One of the most popular places in Cornwall, Newquay, has always had a special place in my heart! Although it was quite a few years back (well, many, if I was going to be honest!), it was when I took my first holiday away with my girl pals.
It was a seriously dreamy two weeks back in the mid-1990s (when times were much more hedonistic!), filled with long sunny days, combi van-lined cliff tops, surfer spotting from fine white sandy beaches, and going to dance nightclubs every night. Okay, it wasn’t Ibiza, but to us at 17 it was almost!
When the sun is shining, the gem of Cornwall has an almost Mediterranean holiday vibe, and I think it’s a place you can’t quite believe exists in England. I had wanted to make a return nostalgia trip for many years now, so accompanied by Gary Nunn, the team videographer, and with a boot packed to its total capacity, a tank topped up with fuel and Gary’s trusty drone. We hit the road to capture some of the beauty of this wild and rugged corner of England.
A video of our Cornwall Road Trip (with drone footage)…
The Road Trip
We went down in a Vauxhall Mokka X, a compact SUV with spacious interiors. The four-and-a-half-hour journey from London to Cornwall was so comfortable that it seemed like a short trip down the road.
Fistral Beach, Newquay
Perched in superb position on a knuckle of cliffs overlooking fine golden sands and Atlantic rollers, Newquay’s glorious natural advantages have made it the premier resort of north Cornwall.
The town centre is a parade of shops, restaurants, bars and clubs from which lanes lead to ornamental gardens, cliff-top lawns and envy-inducing glass-fronted beach apartments. Although Newquay is easily the main attraction, the beaches and their long strides of untamed, frothy waves attract surfers by the bucket load.
Lusty Glaze, Newquay, Cornwall
We ended the evening at the cutely name Lusty Glaze beach located on the outskirts of Newquay, a place not for the lazy beach go-er – its entrance was a long descent down 133 raggedy stone steps.
The reward made it worthwhile though, Lusty Glaze is a spectacular horseshoe-shaped bay framed by wooden stilted restaurants on one side and a crescent of powder blue beach huts on the other.
We watched as the foamy waves spilt and crashed against themselves repeatedly. The glowing amber sun slowly disappeared behind the cliff, leaving an extraordinary palette of pinks, purples, blues and oranges imprinted on the sky.
Our temporary home for the evening was The Fistral Beach Hotel and Spa, a relaxed spa hotel blessed with sweeping views over Newquay’s famed surfer’s beach.
Their stylish seafront restaurant was the perfect setting for an evening meal, and the sound of crashing waves against the bay’s rocks was surprisingly lulling and conducive to a restful night’s sleep.
Polperro, Cornwall
Rising early the next day, we journeyed through lanes that crisscrossed patchwork fields and farms to arrive at the shining jewel in the crown of the east Cornwall coast—the Polperro Heritage Coast and then Polperro itself. A place so picturesque that it was once voted the prettiest village in England.
Preserved from the ravages of time and tide by its surrounding cliffs, Polperro is an otherworldly fusion of hobbit-esque cottages, sea-battered pubs, secret coves and narrow streets lined with quirky gift shops, fishermen swapping seafaring yarns and increasingly brave, hungry seagulls.
Dartmoor National Park, Devon
With a steely determination to make the most of some of England’s finest scenery, we took a detour through Dartmoor National Park—Devon’s wild heart on our journey home.
The vast moorland dotted with dense green forests, babbling brooks, moss-smothered boulders, grazing sheep, and ponies wandering the craggy landscapes will make an idyllic cinematic backdrop to our journey’s video.
With a heavy heart, we left the storybook scenery of some of England’s most beautifully preserved villages and landscapes and returned to London.
As the journey ended, leaving the fresh air, idyllic scenery (and the car!) behind was sad, but in the 48-hour trip, we honestly wouldn’t have done even the tiniest thing differently.
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