Newquay
Newquay City Guide
Introduction
Newquay on the north coast of Cornwall is Britain’s number one surfing paradise. It’s surrounded by stunning cliffs and beautiful sandy beaches – 11 of them in total – and there’s plenty to do for both young and old in this lively seaside resort.
Attractions
Beaches
There are so many beaches to choose from in the Newquay area, and they all have excellent facilities. Fistral, to the west of the Newquay headland, is one of the biggest and attracts crowds throughout the year. Known as one of the best surfing beaches in Europe, it hosts surfing competitions throughout the year and if you’re lucky enough to be visiting while there’s a contest taking place, spectating is great entertainment. Towan Beach is closest to the town centre. With an island at high tide and rock pools at low tide, it’s a wonderfully picturesque and exciting place to relax with the family. Another popular spot is Harbour Beach, a small, friendly beach that’s always busy with locals. The harbour wall shelters the bay from breakers, so it provides child-friendly paddling, and it’s fun to sit and watch the fishermen haul in their catch. Other good beaches are Watergate, Mawgan Porth and the Great Western.
Blue Reef Aquarium
Next to Towan Beach in the centre of Newquay is a fascinating aquarium with creatures from around the Cornish coast as well as more exotic species such as sharks, stingrays, octopuses and a coral reef.
Trenance Gardens
These beautiful formal gardens are perfect for a leisurely stroll. Babbling streams wind their way past the neat flower beds in the valley towards a tranquil boating lake. Next to the gardens is the enormous Trenance Leisure Park, which boasts a miniature railway, crazy golf and various sports facilities such as tennis and pitch and putt.
Newquay Zoo
Also situated within the Trenance Leisure Park is Newquay Zoo. It’s not a large collection, but it’s well laid out and there are lots of fun things to do for kids. There’s a hot and steamy tropical rainforest, a Tarzan jungle trail, a dragon maze and a great lakeside café.
Dairyland Farm World
Cornwall is still a very rural area and Dairyland provides an educational yet entertaining insight into farming life. Among the attractions are pony rides, a petting zoo and a nature trail.
Lappa Valley Railway
This attraction is a must for train lovers. There are various narrow-gauge steam trains and miniature railways, which weave their way around picturesque Cornish countryside.
Crealy Adventure Park
This excellent outdoor attraction makes a great day out for the whole family. It started off as a children’s farm, but it has expanded to become an enormous amusement park complex themed around five different realms (adventure, animal, enchanted, heritage, natural and wild water) featuring attractions such as an arial walkway, a petting zoo, a miniature village, an old waterwheel, a nature train and log flumes.
Eating Out
As a popular surfers’ hangout, Newquay has plenty of informal cafes and burger bars where you can get a tasty and inexpensive bite to eat. If you’re looking for something a little more special, the town has plenty of good quality restaurants too, and they’re a real cosmopolitan mix. The mock-adobe exterior of Senor Dick’s at the Victoria Hotel on East Street would look more at home in Tijuana than in Newquay, but it provides an authentic atmosphere for this fun Mexican restaurant and bar. For Indian food in an excellent setting with brilliant sea views, try the New Maharajah on Cliff Road. It’s been a popular favourite in Newquay for over 25 years and the recent refurbishment has given it a new lease of life. Of course, you couldn’t come to Cornwall without sampling the wonderful delicacies of the Cornish coast, and you can’t get much fresher than the New Harbour Restaurant at the Old Boat House by the harbour, where the emphasis is on good, simple cooking using the best quality ingredients straight from the sea – nothing pretentious, just very good food. Among the specialities are crab, lobster and turbot. Another good seafood restaurant is the long-established Ye Olde Dolphin on Fore Road. With a quaint and cosy interior and a traditional menu, plain and simple is again the order of the day, and the freshest of ingredients are cooked to perfection.
Nightlife
Newquay has a young and buzzing atmosphere so it goes without saying that there are plenty of trendy bars and nightclubs. Buzio’s on East Street is one of the coolest places to be seen. Sink back in the enormous comfy leather armchairs or challenge your friends to a game of pool upstairs. The Chy-Bar on Beach Road is another contender for the hippest bar in town. It’s got a spacious, airy interior as well as an outdoor terrace with great beach views.
The most popular clubs are the Barracuda on Cliff Road, Tall Trees on Tolcarne Road, the Beach Club on Beach Road and Sailors on Fore Street. A popular gay nightclub is Eclipse on St Mary’s Street.
If your style is rather more low-key, there are also some good traditional pubs in Newquay such as The Red Lion on North Quay Hill, The Sailors Arms on Fore Street and Skinner’s Ale House on East Street.
