Four bedrooms: 1 x king-size with TV, en-suite walk-in shower, basin, heated towel rail, and WC, 1 x king-size, 1 x double, 1 x twin. Bathroom with roll top bath, walk-in shower, basin, heated towel rail, WC. Kitchen. Utility with WC and basin. Dining room. Sitting room with woodburning stove. Snug with Smart TV. Conservatory
Ponsanooth is a lovely village resting between Redruth and Penryn in Cornwall. The village offers a good selection of amenities including The Stag Hunt Inn and the well-stocked Ponsanooth Village Stores, as well as the attractions of Kennall Vale Nature Reserve and Dynamite Valley Brewing and Treens Brewery, where visitors can enjoy locally brewed ales. Continue onto Penryn, where dining options include Muddy Beach, Bango Kitchen, and The New Inn, here you will also find the Verdant Brewing Co Brewery & Taproom and Penryn Museum. Further afield is Falmouth, where you will find a wider selection of attractions and amenities, including Seaview Inn, The Boathouse Pub & Restaurant, Pendennis Castle, the National Maritime Museum, Castle and Gyllyngvase Beach, the Swanvale Nature Reserve, and ferry trips over to St Mawes.
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.
