The Cornwall Blog

Summer is in full swing and the weather is cooperating, hooray! Cornwall really does look its finest when the sun smiles down on us.  There are of course some really great places to stay when coming to Cornwall from quaint cottages and hotels to rustic fields where you can pitch your tent, but I think with so much on offer it can be nice to have the freedom to roam around.  I thought I would highlight today the wonderful 'Pip', a vintage T2 VW van, lovingly restored and available for holiday hiring. Wild and Free Cornish Campers really know how to make a memorable holiday, I mean there is just something about sea, sun, waves and camper vans! This year saw the return of the much loved Run to the Sun Festival in Newquay which featured a plethora of camper vans all in one place. The love for these classics is still very much alive. With our Pip you can find those retro vibes a plenty, (but with a few mod cons) creating a truly memorable experience, the perfect travelling holida...

Ok this might not be the most seasonal of blog posts, but just in case the dreary cold has got you hoping for sunny times, here is a really wonderful way to see Cornwall. Picture this; the allure of the open road, the vintage camper, breath-taking beaches and quality family time - sounds rather perfect to me! Wild and Free Cornish Campers are a little company based in Wadebridge, North Cornwall, who offer the chance to do just that, borrow Pip the beautifully restored T2 WW camper and take off! This stunning retro classic is not just for surfers. 'Pip' is a 1974 VW Westfalia and sleeps 4, the company provide pretty much everything you might need (even a bluetooth radio and sat nav!) for a lovely, movable, holiday in Cornwall.    I do love these camper vans, a friend had one when I was at art college in Plymouth and we would all pile in for an adventure. Pip has been thoughtfully and beautifully restored and the family-run company seem to have thought of everything, you can te...

Breakfast news has yet again highlighted the benefits of holidaying in the UK this year. This time focusing on Bournemouth, but the point still applies to Cornwall. Take a look at the video clip to see what they had to say, for anyone interested in taking a holiday in Cornwall, or providing accommodation, it is interesting viewing. See the clip ... So, we are going to see even more visitors to the South West this season, the question is, will we as a county take advantage of the influx or be unprepared? There will be a marked rise in foreign and UK based tourists, so now is the time to make plans to ensure they enjoy themselves, come back again, and do not just view us as a cut price alternative!

If you were watching the breakfast news on the BBC this morning, you would have seen the clip included above; very positive news for those in Cornwall, and especially B&B owners. It is rarely good news when we hear that the Pound is weak against the Euro, but it has caused a flood of Europeans to visit their island neighbours. Cornwall will benefit a great deal from the foreign visitors - with much of the economy based in the tourist trade - and along with those from across the seas, many are choosing to stay in the UK for their holidays. All of the accommodation owners I have spoken to have mentioned that their bookings are up, with many visitors choosing to stay for two weeks instead of one as they previously had. The news report also mentioned the advantage of web based advertising to reach these visitors. Having a website for your business is now considered essential, the greater majority of consumers look for a business online first, even if only for contact details. In th...

We are very much in the main season here in Cornwall, the beaches are packed and the streets are full of slow moving tourists looking at the view - murder when you are trying to get to work in the morning! My wife gets very angry when it is so busy, as do many locals, but considering the tourist industry is the largest source of income in the South West, I have a more ambivalent view. There are many plus points to such an influx of visitors to a relatively small area, the sudden boost to the local economy not being the least important, but the season has become progressively forced into a tight time period year on year. One factor contributing to this has been the new policy for schools to penalise children that take holidays during term time. This has meant that parents will only go away during the six weeks school break, and are not able to take advantage of, perhaps, a short heat wave. The effect of this reduced season also means ridiculously expensive prices for the two months of h...