Three bedrooms: 1 x king-size, 1 x double, 1 x bunk. Shower room with walk-in shower, basin, and WC. Kitchen/diner. Sitting room with Dimplex fire
This delightful seaside town is one of the most popular holiday resorts all year round, and it is easy to see why when you stroll along the sea edge and enjoy the beautiful views. The lovely range of gift shops, tea rooms, restaurants and pubs offer all you need, while boat trips are a wonderful opportunity to spot the playful dolphins, seals and other rare animals and birds that inhabit the bay’s sheltering waters. For the hands-on members of your party why not try sailing, kayaking, windsurfing, and power boating with expert tuition available? The famous poet, Dylan Thomas, penned many works with inspiration in New Quay including “Quite Early One Morning” and you can follow the Dylan Thomas trail around the town. Just 7 miles away is Aberaeron, a lively Georgian harbour town with multi-coloured cottages and a good selection of restaurants and inns. This wonderful area of Wales not only has stunning sandy beaches, but also beautiful countryside walks and the outstanding Devil’s Bridge is world-renowned for the three bridges, the narrow gauge steam railway and the cascading waterfalls. A perfect base for wonderful holidays, all year round.
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.
