Trewena

Things to do in Cornwall.

Cornwall isn't short of things to do. Sub-tropical gardens, historic castles, donkey sanctuaries, indoor rainforests, museums, working harbours, surf schools, paddleboard hire — and that's before you've eaten. From Trewena, most of the major attractions are within thirty minutes' drive, and the rest within an hour. The posts below cover the ones we recommend most often, plus the hidden ones our guests tell us they wish they'd known about sooner.

All 34 posts

A couple sitting together on the sand at Gyllyngvase Beach in Falmouth on a clear spring day, with Pendennis Castle visible on the wooded headland in the background, the rocks of the eastern end of the beach to the left, gentle waves lapping the shoreline and a few other beachgoers walking along the wet sand.

Cornwall for Couples: Things to Do on a Slow Falmouth Weekend Getaway

A Cornwall couples' getaway built around a peaceful Trewena base near Falmouth: slow cottage mornings, the Argal Lake walk, a drive into town for harbour-front dinners and gigs, a Verdant pizza afternoon, beach days, and the Lizard and St Michael's Mount day trips on the days you fancy them.
Looking out from Pendennis Point in Falmouth on a clear winter day: a preserved WWII concrete gun emplacement and tall aerial mast stand on the open headland, with calm blue water stretching to the horizon, the white lighthouse on St Anthony's Head visible on the far headland to the left, and dry grasses and gorse in the foreground.

A Falmouth Walking Tour: A 4-Mile Itinerary Through Castle, Beaches and 350 Years of Town History

A self-guided four-mile walking itinerary of Falmouth: harbour, Pendennis Castle and headland, Cliff Road, Castle Beach, Gyllyngvase, Princess Pavilion, the High Street and Jacob's Ladder. With the history of the Killigrews, the Packet port and the lighthouse that featured in Fraggle Rock.
Argal Reservoir in Mabe parish on a frosty winter dawn: the still water of the reservoir reflecting the rising sun's golden light, with bare-branched trees and bracken on the far slope, the medieval tower of St Laudus Church visible on the hilltop above the wooded shore, and frosted grass in the foreground.

Mabe, Cornwall: A Local's Guide to the Granite Parish Near Falmouth

Mabe, the granite parish on Falmouth's doorstep: the quarrying history that built Tower Bridge and the Wolf Rock lighthouse, the Cornish hedges, the views over Falmouth Bay, Argal Reservoir, St Laudus Church, the pubs, the Verdant taproom and the parish attractions.
The Victorian wrought-iron bandstand in Gyllyngdune Gardens at the Princess Pavilion, Falmouth, with people on the bandstand holding Cornish St Piran flags during a community celebration, flower beds in the foreground and the conservatory of the Princess Pavilion visible to the right under a bright sky.

The Princess Pavilion, Falmouth: Theatre, Gigs and the Gardens by Gyllyngvase

Falmouth's Victorian concert pavilion in Gyllyngdune Gardens: what's on, the bandstand, the cafe, the historic gardens and how to fit a visit into a Falmouth weekend.
A carpet of bluebells in full bloom in the wooded valley of Glendurgan Garden in Cornwall on a sunny spring morning, with mature trees on the hillside above, a mown grass path winding through the bluebells, and two people sitting reading together on a bench under the trees in the background.

Spring in Cornwall: Bluebells, Microclimate Gardens and the Quiet Shoulder Season

Why spring is Cornwall's best-kept shoulder season: bluebells at Glendurgan and Trebah, magnolias and rhododendrons in the Cornish microclimate gardens, clear-air skies, quiet beaches, first sea swims, St Piran's Day and the Falmouth Spring Flower Show.
St Mawes harbour on a clear summer day: a blue and white passenger boat moored at the pontoon in the foreground, with the white-painted houses and inns of St Mawes village rising up the hillside behind under a deep blue sky.

A Day Trip to St Mawes from Falmouth: The Ferry, the Castle and the Roseland Walks

A slow, ferry-led day trip to St Mawes from your Falmouth base: the harbour crossing, St Mawes village and castle, the Place ferry, St Anthony's Head and the walk to St Just in Roseland.
The Barefoot Bandit playing a live gig at the Cornish Bank in Falmouth: a five-piece band on stage under red lights, with saxophone, trombone, guitar, drums and percussion, performing in front of the venue's distinctive Cornish Bank backdrop.

