20 Amazing Cornish Attractions

In Cornwall there are lots of great attractions to enjoy, no matter what the weather is doing. Here are 20 of our favourites:


1 Eden Project
One of Cornwall’s most famous attractions, The Eden Project is a truly jaw-dropping set of two domed ‘greenhouses’ each holding a self-contained climate and ecosystem. One is a ‘rainforest’ fed by a waterfall, while the other is a more arid setting with plants from South Africa, California and the Med. The landscaped gardens are hidden in a former quarry near St Austell.

• Our tip: get in free – a donation the size of one entry fee allows membership, with a year of free admission.
• Costs: £19.50 online dated ticket, or £23.50 on the door.
• Tel: 01726 811911
• Web: www.edenproject.com

2 Bodmin and Wenford Railway
Cornwall’s last remaining steam railway to run full-sized locomotives. Take a 13-mile trip 1950s style from Bodmin General, where there is free parking (inc coaches) to Boscarne Junction next to the Camel Trail. At Bodmin Parkway the railway connects with main line train services, giving easy access to many parts of Cornwall by public transport. Dogs are welcome, on short leads.

• Our tip: Take the train to ride your bike on the Camel Trail. Bicycles go free, subject to space.
• Costs: £10.50-£11.50 (children aged 3-16, £6)
• Tel: 01208 73555
• Web: www.bodminrailway.co.uk

3 Holywell Bay Fun Park
This theme park at Holywell Bay near Newquay is actually within Trevornick Holiday Park, and is open to people staying there and day visitors too, who use the free car park. Loads of rides, and older children love the go-carts, and a maze that’s surprisingly tricky. The boat ride with water cannon is especially good.

• Our tip: bulk buy ‘stars’ and control the cost.
• Costs: Free admission, with a ‘pay as you play’ system, with rides and attractions from 50p to £4
• Tel: 01637 830095
• Web: www.holywellbayfunpark.co.uk

4 Lost Gardens of Heligan
Explore these amazing privately-owned gardens, in the hills above Mevagissey and the village of Pentewan. The gardens fell into dereliction after the manor house staff departed for the Great War, but were rediscovered and restored from 1990 onwards. Find out the fascinating story of those who worked here in past times, and all about the journey of discovery faced by its team of intrepid garden designers in recent years.
It’s open all year and well-behaved dogs are allowed, during the winter months (1 Oct-31 March).

• Our tip: check out the blog by Heligan gardeners here.
• Costs: £9-£10
• Tel: 01726 845100
• Web: www.heligan.com

5 Looe Island
22 acres of wild, unspoilt landscape, managed by Cornwall Wildlife Trust, with few facilities and amazing views of the Cornwall and Devon coast. As well as being a brilliant place to see wildlife, it’s been a smuggling haunt and a monastic retreat. The boat departs from the RNLI slipway in East Looe. Times are tide dependent and are posted on an information board on Buller Quay.

• Our tip: take a guided walk with the island warden, £17.
• Costs: £6 return boat trip (£4 child), plus landing fee £2.50 (£1 child)
• Tel: 01872 273939 (guided walk booking)
• Web: www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk

6 Tate St Ives
We think the best bit of the Tate St Ives is its amazing building, and walking around in those white rooms full of light. It has a good coffee bar too. Sometimes it comes in for criticism for its value for money – don’t come here expecting the kind of mental exhaustion that can come from a day in, say, the Tate Modern. Tate St Ives is a calmer affair, and a very good starting point for looking at Cornish visual art.

• Our tip: get the Art Pass. £8.50-£14.50 gives seven day’s access to the Tate, the Barbara Hepworth Museum, the Leach Pottery and others.
• Costs: £3.90-£6.50, (£5.50-£10 with admission to the Barbara Hepworth Museum)
• Tel: 01736 796226
• Web: www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-st-ives

7 Newquay Zoo
A really friendly zoo, makes up in atmosphere for being relatively small in size – the staff are genuinely interested in helping visitors to understand the wildlife, and the animals clearly well kept. Unfortunately it doesn’t have its own car park. There is a local authority one next door, but see feature on Newquay on page 10.

