Local Area Information

Crackington Haven is located about 12 miles south of Bude and about 5 miles north of Boscastle. We often go to Bude (20 min drive) for walks by the canal or south to Daymer Bay (40 min drive) to walk up the Camel Estuary to Rock and maybe take the ferry over to Padstow. Widemouth Bay (15 min drive) is great for surfing - you can get good surf lessons there. Cornwall is a foodie paradise.  Check out the Rocket Store in Boscastle (15 mins), Padstow has some excellent restaurants - Paul Ainsworth No6, Rick Stein's and Prawn on the Farm. Our overall favourite restaurant is Nathan Outlaw's fish kitchen in Port Isaac (approx 30 mins).  His finer dining place is also in Port Isaac.  Cornwall is great for kids.  The main attraction is the Eden project (45 min drive). There are some superb golf courses - St Enodoc and Trevose in particular - you need to book ahead. Bude golf course and Holsworthy are also a very interesting challenges.

Crackington Haven is in an outstanding area of natural beauty which is maintained by the National Trust. The coastline is real Cornwall with rugged cliffs and atlantic waves. Chough Cottage is just 400 yards from the beach, the two cafes and the pub. The beach has a real buzz with many families. There is a lifeguard station in the Summer. Great for surfing and body boarding. Because it is so close, we typically put on our wetsuits at home and wander down to the beach for body boarding - come back for a shower and then laze in the garden which is a real sun trap (assuming the sun is shining). Alternatively, its easy to take your stuff down to the beach for a whole day -  eg rounders and boules competitions. The beach is flanked on both sides by rock pools which kids love. The cafes serve some great homemade food and the pub has good beer and a restaurant with excellent pub food. You can hire wetsuits from the cafe's and you can book the tennis court. Crackington is on the Cornish coastal path. Walking here is pretty serious stuff. You can walk northwards towards Bude which takes you up Penkenna the tall cliff by the edge of the bay or southwards towards Boscastle. From Chough Cottage, you can either pick up the path by the beach or turn left out of the gate and walk through the woods by the stream and up onto the cliffs. A good idea is to catch the regular bus service and then walk back.