Single-storey. One king-size bedroom with TV. Shower room with walk-in shower, basin, WC. Open-plan living space with kitchen, dining area, and sitting area with woodburning stove
Helston lies at the western gateway to the Lizard Peninsula, a large area of downland fringed by a beautiful and spectacular coastline. Helston is a pleasant busy market town famous for it’s Flora Day Festival and the many stories and legends about the “Furry Dance” are told in the fascinating Helston Folk Museum. Nestled in a tranquil setting is the National Seal Sanctuary on the Helford River, where there is plenty of entertainment watching seals play and feed. Further afield is the harbour town of Falmouth to the east and Land’s End to the west. Helston is a wonderful holiday destination offering plenty of attractions for the whole family. By car reach numerous outstanding beaches, including Porthleven Beach, Praa Sands Beach, and Gunwalloe Church Cove Beach, with Loe Bar offering a dog-friendly landscape, along with the chance to join the stunning Cornish coastal path.
With its sweeping beaches, rugged moorlands, hidden woodlands, and rolling countryside estates, Cornwall is a superb destination if you want to spend some time bird watching on holiday.
One of the best spots is Hayle Estuary Nature Reserve, managed by the RSPB. This rich wetland habitat attracts a variety of birdlife, including teals, wigeons, and goosanders. While winter offers the highest numbers, spring and early summer also bring migrant waders such as oystercatchers, dunlins, and whimbrels to the tidal pools and marshes.
Marazion Marsh, also managed by the RSPB and overlooking the iconic St Michael’s Mount near Penzance, boasts Cornwall’s largest reedbed. It’s a haven for species like chiffchaffs, Cetti’s warblers, little egrets, and grey herons. Bitterns are regularly recorded here, and birds of prey, including sparrowhawks and buzzards, are often spotted too.
For a variety of songbirds and raptors, head to the Rame Peninsula near Cawsand. This beautiful area of tidal creeks, sandy beaches, and peaceful farmland attracts goldcrests, firecrests, warblers, and buntings. You may also glimpse birds of prey such as hobbies, merlins, peregrine falcons, and, if you’re lucky, the rare hen harrier.
At Stithians Lake, a large reservoir, breeding birds like little grebes, coots, and moorhens are common. Waders such as greenshanks, ruffs, and curlew sandpipers can also be seen foraging along the muddy banks.
Not far from St Ives, St Ives Island, actually a headland between Porthmeor and Porthgwidden beaches, is a top spot for seabird watching, especially in autumn. Huge flocks of skuas, terns, gannets, fulmars, and auks pass by, alongside waders like purple sandpipers, whimbrels, and turnstones.
Finally, no trip to Cornwall would be complete without exploring Bodmin Moor. This dramatic granite moorland, scattered with ancient ruins and rich in wildlife, is especially rewarding in spring and summer, when skylarks, stonechats, wheatears, and sedge warblers arrive to breed. In autumn and winter, the moor plays host to thousands of golden plovers, along with snipes and the more elusive jack snipe.
