Mid-Cornwall – Towns & Villages from Coast to Coast
Mid-Cornwall
St
Ives | Carbis Bay | Hayle | Gwithian
Towans | Godrevy Head | Portreath
| Porthtowan | St
Agnes | Trevaunance Cove
| Perranporth | Holywell
Bay | Crantock Bay | Newquay
| Porth | Mawgan Porth | Harlyn Bay
| Constantine Bay & Trevone | Padstow
& The Camel Estuary
The
Lizard Peninsula | Falmouth
| The Roseland
Peninsula | Truro
| St Mawes
| Veryan
& Portloe | Tregony
| St
Just in Roseland |Gorran
Haven | The
Lost Gardens of Heligan | Mevagissey
| Fowey | Charlestown |
Portholland | Port Loe
| St Austell | Lost
Gardens of Heligan
Mid-Cornwall reaches right across the county, from the Atlantic surf beaches of the north coast to the sheltered harbours and creeks of the south. On the north coast, Newquay is Cornwall’s best-known surfing town, with Crantock, Holywell Bay, Perranporth, St Agnes and Porthtowan to the south-west, and Mawgan Porth, Bedruthan Steps and Treyarnon Bay towards Padstow.
At the centre of the county is Truro, Cornwall’s only city. The River Fal flows south from here to Falmouth and the Carrick Roads, with St Mawes, St Just in Roseland and the quiet villages of the Roseland Peninsula on its eastern shore.
Further east, the coast runs past Veryan, Portloe and Portholland to the fishing harbour of Mevagissey, then round St Austell Bay to Charlestown and St Austell. The historic port of Fowey stands at the mouth of the River Fowey, with Golant and Lostwithiel upstream.
MAP OF MID-CORNWALL TOWNS & VILLAGES
Click any marker to visit that town or village guide.
TOWN & VILLAGE GUIDES
THE NORTH COAST – PADSTOW, NEWQUAY & ST AGNES
Padstow
Busy harbour town on the Camel estuary, famous for its seafood, the ’Obby ’Oss on May Day and the start of the Camel Trail.
Visit Padstow →
Treyarnon Bay
A sandy surf beach between Constantine Bay and Porthcothan, with a large natural rock pool for swimming at low tide.
Visit Treyarnon Bay →
Bedruthan Steps & Carnewas
The National Trust clifftop at Carnewas, looking down on the great rock stacks of Bedruthan beach.
Visit Bedruthan Steps & Carnewas →
Mawgan Porth
A sheltered, west-facing surf beach between high cliffs, below the village of St Mawgan-in-Pydar.
Visit Mawgan Porth →
Newquay
Cornwall’s surfing capital, with Fistral beach, a working harbour and a string of sandy town beaches.
Visit Newquay →
Crantock Bay
Wide sands and dunes at the mouth of the River Gannel, across the estuary from Newquay.
Visit Crantock Bay →
Holywell Bay
A dune-backed beach with the twin-peaked Carter’s (Gull) Rocks just offshore.
Visit Holywell Bay →
Perranporth
Miles of golden sand stretching to Penhale Sands, with Chapel Rock and its tidal pool by the village.
Visit Perranporth →
St Agnes
A former tin-mining village with engine houses on its cliffs, St Agnes Beacon above and Trevaunance Cove below.
Visit St Agnes →
Porthtowan
A popular surf beach in a narrow valley between St Agnes and Portreath, with old mine buildings on the cliffs.
Visit Porthtowan →TRURO, FALMOUTH & THE ROSELAND
Truro
Cornwall’s only city, with its three-spired cathedral, Georgian Lemon Street and the Royal Cornwall Museum.
Visit Truro →
Falmouth
A harbour town on a great natural harbour, with Pendennis Castle, the National Maritime Museum Cornwall and four beaches.
Visit Falmouth →
St Mawes
Waterside village at the tip of the Roseland, facing Falmouth across the Carrick Roads, with Henry VIII’s clover-leaf castle.
Visit St Mawes →
St Just in Roseland
The 13th-century church of St Just, set in a sub-tropical garden beside its tidal creek.
Visit St Just in Roseland →
The Roseland Peninsula
Quiet creeks, beaches and villages between the Fal estuary and Gerrans Bay, reached by the King Harry Ferry.
Visit The Roseland Peninsula →
Roseland Villages
Gerrans, Portscatho, Philleigh, Ruan Lanihorne and Tregony – the villages of the Roseland.
Visit Roseland Villages →
Veryan
A village known for its five thatched roundhouses of the early 1800s, close to the beaches of Pendower and Carne.
Visit Veryan →
Portloe
A tiny fishing village in a rocky cove on the Roseland coast, with crab boats drawn up on the slipway.
Visit Portloe →ST AUSTELL BAY, MEVAGISSEY & THE FOWEY RIVER
Portholland
The twin hamlets of East and West Portholland, with small beaches between Portloe and Caerhays.
Visit Portholland →
Mevagissey
A busy fishing harbour of narrow streets and colourful boats, close to Gorran Haven and the Lost Gardens of Heligan.
Visit Mevagissey →
St Austell
The china clay town at the heart of the clay country, a short drive from the Eden Project.
Visit St Austell →
Charlestown
A Georgian port built between 1790 and 1810 by Charles Rashleigh, often used as a filming location.
Visit Charlestown →
Fowey
A historic harbour town on the Fowey estuary, linked by ferries to Polruan and Bodinnick, with links to Daphne du Maurier.
Visit Fowey →Golant
A quiet riverside village on the west bank of the Fowey, between Fowey and Lostwithiel, with the church of St Sampson.
Visit Golant →
Lostwithiel
An ancient stannary town on the River Fowey, with its medieval bridge and Restormel Castle close by.
Visit Lostwithiel →VISITING MID-CORNWALL
Getting Around
The A30 runs through Mid-Cornwall, with the A39 and A390 linking Truro to Falmouth and St Austell. Main line trains stop at Lostwithiel, Par, St Austell and Truro, with branch lines from Par to Newquay and from Truro to Falmouth.
Beaches
Atlantic surf beaches from Treyarnon to Porthtowan, and sheltered south-coast coves and sands around Falmouth, the Roseland, Mevagissey and St Austell Bay.
Gardens & Attractions
Some of Cornwall’s best-known days out are in Mid-Cornwall, from the biomes of the Eden Project to the restored Lost Gardens of Heligan.
English Heritage
Castles guarding the Fal and the Fowey.
National Trust
Gardens, houses and coastline in Mid-Cornwall.
More Cornwall Towns
Town and village guides for the rest of Cornwall.