Cornwall and Tourists
My wife would like to go to Cornwall, she’s never been there and I haven’t been there for 30 years. We thought it might be nice in June next year.
So much I see about the place is that it’s severely anti-tourist. Is that true? Are the local people very hostile to incomers, even if they’re only there for a couple of weeks? If we’re likely to have to put up with hostility in local pubs and restaurants it looks like it’s not worth going.
Sounds to me like it’s not the place to go on holiday with a caravan.
Perhaps someone who is from that part of the country may care to comment and reassure us that we would be welcome.
Peter.
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I can’t believe you’re being serious, tbh, as of course you would be welcome!
You seem to have been told a load of rubbish and I suspect someone is winding you up. Attitudes haven’t altered since you were here 30 years ago. The only people not welcome are those who abuse the landscape and facilities or make fun of local people.
Cornwall's economy depends heavily on the tourist industry and the people who live here are not going to bite the hand that feeds them.
If in doubt, read reviews of Cornish clubsites and see what's said there.
June is usually a good time to visit as it’s before the peak rush. It’s anyone's guess if it’ll be good weatherwise.
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We have lived here for 43 years. Natives friendly.
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We have been holidaying in Cornwall for over 30 years, first in tents, then a touring van and now, since investing in a static van some 14 years ago, we visit several times a year. The locals are friendly without exception, some of them we know better than our neighbours at home! Businesses are also very welcoming. I'm not sure where you've got any ideas to the contrary from. Just go for it and see for yourself!
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We have been many times over the last 35 to 40 years and always enjoy our breaks there as Moulesy said just go and see for yourself. We have friends in Hampshire and they gave up touring about 3 years ago and have bought a mobile home not far from Helston and they have more friends there than at home in Hampshire having been there nearly 20 years.
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There is a huge difference between tourists who appreciate the locals, their lives and their environs and those that don’t. Understandably, the issue of second homes and the lack of housing for the young who now find it difficult to establish their own lives in these areas raises serious issues too. Of course there is friction, positives and negatives but, like the tourist towns around us, there are compromise to be found. It just needs support, understanding and less selfishness.
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The second home, holiday let and housing for locals issue is indeed a bone of contention, Micky, but it is property owners who are responsible and no blame can be levied at the visitors who holiday in our county. The same issue exists in other areas of the country.
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Cornwall is a fabulous place, and we never gave a thought to not being welcomed down the last 40 years. We made friends with a few Cornish folk down the years, as well as with other visitors like us.
If you haven’t been for a while, then it might be wise to do a bit of reading on the roads, access to some beaches, kind of things that you want to see. It’s a big county, and while the road networks are a lot better than they used to be, there are no motorways, and once off the dual carriages, you do need to research your routes to get about.
If you have the time, a dual based holiday could be very nice, the area round Penzance and Marazion gives you access to all the iconic Lands End and Lizard coast and villages, some lovely gardens. Further North you have beautiful Fowey, and the huge Atlantic beaches. Again plenty to see and do, including Bodmin Moor. We usually aimed for mid June, early July for our month down there, and usually had really nice weather. Not as busy as late July/August either.0 -
I think I implied that Tinny, if I didn’t I meant to. Property ownership is a huge bone of contention around us and yes, it’s right around the country in tourist areas. I totally understand the plight of the locals in this respect. Those secondhomers/holiday let owners who have an electoral address in another area of the country are now facing possible hikes in ‘taxes’ and I get that. You are right no blame can be levied at the visitors but both the visitors buying properties for their own profit and the trippers need to be contributing more even handedly to the locals and their economy.
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My own advice for visitors to Cornwall would be to seek out places you have never heard of.
It helps if you are mobile and can get down to the coast at places like LanticBay and Lansallos, although down the cliff path to the Strangles and back up again might prove a step too far for some. Whitsand Bay is lovely and easier and sees few tourists though well known to Janners at weekends
Campsites? This Club has eight, but there are 350 others to choose from.
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A lot of the anger from locals stems from the vanlife brigade and Motorhome's trying to find free parkups. laybys and passing places are not the best place and infuriate the local residents.
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We have been to Cornwall several times and never had a problem with the locals. Possibly we mainly have dealings with those who are reliant on tourists so possibly the more vocal complainers are not seen by us. Having said that I fully understand the problems of high housing prices caused by people from elsewhere making life difficult for locals to buy. This seems to be a world wide problem though and difficult to deal with.
