Best Days Out in Cornwall — 13 Places Beyond the Beach

Cornwall's beaches are the reason most people come, and rightly so. But you'll want days off the sand too — for the inevitable grey afternoon, for the over-excited kids, or just because some of the best days out in the county have nothing to do with a bucket and spade. Here's the shortlist.

The unmissable ones

The Eden Project, near St Austell

The giant biomes — one tropical rainforest, one Mediterranean — built in a former china-clay pit are a genuine wonder, and a full day out whatever the weather (the Rainforest Biome is the ultimate wet-day rescue). Book online in advance; a ticket converts to a free annual pass if you Gift Aid it, so keep it for a return trip.

Check Eden Project tickets →

The Lost Gardens of Heligan, near Mevagissey

Two hundred acres of restored Victorian gardens — the giant "Mud Maid" and "Giant's Head" sculptures, the jungle valley with its rope bridge, and a genuine sense of discovery. Pairs beautifully with a fishing-village lunch in Mevagissey.

Minack Theatre, Porthcurno

An open-air amphitheatre carved into a cliff above a turquoise sea — worth visiting just to walk the terraces, and unforgettable if you catch an evening performance. The beach at Porthcurno below is one of Cornwall's finest.

For families

Cornish Seal Sanctuary, Gweek

A working rescue centre for orphaned and injured seals — kids can watch the residents being fed and hear the rescue stories. Small, ethical, and genuinely moving.

Flambards, Helston

A proper theme park with rides, a life-size Victorian village and a Britain-in-the-Blitz walkthrough — the county's best rainy-and-dry hybrid, with plenty under cover.

Newquay Zoo & Blue Reef Aquarium

Two solid half-days in Newquay for the animal-obsessed, both easy on tired little legs.

For a walk with a payoff

• St Michael's Mount, Marazion — walk the causeway at low tide to the island castle (check tide times, or take the boat back).
• Tintagel Castle — the Arthurian clifftop ruin, now with a dramatic footbridge across the chasm.
• Kynance Cove — arguably the most beautiful cove in Britain; the walk down from the Lizard is the price of admission.
• Bedruthan Steps — giant sea stacks and a National Trust clifftop path with a great café.

The rest of the thirteen

12. Bodmin & Wenford Railway — a proper steam line across the moor.
13. Charlestown — the tall-ships harbour used in Poldark, free to wander, with a shipwreck museum.

Practical notes

Cornwall's roads are slow and summer traffic is brutal — the A30 and the coast lanes clog from mid-morning, so start early and don't plan two far-apart attractions in one day. Tide times make or break St Michael's Mount and Kynance, so check them the night before. And book the big-hitters (Eden, Heligan, Minack performances) online ahead — they sell out in peak season.