Towan Cross: Our New Holiday Favourite

Filling the paddling pool

This is a guest post from James & Claire Allen of our social media agency Brewhouse.

We holiday in the West Country every year and last week, we found the best cottage yet.

Location was a big factor: as a family holiday and after a long drive (broken up with a welcome stop at the Royal Cornwall Show), we needed scenery on our doorstep and things to do just a short drive away. On Cornwall’s north coast, with views over green hills and out to tin mines and the beach at Porthtowan just a couple of minutes away, Towan Cross was a perfect spot for us.

The cottage itself was brilliantly presented and equipped. We couldn’t understand how the owner could ever tear themself away long enough to let other people stay there. We had enough sun to enjoy the well-tended garden and patio, plus a few grey skies that made us retreat to the warmth of the conservatory. We hardly minded – we still had the view!

Making friends at the Eden Project

Being seasoned visitors to the West Country, we have our preferences for day trips but we also like to try something different every time. Local attractions are really getting the knack of keeping us interested: the Eden Project must have been one of the first to give year-round tickets – pay once and visit as many times as you like for the year. So much changes each season, it’s well worth the price.

Trebah Garden is another favourite of ours – family friendly, full of wildlife and history. It too has started a multi-visit ticket. We paid once and could go again during the same week. This worked perfectly on our last day when we wanted a cream tea and somewhere for the little one to play (we may have had a few goes on the zip-wire, too).

Porthtowan beach and the Blue Bar have always been a favourite of mine since discovering them a decade ago but we also heard about the Hidden Hut at Porthcurnick Beach on the Roseland, a slightly longer drive away.

But the cottage truly made this holiday: outside space for the toddler, a freestanding bath for mummy and her book, a barbecue we never quite got around to using and a Rayburn we were more than happy to get to grips with. We may just have to break our habit of staying in a different cottage every time.

Postcards a thing of the past? Not when you go somewhere as pretty as Flushing…

Flushing, a pristine Cornish village beside the Penryn River estuary, is a picture-perfect location you’ll want to write home about.

This is the ideal place for settling down in front of the view and penning some postcards as you watch boats sail past. The local events scene will give you plenty of inspiration too, not to mention vibrant Falmouth just across the water and nearby Trebah and Glendurgan gardens.

Flushing Carnival takes place on 28th July this year while Falmouth holds its inaugural arts festival from 7th to 16th September. SPLASH will play host to artists and writers including Michael Morpurgo, the award-winning author of War Horse and former Children's Laureate, and the renowned illustrator and author Michael Foreman.

Seafood lovers will want to make a trip in October for the Falmouth Oyster Festival from 11th to 14th October. This event marks the start of the oyster dredging season at one of the last remaining traditional oyster fisheries. It is followed shortly after by the Fal River Autumn Walking Festival from 19th October to 4th November – a great chance to explore and learn about this beautiful corner of Cornwall on a guided or self-guided walk.

Clottage (pictured above and right), a much loved holiday cottage by the water in Flushing, is a favourite with return visitors. Its peaceful location and estuary views, as well as the good pubs and friendly locals, add to its charm. Clottage is within easy reach of the sheltered sandy and rock pool beaches at Falmouth, which is also home to the National Maritime Museum.

Take a look at our other holiday cottages in Flushing and discover this hidden gem of a place to stay.