The Cornish Bank, Falmouth: Live Music, Comedy and the Old Bank Building Reborn

Inside the Cornish Bank: Falmouth's independent music and culture venue. Gigs, comedy, spoken word and community nights in a characterful old bank building.
Inside the Verdant Brewery taproom in Penryn: a hand-painted chalkboard menu listing the day's beers (Definitely Not A Cult, Little Palais, Orcas Need Clean Water, Gus Knows, Cheeky Westy, Don't Tell Gus, Travel Rugs) with prices and ABVs in bright colours, a member of the brewery staff in a yellow Verdant t-shirt walking past in soft focus to the left, and the working brewery visible behind them through the open partition between the taproom and the brewery floor.

Verdant Brewery and Taproom, Penryn: Cornwall's Modern Brewing Star

Inside Verdant Brewery in Penryn: one of Britain's most acclaimed modern breweries, its hazy IPAs, the public taproom, on-site pizzas and how to slot a visit into a Falmouth weekend.
Pink sea thrift in flower on a clifftop above a turquoise bay at Dollar Cove on Cornwall's south coast, with white surf rolling onto a sandy beach and a green cliff headland in the distance under a clear summer sky.

The Best Places to Stay in Cornwall: A Regional Guide for First-Time Visitors

A regional guide to where to stay in Cornwall: the rugged north, the serene south and the wild west, the headline towns and which suits which traveller.
Cadgwith Cove on the eastern Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, with thatched-roofed fisherman's cottages clustered at the back of a pebble beach, fishing boats hauled up on the slipway, and the small cove sheltered by cliffs.

Cadgwith Cove: A Visitor's Guide to the Lizard's Working Fishing Village

A visitor's guide to Cadgwith Cove on the eastern Lizard Peninsula: a working Cornish fishing village, its thatched cottages and pebble beach, the Cadgwith Cove Inn, and walks to the Devil's Frying Pan.
Cornish scones served jam first then cream, on a wooden board beside a Trewena Cornwall leaflet, with a small jar of strawberry jam, a knife and a butter-curl on each scone.

A Visitor's Glossary of Cornwall: Local Terms Worth Knowing

Definitions of the Cornwall-specific terms that come up most often when planning a visit: AONB, Cornish hedge, Float to Live, Kernow, Moorstone granite, the SWCP acorn, Stannary towns and more.
Rows of oak cyder barrels in the dimly lit cellar at Healey's Cornish Cyder Farm near Truro, with the Cornish Cyder Farm logo painted on the barrel ends, dates marked from 2012 and 2013, and the cobbled stone floor of the maturation room.

Healey's Cornish Cyder Farm: A Family Day Out at Cornwall's Biggest Cyder Maker

A visitor's guide to Healey's Cornish Cyder Farm near Truro: tractor tours, cyder tasting, the Rattler and Little Orchard festivals, animal feeding and a properly atmospheric barrel cellar.
A bottle of white wine and a tall glass on a wooden table beside a lit firepit in the late-afternoon sun, with a wool throw over the corner of the table and a green meadow stretching away into golden Cornish trees behind.

A Long Weekend in Cornwall for Couples: A 3-4 Day Falmouth Itinerary

A practical 3-4 day Cornwall itinerary for couples, built around a Falmouth base. Detour stops on the way in, harbour-and-coast days, day-trips to the Lizard and St Michael's Mount, and where to eat at the end of each day.
A pathway through the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall, with mature subtropical planting on either side, mature trees and a soft green light through the canopy.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan: A Visitor's Guide to Cornwall's Most Romantic Restoration

A visitor's guide to the Lost Gardens of Heligan near Mevagissey: the Edwardian estate restored from a century of neglect, the Mud Maid and Giant's Head sculptures, the jungle valley and the productive gardens.
The Minack Theatre at Porthcurno on Cornwall's far western coast, with the granite-cut amphitheatre carved into the cliffside descending towards a turquoise bay, Logan Rock visible in the distance and a clear summer sky overhead.