• Our tip: While you’re there, call in at the little Dig For Victory garden, an example of the little gardens that sprung up in unlikely places during WWII, and find out a little about rationing, sustainable farming and other aspects of life during wartime.
• Costs: £10.45-£12.05, child aged 3-15 £9.30 or family ticket £35.
• Tel: 01637 873342
• Web: www.newquayzoo.org.uk

8 Geevor Tin Mine
Set at the Western end of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site, in the village of Pendeen on the B3306 between St Ives and Lands End. This is quietly one of the best days out in Cornwall. The mine was working right up until 1990. Walk through the mill, or take an underground tour of the 19th Century Wheal Mexico mine. Open most of the year but closed on Saturdays.

• Our tip: the café serves delicious pasties.
• Costs: £8.50-£9.50
• Tel: 01736 788662
• Web: www.geevor.com

9 Cotehele
Explore this beautiful Tudor mansion near Saltash, just inside the Cornish border. There’s a National Trust Discovery Centre telling the story of the Tamar Valley, and there’s a shop, gallery and the Barn Restaurant. The grounds are amazing, and set in a beautiful rural location – explore a valley garden and two orchards. The house has a stunning collection of art and tapestries.

• Our tip: go on a Sunday to have a look around Shamrock, an 1899 sailing barge on the quay.
• Costs: £5.40-£10
• Tel: 01579 351346
• Web: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/cotehele

10 Cornish Craft Association Gallery
This gallery in the grounds of Trelowarren, a stately home near St Keverne on the Lizard, is run by crafts people and has some of the best stuff in the county. Go there and the chances are quite high that the person behind the counter is one of the makers. Peer approval ensures the quality is always kept to a high standard. Outside the gallery there’s a good café and some lovely walking in the grounds.

• Our tip: Nic Harrison ran a pottery at Trelowarren for many years. Now his pottery is at Penhale Jakes near Helston but he and wife Jackie, a weaver both exhibit at the CCA Gallery.
• Costs: free
• Tel: 01872 864514
• Web: www.cornwallcrafts.co.uk

11 St Austell Brewery Visitor Centre
Just a short walk from the centre of St Austell and its station. Take a one hour guided tour to discover the history of the brewery and to see the whole process. There’s a free beer tasting at the end. There’s a good sized car park, and you’ll want to bring away bottles from the gift shop – however, beer is included in the tour, so you may prefer the railway option.

• Our tip: Tribute Chutney
• Costs: £6-£8 (no children younger than 8. Children over 8 £5. Discount for CAMRA members)
• Tel: 01726 66022
• Web: www.staustellbrewery.co.uk

12 Charlestown Shipwreck Centre
The outside of this museum on the coast at Charlestown near St Austell may look a little unpromising, but it’s actually fantastic. It’s packed with everything you might want to know about shipwrecks – masses of information, some of it housed underground in old China clay tunnels. Food is reasonably priced, and the admission fee is good value. There are tall ships based in the dock, and a new exhibition on the sinking of the Titanic.

• Our tip: a leisurely cliff walk, with a camera, from Charletown to Carlyon Bay.
• Costs: £4.95-£5.95
• Tel: 01726 69897
• Web: www.shipwreckcharlestown.com

13 National Maritime Museum
One of the best things to do with a rainy day in Cornwall, this museum in Falmouth is fascinating even if you don’t think you’re into naval history. There are 15 galleries over five floors, including a new Olympic and Paralympic sailing celebration, and a exhibition on the sea in the Bronze Age, with a boat reconstruction and rare objects on show for the first time in the UK. Views over the town from the tower too. Phew. It’s just as well that your entry fee buys unlimited admission for the whole year.

• Our tip: go to the bottom of the tower for an underwater view of seals and anything else that’s swimming past.
• Costs: £8.50-£10.50 (Children aged 6-15 £7.20)
• Tel: 01326 313388
• Web: www.nmmc.co.uk

14 Cornish Seal Sanctuary
This is a modest but fascinating place in a beautiful riverside location at Gweek on the Lizard. It was established to rescue seals that are in trouble, so at certain times of the year it will only have a few seals, and at others it will have plenty of new pups to see. Feeding time is a chance for staff to tell you the stories of the individual seals. It’s not cheap but there are vouchers and online booking discounts. A visit is unforgettable, especially if you take time to see the otters, and feed the seals yourself. Dog friendly too, but the car park is sloping enough to risk clutch burn.

