Things to Do

Although we are not trying to put The Cornwall Tourist Board out of business, we do want you to enjoy your stay. Consequently, using our many years of local knowledge we have compiled a folder which will be left in The Waterwheel Apartment to provide you with ideas, directions, maps etc. Remember, when you stay at The Waterwheel Apartment we will be only a phone call away if you need advice However, here are some ideas -

Beaches

South Coast

At low tide you can walk around the rocks to to

Duporth Beach

Charlestown's two beaches are a short walk from The Waterwheel Apartment. They are good sheltered swimming beaches, but pebbly. In many respects the pebbles can be an advantage as this means that they are spacious and not overcrowded, even in the peak holiday season.

St Austell Bay has a number of good beaches such as -

Porthpean which is about one and half miles west of the apartment and is a perfect family, sandy beach and sailing resort.
Carlyon Bay is also one and half miles east of the apartment and is one and quarter miles of open beach with deep yet relatively safe swimming. There is currently a development proposed, however, the beach remains open and is a good place to get away from the crowds. There are also a number of pop-up restaurants and events taking place over the summer season.

Spit Beach is situated on the edge of Par Harbour, it has good rock pools but is not a popular beach.

Par Beach is about 4 miles east of Charlestown has a wide sandy beach, with a holiday park at the back of it and associated facilities. There is a large pond/lake which attracts wildlife, particularly from the Arctic and Russia during winter. It's a great beach with flat level walks all season, nice cycling for young children and can be good for kite flying.

Polkerris is a little gem, a safe, sandy beach with a small harbour wall. The pub is right on the beach and Sams' restaurant is opposite. A particularly great place to wine and dine as you watch the sunset over the whole of St Austell Bay.

Other highlights of the nearby south coast beaches are: Pentewan, Vault, Hemmick and Pendower to the west; Lantic Bay to the east is a special place and has a long but enjoyable trek.

Walking in Charlestown Harbour at low tide

North Coast

Fantastic surfing at Fistral Beach

The south coast beaches are English Channel beaches and the north coast are Atlantic Ocean beaches.

Newquay

Remarkably, even in peak season, Newquay is quite accessible from the Charlestown/St Austell area avoiding the main incoming and outgoing traffic, this is because you are cutting across Cornwall as opposed to into Cornwall. It is approximately 16 miles away. Newquay has great surfing beaches. Fistral in particular is one of Europe's finest surf beaches where you can surf or just watch the waves come in. To get to Fistral you need to travel through Newquay which can be time consuming during the summer. For this reason we recommend Watergate Bay which is wide and spacious and sandy with good surf. Plus it is relatively easy to access during any season. If you don't bring a wetsuit they are relatively cheap to hire.

Other North Coast Beaches:

There are many good beaches - check the maps which we have left in the apartment. We particularly recommend Perranporth and Polzeath.

Water Sports and Sailing

With its unique coastline and quaint harbours, Cornwall is perfect for sailing. Fowey, Porthpean and Pentewan are all sailing centres. Sailing lessons are available in Fowey or Polkerris. During the summer months, it is also possible to sail from Charlestown on one of the local tall ships. Kayaks can be hired in Charlestown and Porthpean during the summer. Polkerris has kayaks, windsurfers and the like for hire. Small craft can be hired in Charlestown by "asking around" (well worth doing if basking sharks are spotted in the the bay) and from Fowey and Mevagissey.

Kayaking in Charlestown Harbour

Walking

Cornwall is a great place for walking any time of year. As we wish to encourage you to experience the pleasures of Cornwall on foot we have compiled a folder with suggested walks starting from The Waterwheel Apartment. Highlights of the walks for which Cornwall is so rightly renowned include:

The southwest coastal path. To find this simply walk out of the apartment to Charlestown and there is it. Here is a link to information the coastal path. www.southwestcoastalpath
The Saint's Way. A walk from Fowey to Padstow. Nearly all off-road or on minor roads. Highlights include Golant, Helman Tor and numerous ancient churches.
Bodmin Moor.
The Hall Walk. A ferry ride from Fowey to Bodinnick, an estuary walk to Polruan and then a ferry back to Fowey.

Cycling

Again, Cornwall is renowned for some excellent off-road cycle tracks. The most famous being The Camel Trail, which starts 12 miles away from Charlestown, in Bodmin.

The Clay Trails can be picked up approximately one and half miles from the apartment. They are newly developed and mainly off-road, running from St Austell to the Eden Project and then on to Par. There are great views of St Austell Bay and the clay country.

Pentewan Trail starts 2 miles from The Waterwheel Apartment. The trail is approximately 5 miles long, all off-road, following the river from St Austell down to the lovely port and beach at Pentewan. It is relatively easy and ideal for walking or cycling. It is also suitable for small children.

Golf

There are three golf courses within 5 minutes drive from The Waterwheel Apartment: Carlyon Bay, Porthpean (both with superb sea views) and St Austell (superb country views).

Disclaimer. We try to be objective in giving our opinions but essentially they are our opinions, based on many years of local knowledge. Consequently we cannot be held responsible if some of the advice is not correct. For instance we describe beaches as “safe swimming”. This is because most of the time the sea is relatively calm and we don't know of any particular dangerous undercurrents. This is just our opinion and you must be responsible for making your own assessment of risks at the time in any activities that you undertake.