The Minack Theatre: A Visitor's Guide to Cornwall's Open-Air Cliffside Stage

A visitor's guide to the Minack Theatre at Porthcurno: Rowena Cade's hand-carved cliffside theatre, the summer performance season, day visits, and the Logan Rock and Pedn Vounder backdrop.
The cavernous main hall of the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth, with traditional sailing dinghies, racing yachts and small craft suspended at multiple heights from the ceiling, sails extended, viewed from one of the upper galleries.

The National Maritime Museum Cornwall: A Visitor's Guide to Falmouth's Headline Museum

A visitor's guide to the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth: the suspended-boat hall, the rooftop platform, the underwater tidal chamber and the rotating exhibitions.
The Wheal Coates engine house stands on the cliff above Chapel Porth between St Agnes and Porthtowan on Cornwall's Tin Coast, with the surf-curled bay below and the wider mining landscape of cliffs and engine-house ruins beyond. The National Trust car park sits at the top, giving access to the South West Coast Path and the engine house itself.

A National Trust Guide to Cornwall: Houses, Gardens and Coast for Members

How to make the most of National Trust membership in Cornwall: around 70 NT car parks across the county, the houses, gardens, mining sites and coastal estates worth planning around, and when membership pays for itself.
The wide sandy curve of Sennen Cove (Whitesand Bay) on Cornwall's far western coast, with rolling Atlantic surf, surfers in the lineup, and rugged headlands in the distance reaching towards Land's End under a clear summer sky.

Sennen Cove and Land's End: A Cornwall Day Trip Guide

A guide to Sennen Cove and Land's End on Cornwall's far west: the wide sandy surf beach at Sennen, the cliff walk to Land's End, the parking trick and the legendary sunsets at the tip of mainland Britain.
A hidden sandy cove between Cornish cliffs on the north coast near Polly Joke and Crantock, with dozens of grey seals hauled out on the sand, viewed from the coast path at golden hour

The Best Spots for Nature Lovers in Cornwall: Wildlife, Marine Life and Natural Wonders

A local guide to Cornwall’s richest places for nature: coastal cliff walks, ancient woodlands, hidden estuaries, lakeside birdwatching hides, seal colonies, and wildlife sanctuaries. Written from Trewena Cottages near Falmouth.
Two wild swimmers in calm blue water with a flotilla of sailing dinghies behind them, on a sunny day with the wooded shoreline of a Cornish estuary in the distance.

The Best Wild Swimming Spots in Cornwall: Hidden Gems and Popular Locations

Cornwall's best wild swimming spots: secluded coves, tidal pools, river plunges and waterfall pools, with the safety basics every cold-water swimmer needs.
Families gathered on the grass for a summer event at Pendennis Castle in Falmouth, with the historic granite garrison buildings and a glimpse of the sea behind them.

The Top 20 Things to Do in Falmouth According to TripAdvisor

Falmouth's top 20 attractions ranked by TripAdvisor visitor reviews: beaches, gardens, museums, the donkey sanctuary and the long-time local favourites that travellers tell each other to visit.
A clean wave breaks across a curving Cornish bay, with pink sea thrift flowering on the cliff-top in the foreground and a granite headland in the distance.

The Best Surfing Spots in Cornwall

Ten of Cornwall's best surf beaches, sorted by skill level, with the tide, swell, weather and lifeguard resources every surfer should bookmark before they head out.
The huge transparent geodesic Biomes of the Eden Project rise out of the green Cornish landscape, set inside a reclaimed china clay pit near St Austell.

Visiting the Eden Project: A Complete Guide

A complete guide to visiting the Eden Project near St Austell: the Biomes, outdoor gardens, the SkyWire and Hangloose Adventure, the Eden Sessions, the china clay origin story and what to expect with children.
Carn Brea Castle, a small fortified granite building with crenellations, perched on rocky outcrops on the hilltop above Redruth, Cornwall.

