Here’s How to Spend a Girls’ Weekend Away in Cornwall

To test out Cornwall’s off-peak delights, I recently took a bunch of my besties to North Cornwall’s Mawgan Porth, courtesy of Classic Cottages. We found the region renewed with ease; the strain of the in-season rush no longer detectable in the eyes of the locals.

This wonderful sense of Cornish calm helped our own heartbeats return to a resting pace. And the relaxed cafes and restaurants gave us plenty of chances to bond over good food and quiet coffees – we even managed to catch a breaking wave or two.

Saturday

Padstow is no longer the simple fishing town it once was. Synonymous with Rick Stein (who owns a restaurant, hotel, fish and chip shop, and a seafood school here), it has more glitz than lobster pots these days. Today Padstow boasts some of the best seafood restaurants in the county, as well as boutique shops and art galleries that look like they’re fresh in from London.

Alongside the glamour, the town still retains some of its fishing-port charms: traditional fisherman’s cottages encircle the small harbour and there are a number of down-to-earth pubs and pasty shops standing fast against all-out gentrification.

Padstow sits on the west flank of the Camel Estuary, a vast inlet of calm water running five miles up to Wadebridge.

To get good views across the estuary and out towards the Atlantic, follow the South West Coast path just around the corner from Padstow harbour until you reach the WWI memorial at St. Saviours Point.

There are benches for you to sit on, but there’s no shelter so you’ll need to break out the emergency waterproof if the elements close in.

Including Steeper Point – a headland walk that offers stunning views over the River Camel – and the Doom Bar (the great sandbank that guards the mouth of the Camel Estuary).

Sunday

Give your eyes time to adjust when you arrive at Mawgan Porth beach. This vast soft gold channel of sand rushes towards you leaving the Atlantic Ocean way behind; the only thing stopping it careering inland is the road, beach shops and eateries that stare it down.

So, get into your wetsuit, grab your bodyboard (or surfboard) and head to the sea to play in the waves – a must on a Cornish girls’ short break. Facing west and exposed to Atlantic swells, the beach is popular with surfers. There is seasonal lifeguard cover and flags usually mark the sections that are safe for body boarders and surfers.

Swap wetsuits for walking boots and stroll the 20 minutes from Skiber-an-Fenton to Bedruthen Steps. The hulking granite sea stacks that make up Bedruthan Steps were, as legend tells it, stepping stones for the Giant Bedruthan. Their colossal size certainly adds merit to the story and it’s easy to see why people flood here during summer.

Luckily, out-of-season the coast is clearer and you can make it down to the tidal beach at the bottom without too much hassle.

If you do have to stay at the top, there’s plenty to feast your eyes on. The views over the cliffs and across the Atlantic take your breath away, and the stories of smugglers and shipwrecks (not to mention the allure of Poldark) just make it all the more irresistible.

With its sweeping views over the glistening sea and sand of Watergate Bay, Watergate Bay hotel is the perfect spot to end a girls’ weekend in Cornwall. Watergate Bay is the part of Cornwall comes closest to the surf scene of California whilst the hotel rides the waves of foodie excellence.

The draw of this spot is the view: outside the hotel Watergate Bay glistens back at you whilst kite surfers acrobat the waves and families dig holes on the beach.

Choose from the hotel’s four restaurants that, between them, satisfy whatever you hunger for whether it’s sandwiches post-surf or fresh seafood and cocktails to say farewell to Cornwall.

Head to Zarcy’s for sit-down dinners and stay-up-late cocktails. Try The Living Space for simple sharing boards and post-beach coffee. Pull up a chair at The Beach Hut for steaks, burgers, and seafood. Or detour to Emily Scott for no-fuss, delicious meals, including plant-based dishes.

Pic credit: Watergate Bay Hotel

Where we stayed

Find it hugging the coastal road between Mawgan Porth and Porthcothan, patiently waiting for life to swing by, like a doorman with a ready-to-serve glint in his eye.

Once upon a time, the cottage was part of a large barn but has since been immaculately converted into two self-catering boltholes: Skiber-an-Fenten being the larger of the two.

You can book the cottage via Classic Cottages. They hand-select holiday cottages from around the South and West and help you pick the right one for your short break. For the purposes of this review, they kindly gifted Skiber-an-Fenten cottage to me for the weekend.

Inside, Skiber-an-Fenten is as fresh as Cornish cream, with a daisy-white open plan downstairs that accentuates space and brightens any dark night or cloudy day.

The living room and kitchen roll softly into one without losing any space: we were able to cook and clean and laze and laugh (and dance) without tripping over each another.

The kitchen is stocked with everything you need to eat in (as we did on two occasions), and the housekeepers kindly left cookies, milk and tea for us when we arrived. Although there’s no dining table, the large island comes a close second place thanks to its four stools.

Should you want a more formal dinner setting, there’s a large wooden garden table outside on the veranda, which is delightful when the sun shines and is sheltered by a glass awning that’s perfect for when it doesn’t.

Upstairs, you’ll find two bedrooms (one twin and one double), spotlessly clean and impeccably made up.

Refreshingly white again, they are good-sized rooms for such a seemingly small cottage and have Tardis-like storage for bags and luggage. The double room also has a shelf full of books left by other guests so if you’re looking for feet-up distraction, you’ve plenty of choice.

We all slept well here on our girls’ weekend, although the only downside of the twin room at the back of the cottage was the hum from the road whenever a car swept by.  Bring a pair of ear plugs and you’ll be fine, however.

Skiber-an-Fenten isn’t as centrally located as it could be, but this actually gives you an advantage during a quiet girls’ weekend away.

It hugs the B3276 between two Cornish beauty spots, south of Padstow and north of Mawgan Porth, and is just far enough outside of each to allow you to discreetly retreat when you’re done being seen.

Its remoteness allows you to recharge without interruption (forget noisy neighbours) and because of the road outside, you still feel connected to society and perfectly safe.

More Places to Stay in Cornwall

My Open and Honest Policy:

This post has been sponsored by Classic Cottages. I was kindly invited by them to spend a girls’ weekend in Skiber-an-Fenten in order to produce a review of the cottage and my time in Cornwall.

As always, this review reflects my honest feelings of the experience and I was in full editorial control of the content I produced for Classic Cottages at all times, including this article and my social media content.

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