27 lovely places selected by us
There is a reason Cornwall tops so many family holiday lists, and it is not just the beaches, though those alone would be enough. It is the combination of things – the dramatic coastline that shifts from sheltered coves to wide Atlantic surf breaks within a few miles, the villages that feel genuinely rooted in their fishing and farming heritage, the food that has gone from pasties and chips to something rather more exciting without losing its soul, and the sense that children here are given room to roam in a way that feels increasingly rare. The Camel Trail offers miles of traffic-free cycling through estuary and woodland. The Eden Project turns a trip to a former clay pit into one of the most extraordinary days out in Britain. Rock, Polzeath and Watergate Bay are playgrounds for families who want surf lessons and beach cafes. And the far west – the Penwith Peninsula, St Ives, the Lizard – has a wildness and a light that painters have been chasing for over a century. Accommodation ranges from large group cottages sleeping twenty to intimate glamping sites tucked into cliff-top fields, and the farm stay tradition here is strong, warm and very well suited to families with young children.