archetypal vibe by protecting the thatches and fishing industry from over-development, marvel at the colour of the sea in Coverack while eating fish and chips on the harbour wall and watching watersports. Porthleven is a little further away but worth the 20 minute drive for the famous clock tower with a winter’s backdrop of crashing waves – come summer it’s a bustling hub of al fresco eating. For a little less coastal, the riverside village of Helford, where our Sailing Trust began, is an upmarket take on traditional Cornwall, with the prettiest of properties along tiny little roads, glorious gardens and the most perfect of pubs.
- There is a 15% watersports activity discount available for holiday cottage guests.