Exploring Carn Brea Castle and the Basset Monument: A Journey Through History

Carn Brea Castle and the Basset Monument crown a granite hilltop above Redruth. A short hike, big views, and centuries of Cornish history in one walk.
Pendennis Castle on the headland above Falmouth, the Tudor circular keep and granite curtain walls visible against the sky.

Pendennis Castle, Falmouth: A Local's Guide

Pendennis Castle has guarded the entrance to Falmouth Harbour since the 1540s. English Heritage site with Tudor history, Red Arrows views during Falmouth Week, kids' events through school holidays, and dog friendly throughout.
Garden birds of Cornwall, a guide to the species you’ll spot at Trewena Cottages near Falmouth

A Birdwatcher’s Guide to Cornwall’s Garden Birds

From robins and blackbirds in the lawns to buzzards overhead and the occasional barn owl at dawn, sixteen of Britain’s most-loved garden birds are regular visitors at Trewena Cottages. A friendly guide to identifying each, with where and when to spot them around our Cornish holiday cottages near Falmouth.
A grey seal floats at the surface of a rehabilitation pool at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary at Gweek.

The Cornish Seal Sanctuary

Cornwall's seal rescue charity at Gweek, near Helston, has been rehabilitating and releasing grey seal pups since 1958. A guide to visiting, when to go and what else is on site for families.
St Michael's Mount silhouetted against an orange sunset sky, with the cobbled granite causeway stretching across the seabed at low tide and kelp-strewn rocks and wet sand on either side.

St Michael's Mount: A Local's Guide

St Michael's Mount, the tidal island and medieval castle in Mount's Bay near Marazion. A National Trust and St Aubyn family home with 900 years of history, a cobbled causeway at low tide, and one of Cornwall's most photographed views.
Looking back at Gyllyngvase Beach from a paddleboard on calm blue water, with the curve of golden sand and Falmouth's cliffside houses in the distance under a clear summer sky.

The best places to paddleboard in Cornwall

Seven of Cornwall's finest paddleboard spots, from sheltered Helford estuary to a bay-wide Falmouth crossing, plus the safety basics every SUP paddler needs.
The visitor centre at Kernow Adventure Park sits on a small sandy beach beside the flooded waters of Kessel Quarry, with granite slopes covered in yellow gorse rising behind it and a swim-lane line on the calm water in the foreground.

Kernow Adventure Park: Cornwall's Flooded Quarry Aquapark

A flooded former granite quarry near Mabe with an inflatable aquapark, paddleboarding, swim lanes and e-boats. One of the better family adventure days within ten minutes of Falmouth.
Two climbers in orange helmets and harnesses traverse the granite rock face of a former Cornish quarry on the Via Ferrata Cornwall iron stairway.

Via Ferrata Cornwall: Iron Stairway in a Mabe Granite Quarry

Cornwall's only via ferrata, set in a 60-acre former granite quarry in Mabe Parish: high-wire bridges, climbing pitches, a clifftop zipline and a charity outdoor education tie-in.
Glendurgan Garden's famous cherry-laurel maze in spring, viewed from above in a wooded valley with a magnolia in flower, palm trees, and a small thatched hut at the centre of the maze.

Glendurgan Garden: A Local's Guide

A National Trust valley garden running down to the Helford River, with a famous cherry-laurel maze, sub-tropical planting, and the picture-postcard hamlet of Durgan at the bottom.
A view across Falmouth Bay to Pendennis Castle on its wooded headland, with the town and harbour beyond, captured on a calm winter morning.

Best Things to Do in Falmouth, Cornwall: A Local's Guide to Attractions and Activities

A Cornwall local's guide to Falmouth: the maritime harbour, subtropical gardens, beaches, ferries, walks, pubs, sea safaris and the oddball curiosities most visitors miss.
Two grey donkeys stand in the sunshine outside a wooden barn at the Flicka Foundation donkey sanctuary near Falmouth, one grazing and one looking towards the camera.

The Flicka Foundation Donkey Sanctuary

Cornwall's much-loved donkey rescue charity at Mabe Burnthouse near Falmouth. A guide to visiting Flicka, what you'll see and how to support its work, including the year-round events programme.

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