• Our tip: the first British seal pups are born off the Cornish coast in August, so an early autumn visit is your best chance to see some, but call ahead to check.
• Costs: From £8.64 online, family ticket from £26.64 online
• Tel: 01326 221361
• Web: www.sealsanctuary.co.uk Discounted tickets here.

15 Trelissick Garden
This National Trust garden at Feock near Truro has much of the distinctive, exotic plant life that grows well in the Cornish climate – in fact it has one of the UK’s largest collections of exotic plants. It’s a hilly site surrounded by water on three sides, and with a huge collection of hydrangeas and rhododendrons. Woodland walks from here take you along the banks of the river Fal, to explore its creeks.

• Our tip: arrive by ferry from Falmouth or Malpas, and take advantage of Fal Mussel Card discounts.
• Costs: £6.10 (winter) to £8 (Gift Aid). Family £18, child £3.60.
• Tel: 01872 862090
• Web: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/trelissick-garden

16 Blue Reef Aquarium
A huge ocean tank with a coral reef display is the highlight of this attraction on Newquay’s Towan Promenade. There’s a tunnel through the centre of the reef and a boardwalk right on top of the reef so you can really see what’s going on. The aquarium is small, but there’s lots going on, and an emphasis on conservation. It’s open all year except Christmas day.

• Our tip: hang around to watch the octopus feed.
• Costs: £8.75-£9.75 (children aged 3-14 £7.50)
• Tel: 01637 878134
• Web: www.bluereefaquarium.co.uk

17 Flambards Experience
Top of our list in terms of Cornish theme parks, Flambards near Helston is a bit different in that it has great fairground rides and play equipment, and a Victorian Village and a 1940s Britain in the Blitz exhibit. These use atmospheric lighting and great model making to conjure up the past. An indoor playground is open 360 days of the year too.

• Our tip: Tesco Reward Tokens are accepted against the following ticket prices.
• Costs: £5.95-£8.95 (child, 4-15 years £4.95) (exhibitions only, theme park prices ftba)
• Tel: 01326 573404
• Web: www.flambards.co.uk

18 Cornwall’s Crealy
Need an idea for bad weather? Crealy Great Adventure Park has 45,000 square feet of indoor play, including a Dragon Kingdom with super slides and aerial walkways. There’s a toddler area here, and a haunted castle with a maze and drop slide. There’s a petting zoo here too, and it’s all within easy reach of Wadebridge and Newquay.

• Our tip: go at the beginning of your stay because one day’s paid entry entitles you to return as often as you like during the next six days, free of charge.
• Costs: £11.95-£15.95 (seasonal variations)
• Tel: 01841 540276
• Web: www.crealy.co.uk

19 Buccaneer Bay
Shiver me timbers, this is the pirate experience for kids, based in the caves and lanes in the heart of Newquay, with a base on St Michael’s Road. There’s plenty of swashbuckling on offer from costumed tour guides, and it’s a great excuse to step out into the realms of Cornish myths and legends.

• Our tip: the season is from April to December but it gets cold in winter, so wrap up warm.
• Costs: £7.25-£8.50 (£5, children aged 5-15)
• Tel: 01637 873379
• Web: www.buccaneerbay.co.uk
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20 Wheal Martyn Museum and Country Park
Most people think of tin mining when it comes to Cornwall’s industrial past, but slate mining and China clay production are also up there alongside the pilchards. Wheal Martyn at Carthew, near St Austell is the UK’s only heritage centre celebrating China clay. Think interactive exhibits, and an adventure challenge through the woods. It’s all based around the remains of two Victorian clay works. Dogs are allowed, on leads.

• Our tip: take the guided tour, which makes the day really good value.
• Costs: £8.50 (children aged 6-16 £4.75, family tickets £22.50). Ticket allows unlimited admission for a year.
• Tel: 01726 850362
• Web: www.wheal-martyn.com

Want to know about more things to do and see in Cornwall?
To see the top 10 Coastal Walks in Cornwall, click here.
For details on our top 10 family beaches, click here.

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