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Writer's pictureClaire

Cornwall 2024 - Walking St Michaels Mount, Refreshments in Porthleven and the Dog Friendly beach at Gwynver

The next couple of days we decided to fit in some sightseeing and fun for the kids with our friends. First up was a trip to St Michael's Mount. I have often travel passed but never been on it so we earmarked a day to go to visit. Now depending on the tide times you can walk to it and if tide is in you can get a boat. There was only one low tide that day, so we decided to get the boat there so we can walk back at teatime when the tide was low. You can book boat tickets and entrance tickets on the link above which helpfully tells you tide times so you can plan your day.


St Michaels Mount is said to have been an abbey in the past and now belonging to the St Aubyn family there is still a chapel on site that does do Sunday Services in the summer months. The castles rooms shows much of the history and the views back towards the Cornish coast are spectacular. The castle does have armoured ramparts which shows the rich history of this place, and it is all sat atop granite rocks. Due to its appearance (and name) there was a connection between here and Mont St Michel in France.


As well as walking around the castle and visiting the chapel there are lovely gardens to walk in and banks to the sea so you can while away a whole day here. The walk back at low tide is quite a novelty and allows you access to the big rocks that are normally submerged and walk along the sandy beach that appears at low tide. The bay is also a good place to paddle board. Dogs were not allowed here so my husband took one for the team and stayed back at the campsite with Digby while we did our touristy thing.


The next morning we took our kids to Flambards. I have to say we were a little disappointed. Three of the bigger rides were closed permanently which gave us a discount on the day but that only left two big rides, and one that day wasn't working either. So really even with £5 off we didn't feel it was good value for money at all and we were really done after a couple of hours, so we decided to get refreshments at Porthleven on the way home.


Porthleven is the most southerly port in England and it has a huge harbour which is really the buzzing hub of the place. There are pubs and restaurants dotting the harbour and fish huts selling the catch of the day. I was told the Porthleven food festival is worth a visit so I have made a note of that. We had a drink in a lovely pub called The Ship Inn that had tables outside to soak up the views.


The next day we had a lazy morning at Trevedra Farm Campsite, then all of us spent that afternoon at Gywnver Beach, as this is an all year round dog friendly beach. Feeling extremely blessed with the glorious weather we have been having.


St Michaels Mount at High Tide

Taking the boat to St Michaels Mount

The harbour and fishing cottages at St Michaels Mount

Family walking up the granite rock to St Michaels Mount

The view to mainland from St Michaels Mount

The ramparts at St Michaels Mount

The Castle at St Michaels Mount sitting on top of the granite rock

The dining hall in the castle at St Michaels Mount

The view from the top of the Castle at St Michaels Mount

View from the top of the Castle at St Michaels Mount

View of the harbour and submerged path at St Michaels Mount

Tide going out enabling us to walk back from St Michaels Mount

Famling walking back on the path from St Michaels Mount

Walking the path to St Michaels Mount

The paths to St Michaels Mount and the granite rocks in the bay

St Michaels Mount at low tide

Paddle boarder in Porthleven Harbour

Porthleven Harbour

The Ship Inn in Porthleven

The Ship Inn in Porthleven

Porthleven Harbour looking out to sea

Porthleven Harbour at low tide

Walking down to Gwynver Beach

Labrador enjoying Gwynver dog friendly beach




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