A few years back, Hubby managed to convince me to go on a camping holiday for the first time- yeah, I did not like the idea of it at all at the time. But I have to say, I did become a camping convert after that! I think that it helped that we made it into a spontaneous road trip through Dorset, Devon and Cornwall where we just pitched up at the nearest site to where we had stopped at the time. We couldn’t wait to go again, but a few things took priority before that.
Fast forward to this summer and we were more than ready to have another camping trip and, to make it just a bit more challenging (!), we now had baby in tow. I know – only my second camping trip ever and we’re bringing along a one year old for her first holiday ever!
Now, because of the pandemic and staycations being most peoples only option for some kind of holiday, we were a little limited in our destination choices. One thing for sure after last time is that we wanted to see more of Cornwall. Last time we went along the south coast around St Austell, so this time we wanted to see the north and based on what campsites were available we went for Padstow.
Padstow harbour was definitely more than a pleasant surprise. It was such a quaint little fishing town with a working harbour and loads of small, independent cafe’s and shops as well as the odd chain place. I very much recommend picking up a coffee and cake from The Cornish Bakery or Cherry Trees Coffee House and enjoying the views.
Around the harbour you’ll see lots of people crabbing. Baby’s face was a picture when daddy asked someone if she could see their catch up close!
On another, sunnier day we decided to explore a little further outside Padstow and came across Mawgan Porth. The beach was absolutely beautiful. We settled ourselves in a little cove by the cliff edge. There Evie had a sandy space to run around that was surrounded by small streams and rock pools so she could paddle and watch the tiny fish and crustaceans scuttling about.
After spending the morning on the beach we had a delicious seafood linguine and Sri Lankan curry at the Catch Seafood Bar & Grill.
Later on in the week we visited Newquay. While it was a bit busy for our liking, we picked up a few pasties for our dinner that evening and enjoyed the views of the beach there.
While we didn’t have the best weather during our week away, it didn’t stop us from having the best time and Padstow is definitely on our list of places to come back to!
Nicola Cañaveras 