My family (2 adults, 2 kids 8-10 y/o) will be traveling from the US to Cornwall for a wedding in June. We have 2-3 days to spend between Bath and St. Austell before arriving for the wedding and we're debating whether it's better to settle in at St. Austell and use it as a base to travel around Cornwall, or whether to stay at different locations along the way there. We are interesting in seeing Tintagel Castle, Lanhydrock House, the Eden Project, and touring the Cornish coast. What are your favourites? Are there places you recommend we consider. Thanks in advance!
Posted by
107 posts
Are you driving?
I wouldn’t stay in St Austell. Perhaps Exmoor or Dartmoor National Parks on the way, or Port Isaac on the North coast or Fowey (pronounced Foy) on the South?
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Hello! Yes, we're hiring a car at Gatwick and driving west. The wedding is in St. Austell so we're somewhat bound by that, however you've made some great suggestions for us to research about how to spend the preceding days. Is St. Austell less than inspiring?
Posted by
Stratford upon Avon
470 posts
St Austell is noted for the St Austell Alps, waste tips from the China Clay industry
Also was a tin mining area
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Noted! Thank you.
Posted by
London, UK
452 posts
St Austell also used to be where the St Austell brewery was sited, don't know if it is still there. Lots of Cornwall pubs were/are? owned by the brewery. But, from my recollection of St Austell, I wouldn't recommend it as a place to stay. Fowey, as mentioned above, is great and not very far away. But I'm sure others here have much more recent experiences and you'll get some good suggestions.
Posted by
107 posts
Are you planning on driving straight off a transatlantic flight?
If so, don’t.
Posted by
464 posts
We stayed at the Carlyon Bay Hotel in St. Austell in May one year. It had a wonderful breakfast. We loved visiting Lanhydrock House. The grounds at Lanhydrock and the National Trust estate are outstanding. We also enjoyed the beach at Mawgan Porth and the Bedruthan Steps area on the Cornwall coast. Truro would be a central place to consider to stay also. Truro has a train station and is a short distance from St. Austell.
Posted by
Washington DC
27122 posts
I spent a night in Truro and found it an attractive, real-world sort of place. The coastal towns are very heavily tourism-focused.
I liked both The Eden Project and the Lost Gardens of Heligan. They are both large, and I doubt that on a short trip you'd want to go to both of them.