Four bedrooms: 2 x double, 1 x double with en-suite freestanding bath and basin and WC, 1 x single plus truckle bed. Bathroom with bath, walk-in shower, basin, heated towel rail and WC. Ground-floor cloakroom with basin and WC. Kitchen/diner with woodburning stove. Utility. Sitting room
Tucked away in the countryside between Camborne and Helston, the friendly little village of Praze an Beeble has a real sense of community. With a traditional Cornish pub, a Post Office, village shop, bakery, fish & chip shop and a garage, Praze (as it is known locally) has everything you could need. The village green is the hub of the community, and many family friendly events take place here each year. Just outside the village, the Clowance Estate country club with holiday lodges offers a 9-hole golf course, other leisure activities and pleasant lakeside and woodland walks – and the sandy beaches of Portreath, Gwithian and Hayle are just a short drive away. Easily accessible from Praze an Beeble is the old market town of Helston with its boating lake and annual Flora Day – and from Helston, the much-loved harbour town of Porthleven is just a 5-minute drive.
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.
