Padstow

Padstow's accommodation is shaped by the town's geography as much as by its reputation for food: space in the old town is tight, so the smartest properties tend to occupy converted townhouses and former merchants' buildings within a few minutes of the harbour, while larger hotels with parking sit slightly further out on the hill above Station Road, trading a short walk for estuary views and easier access by car. Anyone planning to eat at one of the well-known restaurants in the evening will find a harbourside base worth the premium, since the lanes are steep, poorly lit and awkward to drive after dark.

At the top end, several properties operate under well-known names and combine period character with the kind of finish more usually associated with city hotels, often with links to the town's best-known kitchens. Mid-range options include characterful inns and townhouse hotels with their own restaurants and bars, offering a more relaxed and often better-value alternative without straying far from the harbour. Bed and breakfasts and guest houses, some in listed buildings and others in quieter villages just outside Padstow, suit visitors who want a personal welcome, a proper cooked breakfast and, in several cases, a lower price for a similar location.

Booking ahead matters more in Padstow than in many Cornish towns, since the number of rooms in the old town is genuinely limited and demand from both UK and overseas visitors is high throughout the summer and around food and folk festivals. Visitors travelling by car should check parking arrangements before booking, as several central properties have no on-site parking and rely on nearby pay-and-display car parks, while those staying just outside town, in villages such as Treator or Little Petherick, will usually find parking straightforward but should plan for a short drive or taxi into the centre in the evenings.

Padstow rewards a slow visit as much as a busy one, and most of its best experiences are within walking distance of the harbour.

• Padstow Harbour is the natural centre of any visit, with fishing boats unloading their catch, the Camel Estuary opening out beyond the harbour wall, and a run of independent shops and cafes lining the quay.
• The Camel Trail follows a former railway line along the estuary and inland towards Bodmin, offering flat, largely traffic-free cycling and walking with views across the water to Rock and beyond.
• Prideaux Place is an Elizabethan manor house on the edge of town, still lived in by the same family after more than four hundred years, with formal gardens, a deer park and rooms open to visitors on selected days.
• The Padstow to Rock ferry is a short but essential crossing of the Camel Estuary, giving foot passengers access to Rock's sandy beaches and to Daymer Bay and St Enodoc without the long drive around.
• The National Lobster Hatchery on South Quay breeds and releases young lobsters to support wild stocks, with a small visitor centre explaining the project and tanks of lobsters at various stages of growth.
• Stein's Seafood Restaurant and the wider Rick Stein food quarter anchor the town's culinary reputation, but the smaller independent seafood stalls and fishmongers along the harbour are just as worth seeking out.
• Trevone Bay and Harlyn Bay lie a short drive or a bracing coast path walk from the town centre, offering sandy, family-friendly beaches that are considerably quieter than Padstow itself in peak season.
• The Saints' Way footpath begins in Padstow and crosses the Cornish peninsula to Fowey, following an ancient route once used by pilgrims and traders travelling between the Irish Sea and the English Channel.

Seafood dominates the menus in Padstow, unsurprisingly for a working fishing port, with crab, lobster, scallops and whatever the day boats have landed appearing on menus across the town. Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant remains the best-known address, alongside his fish and chip shop, deli, patisserie and cookery school, but the harbourside also has excellent independent options, including small seafood shacks selling freshly dressed crab and lobster rolls to eat looking out over the water.

Padstow's bakeries are locally celebrated, particularly for Cornish pasties made to traditional recipes, and the town's ice cream parlours do brisk trade throughout the season. A small farmers' market operates in the town, selling local produce, cheese and fish alongside the more tourist-facing shops, and several delicatessens stock Cornish cheeses, charcuterie and baked goods well suited to a picnic on the coast path or a self-catering kitchen.

For drinking, Padstow's pubs range from traditional harbourside inns serving Cornish ales such as Sharp's Doom Bar, brewed a short distance away in Rock, to smarter hotel bars with estuary views. Sharp's Brewery itself offers tours and tastings just across the water, making a good addition to a day trip that also takes in the ferry crossing to Rock.

Padstow itself has very little space for camping, hemmed in as it is by the estuary and by steep, densely built streets, so most pitches near the town are found a short drive inland, along the Camel Trail towards Wadebridge or in the countryside around Little Petherick. What these sites lack in harbourside views they make up for with easy parking, more space for families and, in several cases, direct access to the Camel Trail for cycling into Padstow rather than driving.

The closest option to the town is a small, traditional site within walking distance of the harbour via the Camel Trail, well suited to campers without a car who still want to be able to walk into Padstow for dinner. Further out, larger family-oriented parks combine touring and camping pitches with glamping options, adventure play areas and, in some cases, swimming pools, making them a good choice for families who want facilities on-site as well as easy access to Padstow and the surrounding beaches.

As with the town's hotels, demand for pitches close to Padstow is high throughout the summer holidays, and the closer, smaller sites in particular can sell out well in advance for July and August. Electric hook-ups, when available, are usually charged separately from the pitch fee, and dogs are welcome at all three of the sites below, generally for a small additional charge per night.