The huge expanse of tidal flats around Hayle is a twitchers' paradise, and an important RSPB reserve. It's worth visiting whatever the season: in winter, more than 18,000 birds come here to sit out the cold. Spring and autumn is great for curlews, egrets, oystercatchers, gulls and terns, and in summer ospreys have been known to hunt here.
There are various access points: the easiest trail circles round Carnsew Pool, a short walk from Foundry Sq in Hayle's town centre.
5.13 MILES
Looming up in the middle of Mount's Bay and connected to the mainland at Marazion via a cobbled causeway, this abbey-crowned island is an unforgettable…
3.14 MILES
After an 18-month, multimillion-pound refit, St Ives' most illustrious gallery reopened its doors, complete with a monumental exhibition space that's been…
17.28 MILES
A mile north of Lizard Point, this National Trust–owned inlet is an absolute showstopper, studded with craggy offshore islands rising out of searingly…
4.51 MILES
This wonderful medieval house and garden was the family seat of the Godolphin family who, during the 17th and 18th centuries, were one of Cornwall's great…
28.34 MILES
This is Cornwall's real-life secret garden. Formerly the family estate of the Tremaynes, Heligan's magnificent 19th-century gardens fell into disrepair…
17.85 MILES
Grandly located at the head of the Fal estuary, 4 miles south of Truro, Trelissick is one of Cornwall's most beautiful aristocratic estates, with a formal…
11.76 MILES
Two miles from St Agnes is one of Cornwall's most beautiful coves, Chapel Porth, a wild, rocky beach framed by steep, gorse-covered cliffs, owned by the…
3.26 MILES
These wonderful side-by-side beaches join up at low tide to form one epic stretch of golden, flat sand. At the eastern end is the small, National Trust…
0.53 MILES
This longstanding family attraction (founded in 1973) focuses on birds – there's a wide spread of feathered inhabitants, including macaws, cockatoos,…
0.93 MILES
While the crowds throng for Gwithian and Godrevy, savvy locals head for the opposite side of the Hayle Estuary, properly known as Porth Kidney. Though not…
2.73 MILES
The most impressive of the town beaches, with an attractive arc of soft golden sand that's usually sheltered from the wind by the cliffs. It inevitably…
2.9 MILES
At the top of Tregenna Hill, St Ives' parish church dates in part from the 15th century.
3.02 MILES
Barbara Hepworth (1903–75) was one of the leading abstract sculptors of the 20th century and a key figure in the St Ives art scene. Her studio on Barnoon…
3.05 MILES
Tucked under the grassy headland known as the Island is the little cove of Porthgwidden, a pleasant picnic spot and a handy paddling spot for the little …
3.08 MILES
One of the town's oldest and most influential art collectives, founded in 1929, this gallery is housed inside a converted church on Norway Sq, with a…
3.14 MILES
After an 18-month, multimillion-pound refit, St Ives' most illustrious gallery reopened its doors, complete with a monumental exhibition space that's been…