What’s On In Cornwall: Our Top Summer Activities

Picnic at Treyarnon Bay

Pack a picnic, or pick-up a delicious hamper of local goodies from the Cornish Food Box Company, and head for the coast to watch the sunset – the sea will glisten as you listen to natures chorus. Just a short walk from pretty Constantine you’ll find Treyarnon Bay famed for its gorgeous views and sandy beach, this is a year-round family-friendly favourite – and a dreamy spot of evening too.

Make a splash

It’s hard to come to Cornwall and resist getting in the water – be that for a refreshing dip, and a spot of cold-water therapy, or getting amongst the wild swimming trend it’s worth jumping in! Head for Watergate Bay if you fancy giving surfing ago, and for Stand-up Paddle Boarding you’re in safe hands with the team at Gylly Adventures in Falmouth or give belly- boarding a try with one our brilliant eco-friendly wooden belly-boards available in the Cornish Gems Shop.

Make your own vodka from Cornish potatoes!

Colwith Farm Distillery, Cornwall’s first single-estate distillery, has just launched the UK’s first plough-to-bottle vodka school – a fab new experience for grown-ups! Set on a fifth-generation farm, these guys make award-winning spirits, sustainably from Cornish potatoes. Join a vodka school or masterclass for the ultimate introduction into the world of botanicals, flavour profiles and the art of vodka rectification – and have a go at making your own vodka to take home (there is also gin-making experiences too!).

Sample some of Cornwall’s foodie highlights

With fresh-from the boat seafood, delicious seasonal produce Cornwall is home to some of the nation’s best suppliers. The Cornish foodie scene is not to be missed. Callestick Farm, just outside Truro, is the perfect pit-stop for a cream tea or ice-cream. On the restaurant front the better known foodie favourite’s such as Rick Stein’s Seafood Café, Paul Ainsworth’s No.6, Rojano’s and The Mariners and Nathan Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen are all worth a visit.

And there’s plenty of lesser-known gems to discover too such as Appleton’s in Fowey for fresh pasta, The Longstore Steak & Seafood in Charlestown or Truro, trendy Temple in Bude and the team behind Prawn on The Lawn have just repurposed their Padstow restaurant into a Mexican inspired Taqueria pop-up. And if you’re quick grab tickets for pop-up feast nights at Nancarrow Farm or the dinner on the beach at the Hidden Hut (there’s a good reason these are super popular!)

Discover the Great Gardens of Cornwall

Cornwall’s blessed with a milder climate, compared to most of the UK, thanks to the warm winds from the Gulf Stream Something the exotic plant hunters of history used to their advantage and the Great Gardens of Cornwall offer some of the most beautiful displays of fauna and flora in Britain – not to be missed. As a group of 13 gardens, you’ll be spoilt for choice! The Eden Project is great for families (lots of activities in school holidays too), Caerhays Castle offer tours inside and offers gardens overlooking the coast. Further West Tremenheer Sculpture Garden and Trebah, near Falmouth, is a sub-tropical paradise with its very own secluded beach on the Helford River.

See a show by the Sea

The Minack is an open-air theatre in Porthcurno near Penzance and if you get the chance to visit, you absolutely should. It’s a magical, one-of-a-kind type place with a full programme of brilliant shows all summer.