Cornish Adventures 2021: Exploring North Cornwall by Tour Bus

I've always thought that Cornwall, with it's beautiful coastlines and pretty harbour villages, would be an amazing area to see by tour bus, but in all my years of holidaying there, I'd never seen or heard of any in the area.

That all changed on our first night in Perranporth last September, when an Atlantic-Coaster open-top double decker bus came cruising past us, promoting tours to St. Ives and Padstow. We both turned our heads, and I think we knew there and then what we'd be doing that weekend. We looked the tour operator up back at the caravan, and decided it would be the perfect way to ease ourselves in to our holiday. It just so happened that the tour bus came right in to our holiday park, Perran Sands, which was clearly a sign we had to go.

Two days later, on our second full day in Cornwall, the morning sea haze parted and transformed in to blue skies and blistering sunshine, blessing us with the perfect weather for sight-seeing. We stocked up on cold drinks, and drove along to the touring reception, where the tour buses pick up at Perran Sands, having decided we'd get on the first bus that arrived and see where we ended up. We didn't have to wait long for a bus to come rumbling along, and I was pleased to discover it was the route that would take us west along the North coast of Cornwall from Perranporth to St. Ives. (I bloody love St. Ives).

We bought our tickets from the (very grumpy) driver, which came to just £18 for the two of us, and made ourselves comfortable on the upper deck. It was already half full with other sight-seers, but everyone was spaced out enough that I didn't feel too concerned about catching Covid.

We left Perran Sands around 11:30am, and headed in to Perranporth. Its first stop was at one of my favourite places- Perranporth Beach. The tide was out past Chapel Rock, and the beautiful golden sandy beach was already filling up with people and their dogs enjoying the late summer sunshine. It looked so idyllic, I was tempted to get off the bus to do the same, but alas, the beach would have to wait. I settled for a few photos while passengers came and went, and then we were on our way again.

From Perranporth, the Atlantic Coaster took us along the North coast of Cornwall, through beautiful countryside, pretty Cornish towns, and stunning coastlines including stops in St. Agnes, Portreath, Porth Towan, Hayle, and St. Ives- and others in between. Apart from Perranporth and St. Ives, I had never visited any of the other places before, despite three and a half decades of holidays in the area. It was great to see lots of places I'd never seen before, and to view Cornwall through new eyes. We passed so many beautiful beaches and estuaries, rugged coastlines with azure seas, working harbours with boats beached at low tide and the scent of seaweed heavy in the air, and peaceful seaside villages sheltered by hills laden with orange and purple heathers. In between, we'd pass miles of crop and dairy farms backing on to the sea, and moors of heather and scrub, drifting from scorching sunshine in to chilly pockets of sea haze that felt like we were cruising through the clouds. 

St. Agnes was a sleepy little village strung with colourful bunting that looked like a good place to stop for a quiet drink in one of its pubs or cafes.

I instantly fell in love with Portreath, a pretty seaside village on the North Coast surrounded by green hills blooming with heather on three sides, and edged by a beautiful sandy beach on the fourth. It looked so picturesque, and I'm still dying to go back and visit it properly on foot. Hopefully we will this September.

There was so much to see in the bustling port town of Hayle, from the harbour to a beautiful estuary. The tide was out when we drove along it, but the scenery was still gorgeous.

Like most city tour buses, you could get on and off the buses at the designated stops to explore places as many times as you wanted, but as we were both still recovering from the pain of the journey down, we just rode the bus in a loop, which took a little under four hours. We did have to disembark in St. Ives for ten minutes while the driver had a break- which was no hardship as we had a gorgeous view of the harbour and sea to enjoy. It was so beautiful in the hazy sunshine, and the water looked turquoise and crystal clear under the blue sky. It was lovely to take it all in, and watch the boats and paddle-boarders on the water. I will never tire of seeing St. Ives; it's one of my favourite places, and easily one of the most beautiful places in England. 

After our quick break in St. Ives, we were back on board, and enjoying the journey in reverse, noticing things on the other side of the road that we'd missed on the way down, like cute little graveyards hidden behind thickets of trees. It wasn't as interesting on the way back, but I still enjoyed the views and being out in the sunshine, as well as getting a second look at the places that had caught my eye on the way in.

