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Padstow
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The small fishing port of
PADSTOW
is nearly as popular as Newquay, but has a very different feel. Enclosed within the estuary of the Camel - the only river of any size that empties on Cornwall's north coast - the town long retained its position as the principal fishing port on this coast, and still has something of the atmosphere of a medieval town. Its chief annual festival is also a hangover from times past, the
Obby Oss
, a May Day romp when one of the locals garbs himself as a horse and prances through the town preceded by a masked and club-wielding "teaser"- a spirited if rather institutionalized re-enactment of old fertility rites.
On the hill overlooking Padstow, the church of St Petroc is dedicated to Cornwall's most important saint, a Welsh or Irish monk who landed here in the sixth century, died in the area and gave his name to the town -"Petrock's Stow". The building has a fine fifteenth-century font, an Elizabethan pulpit and unusual carved bench-ends. The walls are lined with monuments to the local Prideaux family, who still occupy nearby Prideaux Place , an Elizabethan manor house with grand staircases, richly furnished rooms full of portraits, fantastically ornate ceilings and formal gardens (Easter & June-Sept Mon-Thurs & Sun 1.30-5pm; A?5; grounds only A?2), all of which have been used as settings for such films as Twelfth Night and Oscar and Lucinda . The harbour is jammed with launches and boats offering cruises in Padstow Bay, while a regular ferry (daily: Easter-Oct 8am-7.30pm; Nov-Easter Mon-Sat 8am-5pm; A?2 return) carries people across the river to ROCK - close to the sand-engulfed church of St Enodoc (John Betjeman's burial place) and to the good beaches around Polzeath.
The coast on the
south side
of the estuary also offers some good
beaches
, with some terrific coastline. Round
Stepper Point
you can reach the sandy and secluded Harlyn Bay and, turning the corner southwards,
Constantine Bay
, the area's best surfing beach. The dunes backing the beach and the rock pools skirting it make this one of the most appealing bays on this coast; moreover it boasts the best water quality, though the tides can be treacherous and bathing hazardous near the rocks. Three or four miles further south lies one of Cornwall's most dramatic beaches,
Bedruthan Steps
, slate outcrops which were traditionally held to be a giant's stepping-stones. They can be viewed from the cliff-top path - at a point which drivers can reach on the B3276 - and steps lead down to the broad beach below (not advised for swimming). Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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United Kingdom,
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