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Crikey, Lantic Bay was a heck of a climb in our 20s and 30s🤣 Fabulous swimming beach though, but you were ready for oxygen by the time you had climbed up, and you needed sound knees and hips to get down. Lansallos was easier, a lovely smugglers path. Happy days🥰
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I think if you listen to the news you could get the impression, that in general terms, tourists are frowned upon a bit. Just look at what is happening across Europe with communities saying they are fed up with the number of tourists. I think I would be a bit miffed if I was eating lunch and someone used a water pistol at me? There has been a lot in the news recently about second homes, today it was Tenby's turn! Whilst the second homes issue has serious impact on some communities it also just gives out the vibe that people from outside are not welcome. Its like using the word grockle, maybe said in jest, but what is behind it. So the things I have illustrated are out there but it doesn't mean that individual tourists will experience any form of discrimination, in fact most will be very welcome. Perhaps you can have too much of a good thing?
David
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Yes, some anger is aimed at irresponsible ‘van lifers’ and the likes but it’s only one aspect of the disharmony. We have a Park and Ride facility designed to reduce some of the parking issues in our town but many day trippers don’t bother with this service, some causing real parking issues for the locals and alike. Only yesterday I saw several ‘yellow envelopes’ being stuck on windscreens and one gentleman abusing the officer who issued it. Some of the inappropriate places they choose to park baffles me and sometimes they are potentially dangerous. These issues seem to increase significantly during the holiday periods.
Some locals are impacted less by the above and some more, I also know that some see and experience the positives. I understand how that range of attitudes exist towards the ‘grockles or tourons’, as some call them, have come about but many tourists come to enjoy, appreciate the reality of life in these places and are understanding.0 -
Unless you go to Cambourne.
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It’s Camborne.
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Come on, Frank, you live close enough to know the correct spelling. I’ve met some very nice people from Camborne. In fact, I have a friend who lives there.
Whatever your experience, please don't give all the folk a bad name.
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👍🏻🤣
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The real problem as I understand it is people buying up property as second or holiday homes leaving areas empty in Winter and pushing prices up beyond what locals can afford. Idiot parking though and abuse of areas by motorhomes does not help though.
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It’s not a new phenomenon though, second home ownership. I can remember the arson campaign in Wales, against English second home owners. 1970’s onwards. There are many beautiful areas, mainly but not exclusively coastal that have the same issues. Market Burnham in North Norfolk is a case in point. I had a holiday there one June with my parents, lovely weather. The little town was heaving in the day, but we would have a stroll around in the evening, 7pm ish, and the place was like a ghost town. No one around, no lights in windows, no cars parked up. Very big % of second homes. It’s known as Chelsea by the Sea.
At some point, local owners make the decision to sell. If you want to sell a house, you don’t tend to be too concerned who or why someone is buying it, or where they are from. Over time this snowballs, prices rise, and later generations can no longer afford what might have been at one time, just a local house. Our tiny little street, here in a not particularly discovered part of Yorkshire, is currently experiencing this. We have a few new neighbours, but only one couple are local, others have discovered that there are good houses to be had for reasonable prices, and come from much more expensive places. Hence house prices locally have risen, because it’s what folks with the money will pay.
The tragedy is rooted in the past, but the real issue is that it’s been allowed to escalate, alongside not building new local homes that cannot be sold for huge profit. MT’s right to buy benefited many folks, but the income generated should have gone into ensuring more local only houses were built and ring fenced.
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Second home ownership in North Wales is still a thorny issue Ttda but at least the councils are trying to, belatedly, do something about it as indicated in the copied article. There are still pockets of locals who resent the normal holidaymakers but you'll find locals like those in most tourist places.
I agree with you about the lack of foresight from Government but MT was never going to go down that route.
There are differing problems seen by locals with tourists. If you look at the N500 then the locals concerns seem to be mainly about the touring M/Homers and campers generally parking where they feel like, some leaving rubbish and not respecting the area very well, plus not bringing any money into the area as they bring their own provisions.
For other areas its second homes or Airbnbs pricing locals off the housing market.
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Agree with everything you say WN. I think COVID made lots of us think that you don’t have to be in a city or town to do a lot of jobs/careers, you can work from home. Hence the exodus out of the smoke for many, but they will have sold a very expensive property and that will fund somewhere very nice to live.
It’s been a long time coming, but at least second home ownership is going to cost a good bit more. Whether that will be enough to give locals a chance…..I doubt it. Pandora’s Box opened for many, and there’s no going back now. We did briefly consider buying an old property in Cornwall at one point, we were spending three months a year down there, so thought buy, do up, retire. But property prices rocketed not long after, and we knew there were other considerations to take into account. It’s a long way to commute as well from Yorkshire, we used to be able to knock the miles off in around 5 hours. Traffic would make it double that now.0