The only issue we had with the Atlantic Coaster was that its returning drop off point at Perran Sands wasn't the same place it picked up. The bus stop was across the road from the holiday park, and quite a walk from the touring reception, where we'd left the car, which really isn't practical for people with disabilities or chronic pain. And probably not for people with young kids or the elderly, either. Even if you're abled-bodied, it will leave you with a trek back to your accommodation because Perran Sands is huge. Neither of us could comfortably walk it, so we had little choice but to get off the bus at the stop before in Perranporth, and grab a taxi back to the site instead. Luckily, it was only a mile down the road, so it only cost us a fiver, but still... 

We had a forty-five minute wait for a taxi, so we treated ourselves to gelato from a great little ice cream shop just behind Perranporth Beach car park called Pavilion Ice, and ate them on the sea front with a gorgeous view of the beach. The Ferrero Rocher and Kinder Bueno gelatos I had were so delicious, and just what I needed in that heat. I'd highly recommend them. I'm definitely going back to try some other flavours this September.

Despite the slight inconvenience, neither of us minded sitting on the sea front in the scorching sunshine for almost an hour. Perranporth Beach is another of my favourite places, and really, who can be unhappy sitting under cornflower-blue skies, looking out at a golden sandy beach and aquamarine sea, and watching the waves roll on to the shore?? Not me, that's for sure. It was a beautiful day, and nice just to relax, take in the view, people-watch, and see all the cute dogs having so much fun on the beach. I could've sat there all day. 

It was nearing five P.M. by the time we got back to our caravan to put our feet up with a cold drink after an enjoyable day of sight seeing. Our trip filled the day nicely, without taking the whole day, but if you used the Atlantic Coaster to get off and explore some of the destinations on foot, you could easily spend the entire day sight-seeing and making memories, and really get your money's worth. 

We had a great time exploring the Cornish coast in the late summer sunshine, and it was a great way to see more of Cornwall- and scope out places to go back and explore on our future travels- without over-exerting ourselves. Chronic pain limits how far I can go on foot, but taking the Atlantic Coaster allowed me to take in all of those beautiful places and even spot new things in places I knew well, while saving energy sitting reasonably comfortably on my backside. And all for the bargain price of £9! Not bad for over three and a half hours of sight-seeing.

We enjoyed the Atlantic coaster so much, we're already planning to take one again on our next trip to Cornwall. There are other tours I'd love to take, including one that goes down to The Lizard peninsular, on the south coast, and another that travels west along to Land's End. The Padstow tour sounds great, too, but being more familiar with the places on its route, I'd rather explore other areas first.   

If you're ever in Cornwall and want to do some inexpensive sight-seeing, give the Atlantic Coaster a try. I couldn't recommend it to you more.     

What's the best place you've ever explored by tour bus? 

                                                                                                                

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Cornish Adventures Part One: St. Ives and Seal Island

Our first full day in Cornwall kicked off with a visit to the beautiful seaside town of St. Ives, just a half hour drive along the coast from where we were staying in Perranporth.

If you're not familiar, St. Ives is a picturesque seaside town in North Cornwall, which I personally think is one of the most beautiful places in the country. It's iconic high street, filled with galleries, tasteful gift shops, and places to eat, edges around an idyllic working harbour and a small beach, and it looks like a scene from a watercolour painting. It's one of my favourite places in Cornwall, but I hadn't been back for a visit since my late teens, so I'd been looking forward to our trip for months. I'm happy to say it didn't disappoint.

Being a popular tourist spot, it's notoriously difficult to find parking in the harbour, so we parked at the top of the hill, and took the shuttle bus down to the high street, which was just a pound each way. It's walkable if you're fit and in good health, but I'd recommend taking the bus if, like me, you're not, or if you just can't be arsed to walk more than you have to because it's quite a steep walk.

Once we were off the bus at the bottom, we headed along the narrow Cornish streets towards the harbour, drifting in and out of gift shops and surf wear stores on our way. I was on the hunt for a new pair of Havianas, but wasn't wowed by the designs I saw, and decided to hold off, knowing I would find the perfect pair elsewhere. I'm glad I did as I ended up finding the coolest sushi print pair in Padstow later in the week.

