Charlestown Harbour — Attraction in St Austell Bay

It is a beautiful place with lots of brilliant little places to eat.

My older children appreciated it more, as there's not much to do for little ones.

We visited the shipwreck museum, too. That was interesting, expensive. They also wouldn't let me use my 10% off voucher. The chap never explained why. Just that we couldn't use it (it was in date and no exclusions applied, voucher was out of the local trip advertisement).

I absolutely recommend getting there early. We had no problem parking at 10 am. But not long after the queues were backing around the car park and people were desperate for spaces.

Definitely try the little pop-ups for food and cafes. I wish there was a little more seafood, though. In previous years, I've had great seafood here. This year, there wasn't as...

Lovely place to visit, particularly the museum and shops near the car park selling goods made in Cornwall. The downside is tight spaces in the car park and only 3 toilets that you have to pay for on top of your parking ticket. The display on the toilets is not always accurate, i.e., busy when actually vacant, and they stink. Plus, once you walk towards the harbour, the retailers all seem to have the let's rip of the tourists. Examples include £6.80 for a local pint and over £15 for 2 fishcakes. I expect to pay a bit more in a tourist area, but I really dislike people trying to rip you off! So recommend a visit, but unless you have deep pockets and don't mind being ripped off - take a packup. The museum also has clean toilets included...

An interesting visit, really, noting it's winter time, so most of the "attractions" were shut. Parking first; a pay and display as you'd likely expect, but £3.00 for 2 hours seemed reasonable. There is plenty of space this time of year, too. Charlestown itself is, of course, where parts of Poldark were filmed, but appears slightly run down and unkempt these days; it needs investment! That being said, you can wander about on the Quay front and look out to sea, which is nice. The pub/hotel at the end of the buildings is a nice place; we only had a drink, but the staff were friendly and helpful so no issues there and the no alcohol brew I had (I was driving after all) was very good. All in all, it is recommended for a visit...