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Cornwall's north coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Broad surfing beaches
alternate with wave-battered cliffs. Our route follows the coastal path
- a National Trail - from the pretty fishing harbour of Padstow to the
cliff-top castle of the legendary King Arthur at Tintagel, where the shorter
4-night tours ends. Continuing from Tintagel on the longer 7-night tour,
our route strikes inland across the wide open spaces and granite tors
(rocky summits) of Bodmin Moor, past Jamaica Inn (notorious as the haunt
of wreckers in Daphne du Maurier's novel, and still open for lunch…) to
the 3 prehistoric stone circles at Minions known as the 'Hurlers'. From
Minions you drop down to the south coast to stay at Polperro, a picturesque
fishing harbour flanked by awesome rocks. Cornwall's south coast is as
steep and rugged as the north, but facing the sun it has a subtropical
quality with luxuriant vegetation and sheltered sandy coves. The tour
ends with a ferry crossing to Fowey, a little town clinging to the steep
shoreline of its winding estuary.
The shorter 4-night tour starts with 2 nights at Padstow. The
intervening day can be spent in various ways: an extra half day
or full-day hiking along the coast path round Trevose Head (full
detailed route notes provided as for the rest of the tour); or
a visit to the world-famous Eden Project garden (direct bus service
in summer from Padstow); or just laze on one of the nearby sandy
beaches before indulging at one of Padstow's fish and seafood
restaurants.
The coastal walking days can be shortened by using local buses (timetables
provided); while for the 2 days of hiking across Bodmin Moor we also describe
easy alternative low-level routes in case of bad weather.
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What a previous customer told us about our North
Cornwall tour:
‘All accommodations were good and we enjoyed
the range of guest houses…[we particularly liked] the scenery
and isolation – being away from the crowds for most of the time…A
wonderful holiday, thank you!’ - J Coltham and H Heywood,
September 2006.
North Cornwall: Tintagel Coast and Bodmin Moor-
tour details 2008
A Discerning
Traveller self-led hiking holiday
Duration. 4 or 7 nights. Tour
code: T4 or T7.
Dates. May to end September (7 nights); April to mid-October
(4 nights).
Grade. Moderate to demanding. The gradients on the coastal
path are steep and strenuous. However days can readily be shortened
by using buses or taxis.
Train stations. Start of tour Bodmin Parkway, then bus
to Padstow; end of 4 night tour Bodmin Parkway (bus from Tintagel);
end of 7 night tour Par or St Austell (bus from Fowey).
Train service. Direct from London Paddington via Reading
Station to/from Bodmin Parkway and from Par. Journey time from
Paddington 4.5 to 5 hours; from Reading Station 30 minutes less.
Airports. The nearest airport is Newquay (20 minutes drive
by taxi to Padstow; 1 hour by bus) with flights from London Gatwick
(Air South West) and Stansted (Ryan Air). From London Heathrow
airport there is a frequent bus shuttle to Reading Station, where
Paddington to Cornwall trains stop to pick up passengers.
Overnight stops. 7 night tour: night 1 Padstow; 2 Port
Isaac; 3 Tintagel; 4 Altarnun; 5 Minions/Darite; 6 Polperro; 7
Fowey. 4 night tour: nights 1 and 2 Padstow; night 3 Port
Isaac; night 4 Tintagel.
Accommodation. Specially selected guest houses or 'B&Bs'.
En suite or private facilities can be guaranteed throughout the
tour on payment of a supplement. Please enquire for details.
Meals included. Breakfast each morning; other meals can
be obtained locally without pre-booking.
Extra nights. These can be included at any point on the
tour at the time of booking the holiday. Already included on the
shorter 4-night tour is an extra night at Padstow which
offers a choice of fine sandy beaches, extra coastal walking and
some great fish restaurants. There is also a direct bus service
in summer between Padstow and the famous Eden Project garden.
On the 7 night tour another good choice for an extra night with
the possibility of more coastal walking is Fowey, which
occupies a beautiful site on the steep shore of a tidal river.
It is only a mile or so from Fowey to Daphne du Maurier's former
home at Menabilly (not open to the public but visible from footpaths).
Devotees of the legendary dark ages King Arthur may consider an
extra night at Tintagel, where the evocative ruins of Arthur's
castle, now in the care of English Heritage and open to the public,
stand on a precipitous rocky island linked by a bridge with the
mainland.
Factsheet. These are more detailed information sheets, one for
each tour, which should be obtained from The Discerning Traveller before
booking. The Factsheet code for our Tintagel Coast and Bodmin tour is
FST. See Enquiry form
Reading. For many readers the
Cornwall writer par excellence was Daphne du Maurier. Her famous novel
Jamaica Inn is set in and around Bodmin Moor, which our 7-night
tour crosses on Days 4 and 5, and you will have a chance to pay a visit
to Jamaica Inn itself, which lies near the centre of the Moor. Du Maurier's
novels The House on the Strand and My Cousin Rachel are
both set near Fowey. Her non-fiction work Daphne du Maurier's Cornwall
is available in paperback.
North Cornwall: Tintagel Coast and
Bodmin Moor - tour prices 2008
- T4 (4 nights tour). £360. Single room supplement: £60
- T7 (7 nights tour). £480. Single room supplement: £90.
- Extra nights on T4 and T7: £40 per person per night.
- T4E (4 night tour, ES or private facilities throughout). £400.
Single room supplement: £80
- T7E (7 night tour, ES or private facilities throughout). £520.
Single room supplement: £110
- Extra nights on T4E and T7E: £45 per person per night
- Note 1. Maximum of 1 single room per booking.
- Note 2. Extra night prices may be higher for single rooms.
- Note 3. This tour is not available for single travellers.
- Prices quoted are per person on basis of two people in double or twin-bedded
rooms. Included in the price are bed and breakfast each night, with
baggage transfers, maps and route directions. ‘ES’ (en suite) facilities
means that there is a private bathroom with shower or tub and toilet
within the main door of your room. ‘Private facilities’ means that the
private bathroom may be outside the main door of your room. When the
booking is made for a party of 3 or 5 customers, a single room supplement
is payable.
We offer other coastal walking tours in Cornwall (Land's
End and St Ives), Jurassic Coast,
Dorset and Pembrokeshire.
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About self-led hiking and walking tours
Click here for The Discerning Traveller
Home Page.
Our postal address is The
Discerning Traveller, 24 Cardigan Street, OXFORD
OX2 6BP, United Kingdom.
Telephone and fax 0(044)1865 515618. E-mail:info@discerningtraveller.co.uk
www.discerningtraveller.co.uk
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