Padstow
Padstow, with its fleet of trawlers, netters and crabbers and colourful harbour surrounded by pastel-washed medieval houses, is an example of what Cornwall does best - it's a working port which wears a holiday hat.
Watching the everyday ebb and flow of harbour life is a perfect way to spend a day in Padstow. When this gets too hectic, spread your towel on the nearby beach at Harbour Cove and watch the sails of the passing river traffic. Or get a sailor's view of the Camel Estuary on a boat trip, sailboard or ferry ride.
Take time away from the quayside to explore the port's rich heritage - the hidden curiosities of the Town Trail, the maritime displays in Padstow Museum, and the grounds and lavish interiors of Prideaux Place, home of the Prideaux-Brune family for 400 years and film location for Twelfth Night. On balmy summer evenings there are quayside concerts, where the brass band plays as the sun goes down. Once a year on May Day, Padstow dances to a different tune, when the pagan 'Obby 'Oss is unleashed and the narrow streets throb to the ceaseless drumbeat and wild cavortings of this age-old fertility celebration.
Hotels, guest houses and holiday cottages are never more than a seagull's cry from the water's edge. If Padstow had a visitors' book, it would make for interesting reading. You'd find entries from the prehistoric Beaker folk, from Romans, Celtic Saints and even Viking marauders. Later inhabitants include Sir Walter Raleigh, whose Court House stands on Riverside and the internationally acclaimed Chef Rick Stein.
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