Every time we holiday in Cornwall, we always fit in a visit to Padstow, and on last year's holiday, we actually went twice. The second time was just on a whim to get fish and chips from our favourite chippy in the harbour, but hey, sometimes you just have to drive fifty miles to satisfy a craving.
On the first full day of our holiday, we drove the twenty-five miles east along the coast from Perranporth to do some sight-seeing around Padstow harbour. As it was a scorching hot day, we left early to try to avoid the worst of the heat, and had a gorgeous drive along the coastal roads, cruising the tight hair-pin bends past beautiful beaches like Porth, Watergate Bay, and Mawgan Porth (above).
It was already thirty degrees by the time we got to Padstow, and with barely a cloud in the endless blue sky and the sunlight shimmering on the water, the harbour looked so serene. It's a very picturesque port town, with a working harbour in the centre, edged by pretty little gift shops, bakeries, and ice cream shops, and while it's quintessentially Cornish, when the sun is shining, it doesn't even feel like you're in England.
We parked in the harbour, and headed across to take in the views of the boats on the water, before dawdling at a snail's pace around the shops and eateries in the town. We wandered in and out of gift shops, browsed a great little book shop, and bought treats from a sweet shop to bring home. We revisited a gorgeous teddy bear shop called Abbey Bears that we always return to whenever we're in town, and I came away with a Jelly Cat Amuseables pumpkin for myself and the cutest sad-looking hard-boiled egg plushie for my younger sister. I don't know why the Amuseables amuse me so much, but I love them. Afterwards, we went in search of Rick Stein's patisserie, hoping to get some of their delicious pasties we'd loved for over a decade, but to our disappointment, we discovered it had been demoted to a Rick Stein coffee shop since our last visit four years earlier. We had to buy chocolate orange cookies, and a custard tartlet to share to try to console ourselves at the loss of one of our holiday favourites. Seriously, Rick Stein pasties were amazing and probably the best in Cornwall, so my tastebuds were sad.
Our sweet treats were enjoyed back at the caravan that evening, and they were delicious.
After strolling around the town in the sweltering sunshine and visiting all of the places that caught our eye, we stopped for a rest with some cold drinks alongside the harbour, and just sat in the sunshine enjoying the gorgeous landscape for a while. It looked so pretty and tranquil, I could've sat there all day. We would have liked to have gone out on a boat excursion to try to spot some sea life, like we often do on Cornish holidays, but we realised neither of us was in a fit state to manoeuvre down a flight of stone steps on to a boat, so we went and got ice cream, and fish and chips instead.
We got delicious 99's from a Kelly's ice cream van on the harbour, which is a go-to every time we're in Padstow. Trust me, their soft-serve ice cream is some of the best you'll ever try. We then parked a little closer to the Lobster Hatchery, and treated ourselves to fish and chips from Rick Stein's Fish and Chips. It's a place we discovered about fifteen years ago, and the food is so good, we've been returning to it on every holiday to Cornwall since. It's a little more expensive than your average chippy- they actually sell lobster and champagne, if you really want to treat yourself- but the food is incredible, so it's completely worth it. The fish is fresh and often locally-caught, the batter is the perfect mix of salty and crispy, and the chips are so fluffy. They're the best fish and chips I've ever tried, to the point I'd been daydreaming about returning since my last holiday there four years earlier, and am already looking forward to going back again later this month. We enjoyed last year's meal so much, we actually drove all the way back- twenty-five miles each way- later in the week just to get fish and chips from them again! It was totally worth it. Will we be tempted to do the same again this year? Probably. And I'm not even sorry.
Our trips to Padstow were short and sweet, but we had a lovely time visiting the iconic town again. It's a great place to visit if you want to shop for treats and gifts to bring home, or grab a bite to eat while enjoying beautiful Cornish scenery and a busy but relaxing atmosphere. Padstow's said to have some beautiful beaches, too, but in all our years of holidaying in Cornwall, I don't think we've ever visited them. One of these days, I'm going to have to change that. If they're as pretty as the harbour, they'll be well worth a visit.
Have you ever visited Padstow?
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It looks like an amazing trip! The scenery is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteWe had such a great day out there, as always. It really is a beautiful place. My photos don't do it justice.
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