Magic circles
You can trust Cornwall to provide a range of fun family activities, superb food and beautiful scenery, says Fiona Whitty
Acircle of trust, that’s what I call this,’’ grinned Willow Harman as he carved out a ring in the wet sand around a mound of shoes. ‘‘Everything in there will be safe. Circles of trust are sacred in Cornwall.’’
Willow, a surfing instructor with a huge smile and an outdoor-lover’s sun-kissed face, was assuring his students that their possessions wouldn’t be touched while they were in the sea.
I could well believe it. After all, surfing itself seems to be sacred in Cornwall. Pretty much everywhere you go you see evidence, from hordes of surfers bobbing around in the sea whatever the weather to the snake of campervans bumbling along coastal roads, well-weathered boards strapped to their roofs.
So it seemed fitting that we should give surfing a go ourselves on our trip there.
Besides, we had a restless 14 year old with us who needed constant fun and stimulation.
Anyone who’s holidayed with a teenager knows you need to be more ingenious as they get older. Museums and parks won’t necessarily cut it – they need full-on action.
I ducked out of the surfing with a bad back so my partner Tim took our son Freddie – the restless teen – to one of Cornish Wave’s two-hour lessons with Willow at Newquay’s beautiful Towan Beach. ( from £40pp, cornishwave.com).
After a beachside introduction on how to mount the board and ‘pop up’ they hit the water. It looked exhausting but really good fun – and the best part was watching Freddie improve with every attempt. By the end he was managing to stand up, look confident and ride some waves.
And we’d managed to keep him off his phone for a couple of hours too, another bonus.
Looking out over pretty Towan Bay, it was easy to see why visitors are drawn to Cornwall. And visiting outside of the peak summer period meant fewer crowds and more space to enjoy the sublime views.
We were staying half an hour further down the coast at a lovely five-star Landal resort called Gwel an Mor in Portreath – perfect for teens thanks to oodles of activities on-site and nearby.
One of Freddie’s favourites was the site’s Famous Nine golf course, designed around replicas of the world’s most notorious holes. It’s a friendly and laid-back course and he improved every time he played. The Night Golf session, played in the dark with illuminated balls and LED lights to make the greens, was particularly fun (rounds from £8 child, £10 adult).
Our 17-year-old daughter Rosie joined us for several days and the four of us battled each other at archery and tennis, splashed about in the indoor pool and worked up a sweat in the gym.
We also visited the resort’s wildlife centre for an Owls at Night session where we watched the creatures swoop around in the dark.
Rosie and I tried Gwel an Mor’s lovely spa, an oasis of calm with low lights, pacifying music and the waft of essential oils.
We had relaxing back massages followed by soothing facials using natural Elemental Herbology products, which left us feeling blissfully calm (30-minute back massage £60pp, express facial £55).
And back at our accommodation the private hot tub kept us in chill mode. We were staying in a new luxury Heligan Lodge, which had three bedrooms including an en-suite and a high-end kitchen with induction hob, boiling water tap, wine cooler, dishwasher and washer-dryer. It certainly raised lodge-living up a notch.
Our kids vanished for long soaks in the main bathroom – no coincidence it had a wall-hung TV at one end of the tub!
On-site restaurant The Terrace was perfect for a family meal, with friendly staff and good food. Its seafood-heavy menu included a tasty scallop and Cornish hog pudding starter – the latter’s a large sausage that’s finely sliced – grilled sole in a prawn and saffron butter and
salmon in a spicy
Korean marinade.
The fishing village of Portreath itself had a gorgeous sandy bay edged by caves – great to poke around in when the sea was out.
In Redruth we came across a brand new attraction called Xtra Dimension VR, a series of indoor escape rooms set in virtual reality.
Donning headsets we tried out Beyond Medusa’s Gate, where we were transported back to Ancient Greece to solve a series of puzzles and locate the legendary argonauts.
Once we’d mastered the technology the trickiest bit was climbing walls; if you fell you actually felt your tummy lurch.
Afterwards Freddie had a session on the VR Arcade where you can play 30 games (escape room £28pp, arcade £25 for 60 minutes, xtradimensionvr.com).
Further afield lay
Land’s End, mainland Britain’s most south-westerly point. It’s a beautiful, wild peninsula best explored through bracing walks along the marked trails. You are free to roam around although there are various paid-for attractions (landsend-landmark.co.uk).
Back in Newquay we had the pleasure of visiting the laid-back Rick Stein, Fistral which combines the celebrity chef ’s passion for fish and chips with influences from his travels in India.
With fabulous sea views, Tim and I tried his fish and chips with curry sauce while Freddie went all-out Asian with Pad Thai noodles.
The portions were hearty but thankfully we kept room for a pudding – the salted caramel cheesecake was absolutely divine (rickstein.com).
Afterwards we worked it off with a round at Pirate’s Quest Adventure Golf, which guides you through Cornwall’s smuggling and pirate history as you play.
Novel additions include live actors and a chance to play through a blacked-out section with glow-in-thedark balls… and a few unexpected visitors. We always love a golf game but the novel twists ensured even more fun (adult £11.50, child £7.95, piratesquest.co.uk).
The one drawback of charming Cornwall is its distance, so to break up the journey on the way home we stopped off at Stonehenge in Wiltshire.
It’s the highlight of the A303 – you get a great view from the road – but you can’t beat seeing this megalithic circle of stones up-close in all its mesmerising glory ( family tickets from £33.60, english-heritage.org.uk).
From one of trust to one of stones… you could say we’d come full circle.
‘‘ The beautiful Land’s End peninsula is best explored through bracing walks