Quote: Padstow is a great place to stay and the ideal base for touring and exploring North Cornwall. I can't recommend it highly enough. It is a fishing port and is one of the oldest towns in the county - it dates right back to the 6th century. We thought it was truly delightful, full of character and really beautiful. Despite the huge volumes of tourists who pass through and visit Padstow each year, it has not lost one bit of its character and remains truly unspoilt. There are no amusement arcades or other such tourist attractions, just a lovely little fishing town and an old fashioned air.

The town lies on the estuary of the Camel River. It is not on the coast, but you still feel as if you are by the sea. The streets are so quaint - pastel coloured houses on narrow streets which all lead down to the harbour. It seemed to always be bustling and busy at the harbourfront at all times of the day and night. Boats are always coming and going, people are busking (most of these are excellent too) and there are lots of tourists. One evening we saw a Cornish miners male voice choir singing tradtional songs by the water - this was a lovely experience. Be sure to leave your car behind if you want to come down to the harbourside at Padstow - the streets are extremely narrow and are definitely not suitable for modern vehicles!

We loved it by the harbour during the day and also in the evening. There was always something to see and watch. During the day there are ferries to and from the little town of Rock, just over the estuary. There are also fishing boats coming and going, pleasure craft and boats taking tourists on trips out to sea. In the evening, the quayside is filled with families crabbing, but you can also watch the impressive yachts arriving to stay the night at Padstow.

All around the harbourside there are lovely little shops. They are touristy, but full of good quality and unusual items and we loved browsing in them - we brought back a lot of souvenirs. There are also lots of open-air restaurants and bars and many ice-cream parlours selling delicious home-made Cornish ice-cream - we tried a lot of this!

Padstow's original name was "Petroc's Stow" - it is actually named after the patron saint of Cornwall, St Petroc. We found lots of information in our cottage about the May Day festival of the "Obby Oss". This looked very interesting and looked like a great time to visit Padstow. They make hobby horses with masks and big black skirts and parade them through the streets of the town as an ancient fertility rite.

I also read that Padstow is full of wealthy second homers and is sometimes nicknamed "Knightsbridge on Sea". This might be the case, but it has not lost any of its unique character and still remains completely unspoilt.

You are also really spoilt for choice when it comes to food here. As well as lots of bakeries selling delicious Cornish Pasties (the Chow was my favourite), there are pubs with great cream teas and a wealth of restaurants. All the restaurants are independent and all looked great. Rick Stein also has his empire here - we did not eat at his posh restaurant, but I can definitely vouch for his takeaway fish and chips (the best ever) and his fish shop where we bought freshly landed fish on a couple of occasions.

When it came time to leave bustling Padstow, we all felt quite sad. It is such a lovely place to spend a week, we thoroughly enjoyed it and take away some wonderful memories.
From journals Family Friendly Attractions Around Padstow