We followed the streets along and made it out on to the harbour which looked exactly as I'd remembered it. It's funny how well you can remember a place you haven't been to in fourteen or fifteen years, but very little had changed. In the centre was the large harbour filled with all kinds of boats from fishing vessels to canoes bobbing on the water, accompanied by flocks of seagulls waiting for an opportunity to steal food from unsuspecting humans. In one corner, people were making the most of the warm weather on the tiny harbour beach, and the streets edging the harbour were bustling with people and their dogs doing just the same, milling in and out of the eclectic mix of businesses bordering the roads. The water was glistening in the sunshine, and most of the sky overhead was a flawless stroke of blue. (We'll ignore the fact that the sky behind us was filled with thick grey clouds). It looked so serene, and even though it was ridiculously busy, it actually had a really pleasant, relaxing atmosphere, so I didn't mind the crowds too much.

We'd only been on the harbour front a minute before a woman selling tickets for a boat excursion managed to grab our attention. She was promoting an hour long trip out to Seal Island, which offered a good chance to spot some seals and potentially other sea life as well. We'd been planning to take a little boat trip while we were in Cornwall, so we only needed a minute to think about it before we decided to take her up on her offer. The tickets were just £14 or £14.50 each, which we thought was really reasonable, so we booked ourselves on to the 1pm excursion, which gave us forty-five minutes to make our way around to the dock on the other side of the harbour to board the boat.

Of course, no walk in Cornwall is complete without an ice cream, so we stopped at a Kelly's ice cream stand along the way, and each treated ourselves to a cone. I went with the salted caramel which was absolutely delicious, although it doesn't beat the blackcurrant ice cream I got from them last time I was in town, and I left wishing I'd gone with that one instead. Tip: If you want the real Cornish experience, you need to try an ice cream with clotted cream on top!

It took us about half an hour to dawdle our way around the harbour, eating our ice creams, taking photos, and enjoying the views, so we had time for a rest before the boat docked. When it arrived, we joined the queue, and watched the previous group exiting the boat... and then I began to worry.

What I hadn't thought about when we booked our tickets was how I was going to get on and off the boat with my back and mobility being the way they are. I was concerned when I saw the flight of stone steps leading down in to the water (stairs are my Everest), and watched the people awkwardly disembarking the boat, but I was determined not to let my conditions stop me; I was getting on that boat one way or another! Thankfully, it wasn't as difficult as it looked. The steps weren't too steep and we only had to walk down about seven or eight to reach the vessel, where a couple of members of the crew were lending a hand to help passengers safely climb aboard. They had moored the boat very close to the edge, so the gap between the steps and the boat was almost non-existent, and I barely had to duck to get beneath the canopy, where a couple of make shift steps helped us safely transfer on to the deck.

Our boat was a small navy and white passenger transfer boat called the Dolly P, and we were three of just ten passengers aboard, including adults and children. I've been on larger boat excursions with dozens or hundreds of other passengers in the past, and I've got to say, it was lovely being part of a small group because nobody was on top of each other or getting in each other's way and ruining the view. Everybody had room to stand looking over the side.

Before we set off, the captain gave us all a quick briefing about safety and the excursion, and asked everybody to remain seated while we made it out of the harbour and out to sea. We took our seats on top of a rectangular block, and the Dolly P set sail. We swiftly weaved our way out around the other boats in the harbour, and started picking up speed as we glided past the rugged cliffs of St. Ives, and headed further out to sea towards Seal Island.

Once we were away from the harbour, we were allowed to stand up and move about if we wished. I attempted to stand a few times, but trying to balance as the boat bounced over the choppy waves took a lot of effort, and was too much strain on my broken old lady back and weak newborn giraffe legs, so I didn't stay standing for long at a time. I decided it was best for me to stay seated, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the journey or the gorgeous Cornish scenery, and it was hilarious watching the sister and brother-in-law getting splashed while I escaped the same fate. Being a total water baby, I loved being out on the open sea, watching the waves crash and cascade over the rocks at the bottom of the cliffs in a spray of white, and seeing the huge expanse of water stretching out around us- especially in the sweltering Summer sunshine. It was blissful, and I felt so content. I'm always happiest near the sea; I swear I should've been a mermaid.

After about fifteen minutes or so of travelling at speed along the coast line, we arrived at our destination. Seal Island. It wasn't exactly an island, more like a couple of big expanses of rocks jutting out of the sea. The captain steered us as close to the rocky island as was safe, and came to a stop. 

At first, the only wildlife we could see was a group of seagulls perched on top of the rocks, but then we spotted a lone, well-camouflaged grey seal asleep on the rocks to our left, totally unphased by the boat full of land folk watching it sleep. It actually looked like it was snoring! How it could sleep on a bed of jagged rocks and look so comfortable and content is beyond me! 

