The South West of England is not the kind of place you rush. Here is where in a day you can walk coast paths that predate the Bronze Age, feast from a surf-fresh seafood menu, and watch the sun disappear into the Atlantic from a blowhole-cooled granite throne. A week done well here can outclass anywhere else on Earth.
1\. Choose Where You Stay Carefully
Accommodation across the South West has morphed dramatically over the past decade; a whole new echelon of design-led boutique properties reflecting the quality of the landscape itself. Book one of the stylish hotels in Cornwall and this is no longer where you sleep, this is the edge of the Atlantic with local seafood menus, coastal views from your bed, and a building that somehow speaks of its surroundings.
Where you stay shapes the whole rhythm of a trip here; the right piece of real estate by the coast and you get early morning to yourselves before the day-trippers arrive, you get the view of the setting sun without having to drive to find it, and you get something of that precious feeling of actually living in the landscape rather than just being a tourist. The South West still consistently attracts 20% of all domestic overnight tourism in the UK (VisitBritain) and a lot of that repeat travel is simply people returning to the place they found and didn’t want to leave.
2\. Hike the Cliffs Between Tintagel and Boscastle
The South West Coast Path extends over 630 miles along the region’s edge, but the segment between Tintagel and Boscastle in North Cornwall is one of those pristine fairy-tale walks where the landscape turns truly epic. The ruins of Tintagel Castle clutch a promontory above frothy water, and whatever fairy tales you might associate with Britain’s Arthurian legends, the geology of the North Cornwall coast will leave you spellbound. The rock formations, the seething sea stacks, the precipitous drops and climbs for which there seems to be no respite, it’s one of those walks where you look up fairly early the first day and come to the rueful conclusion that you brought the wrong trousers.
Boscastle itself is a transversely picturesque, narrow-harbored village squeezed into a ravine in the cliffs. The walk between the two isn’t a trifle, it takes most of a good day slipping and sliding across peaty soil and steep drops with only the occasional wisp of mud and seaweed holding you back, but stopping now and then to drink it all in is what it’s about. Wear gaiters if you’ve got them. And more water than you can store.
3\. Hunt For fossils on the Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that extends along the coast of Devon and Dorset. It is one of the only places where you can gather a 185-million-year-old fossil right off the beach. Lyme Regis and Charmouth are the best places to start. After winter storms, ammonites and belemnites are washed from the cliffs and are scattered along the shoreline.
You want to look low on the beach, near the water line, and to do so after high tide has been washed clean. Look for curved spiral shapes in dark grey stone, those are almost certainly ammonites. Lyme Regis’ local fossil shops sell identification guides if you want to know what you’ve found, and even if you know what you’re doing, it’s worth booking a guided fossil walk at the town’s museum.
4\. Spend a Day in Bath
Bath is different from the rest of the South West, it’s more posh, more touristy, more aware of its own charms, but the Roman Baths are popular for very good reasons. The excavated complex below street-level has a way of transporting you straight back to the first century, and the excellent audio-guide will fill in the gritty details. The thermal spring is still going strong, two thousand years later, and the water is an unreal shade of bright, tropical green.
Afterwards, stroll north to the Royal Crescent. The postcard-perfect sweep of facades is best appreciated by stepping into the center of the arc, and looking down on to the park below.
5\. Watch a Performance at the Minack Theatre
The Minack Theatre is located in Porthcurno and was hand-carved into the granite cliffs by Rowena Cade, with construction beginning in the 1930s. Today, a full summer season of plays and musicals is held here. The setting is just as unforgettable as any performance you’ll encounter; the Atlantic Ocean is right behind the stage, meaning sunsets and crashing waves form a natural backdrop that is simply unbeatable.
Be sure to book your tickets well in advance. The Minack often sells out, particularly for evening shows in July and August. Remember to bring a cushion to make your seat on the stone steps a bit more comfortable and a warm layer to protect against the evening chill. And be prepared for the wind to pick up, it has been known to be quite vocal in its opinions about the performance.
6\. Cross the Causeway to St Michael’s Mount
At low tide, you can walk across a cobbled causeway from the Cornish mainland to St Michael’s Mount, a tidal island in Mount’s Bay that’s home to a medieval castle and church (and actually has been inhabited for some 2,000 years). It’s an irresistible fantasy: Have we mentioned that you’re walking to a fortified island, perched atop England’s southwestern tip, on foot, while the sea has retreated to both sides? Small boats ferry visitors from Marazion when the tide is high.
The castle has been the abode of the St Aubyn family since the 17th century, and its higgledy-piggledy interiors wear their history well. The terraced gardens on the island’s sunny southern slope are especially enchanting, and best viewed in spring when the plants and flowers are in full bloom. The glass-walled café at the top, serving Cornish pasties, local stews, and homemade cakes, commands the kind of view that could draw you inside even if you didn’t need the sustenance.
7\. Explore Dartmoor on its Own Terms
Dartmoor National Park cannot be put in a box. It is a vast moorland in Devon, air-blown with the hillsides of granite tors and Dartmoor ponies wherever the mood takes them. Haytor is the tor most easily reached, a brief walk from the car park takes you to a summit that offers vistas of the moor that will extend to the coast on a clear day.
If possible, go out of school vacation times. Once you’re over a kilometer from the parking lot, the moor quickly empties, and solitude is part of the appeal. The marshy ground can be risky after rain, so stick to the marked paths unless you’re properly prepared and know your way around.
8\. Eat Well in Padstow
Padstow became known for Cornish food tourism thanks to chef Rick Stein and his restaurants in the harbor town. That legacy brought a greater food culture to the area and in turn created excellent local producers, fishmongers, and independent restaurants beyond the flagship names.
Over the years, the South West has managed to diversify itself from a region known for cream teas and pasties (both of which are still worth your time and should not be forgotten) into one of the more serious food destinations in the country. A properly made Cornish pasty from a proper bakery is still one of the best things to eat while standing by a harbor wall. The Michelin-starred seafood serves as a supplement to this, not a substitute.
9\. Visit the Eden Project
The Eden Project is located in a former china clay quarry near St Austell. It is so huge that you need to stand back and try to take in the scale of the thing. The main buildings are two vast biomes, a rainforest (the biggest indoor one in the world) and a Mediterranean climate biome, linked by the building that houses the foundations in a huge soap bubble design.
Go up onto the canopy walkway in the tropical biome to see the rainforest from a different perspective. Try to visit in the morning and see the biomes before the main crowds of the day come to clog the pathways. This is a charity that is about educating people in biodiversity and so there is plenty of meat on the bones here, it’s not just eye-candy tourism.
10\. Surf at Fistral Beach
Fistral Beach in Newquay is the birthplace of British surfing. The Atlantic waves roll in reliably on this North Cornwall shore, and the beach has organized professional surfing events for many years. If you’ve never surfed, every surfing school at the beach provides beginner classes that can make you stand on a surfboard in just a few hours. If you don’t want to get in the water, just go to the beach during the surfing season and marvel at how well these individuals can surf, it’s incredible.
Newquay has a reputation that doesn’t quite do justice to what the town is really like today, where its very gratifying surfing culture and good-quality independent food and drink scene have emerged alongside its more raucous, traditional tourism.
Getting the Most From the Region
You’ll have the best experience in the South West if you don’t try to see everything. Pick two or three regions, North Cornwall and Dartmoor, perhaps, or the Jurassic Coast and Bath, and explore them in detail rather than racing through a checklist of highlights. The gaps between landmarks tend to be wider than you think, and the roads tinier. Leave yourself a day or two to wander off the route altogether. It’s often how the most rewarding South West adventures start.