It wasn't long before we were greeted by another seal swimming close to the island, which multiplied to three in the fifteen minutes or so we were there. It was lovely watching them swimming around in their natural environment instead of in a zoo, and behaving the way wild seals should. They weren't even bothered by the boat, so they must be used to people coming to gawp at them every day, and were happily swimming around and bobbing their heads in and out of the water. Sadly, I wasn't quick enough with the camera, and didn't capture any good shots of them- it's actually pretty hard to take photos on board a boat being rocked by waves, especially when the subject is alive and moving- but getting to see them in the wild was such a lovely experience and one I won't forget in a hurry. I did take a little video to look back on, but the footage is kinda shaky, as I have the shakiest hands ever.

I think the seals we saw were grey Atlantic seals, although I'm not one hundred percent certain because we weren't told much information by the captain of the Dolly P. It wasn't a guided excursion which was a shame because it would have been interesting to hear some facts about the area and the animals from a local, but we were mostly left to our own devices. There were identification cards for different sea animals pinned up on the boat with a little information about them, though, and the captain happily answered any questions when anybody asked. We did learn that there are about forty-five seals living in the colony on Seal Island, but of course, being wild animals, the number of seals you'll see will vary, and it can't be guaranteed you'll see any. We saw four in total, but for all we knew, there could have been dozens of them basking on the other side of the rocks. There's also the possibility of spotting other sea life like basking sharks, dolphins, and porpoises, as the Cornish waters are surprisingly home to a variety of large sea creatures. Apparently there was a pod of dolphins in the area in the morning, so I was really hoping we'd see some because I've never seen a dolphin in real life, but we weren't so lucky. Still, the seals were adorable, and seeing them made the entire trip worthwhile.

After about fifteen minutes at the island, the boat started up again, and it was time to leave. For some reason, it was easier to stand up on the way back, so I was able to stand looking out over the side of the boat as we headed back along the coastline, past the cliffs and the beach, and back in to the harbour. By the time we were heading towards the dock, my face, glasses, and arms were coated in a layer of salt from the spray!

The boat docked at the other end of the harbour this time, near the lifeboat station, which I was soooo pleased about because I didn't have the energy to walk all the way back around the harbour again. It wasn't as difficult to depart the boat as it had looked, and again, the captain and a member of the crew were stood either side of the boat to help us safely on to the steps.

When we were all safely back on dry land fifty minutes after the trip began, we all agreed it had been such a fun experience, and we all really enjoyed ourselves. It turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip to Cornwall- but we didn't need to wait until the end of the week to know it would be! It was well worth the £14 we each spent. If you're ever in St Ives and you're able-bodied, I'd highly recommend the trip out to Seal Island with the Dolly P. (You can find out more about them here).If you're in a wheelchair or can't walk up or down a flight of stone steps and climb aboard a boat, I'm afraid it isn't the boat trip for you. Still, if you can find an excursion with disabled access, you should go for it because the coastline around St. Ives is so beautiful, and you never know what sea life you might spot.

After our boat trip, I was pretty tuckered out, so we decided to head back instead of stopping for a bite to eat and walking up to the beach like we had originally planned. That didn't stop us from browsing gift shops and bakeries on our way back, though. We picked up some really delicious Cornish pasties, and cakes from a couple of local bakeries that I can't remember the names of, and desperately scouted out some cold drinks because it was scorching hot, and we were so over-heated. It seemed to take forever to get through the queues, which was torture because I was flagging, and struggling to remain standing, and after a fifteen minute wait for the bus, I was so relieved to get back in the car and take a load off.

On our way back to Perranporth, we made a pit stop for munchies at Marks and Spencer's, and then headed back to the caravan for a lazy afternoon watching movies, before an evening spent watching the 'One Love' Manchester concert for the victims of the terrorist attack on TV. It was a really lovely start to our holiday, and I'm so glad we took advantage of the sunshine that day and went to St. Ives, because it was the best weather we got all week- the very next day it did a complete 180, and transformed in to heavy rain, and gale force winds. 

I've still got plenty more Cornish adventures to share with you, so look out for the next post in the series which will be all about our trip to Newquay Zoo! Coming soon!

Have you ever been to St. Ives or seen sealife in the wild?