Padstow

Padstow (Cornish: Lannwedhenek) is small historic fishing village on the north coast of North Cornwall, famous (and perhaps spoilt) for being the residence of TV celebrity chef Rick Stein. The town has expanded greatly, become very up market and expensive, and lost its old-fashioned fishing village character, due the crowds who come because of the fame it has gained by featuring on television. Do not let this put you off, it is still a beautiful town to visit (although many now describe it as Cornish London).

By road
Coming from Exeter, take the A30 to Bodmin. then drive through Wadebridge and onto Padstow.

Finding a parking space in Padstow is not a simple task in peak months. Use the Park & Ride near Tesco (Easter, May Day, Jun-Aug, £4/car, car park open 10AM-10PM but buses stop at 6PM).

By plane
The nearest airport is, which has daily flights to London Stansted, London Gatwick and London Luton. When departing from Newquay Airport be prepared to pay £5 extra tax, which will go towards the extension of the terminal building. There are international flights only from Ireland and Germany, so you might have to change planes.

By train
Take a train to Bodmin Parkway (you may have to change trains at Plymouth), there are several of these a day. There are bus connections from Bodmin to Padstow. The timetables of these buses are designed to fit around the big trains arriving.

Get around
All places in Padstow are within walking distance. The South West Coast Path also runs through part of the town.

Do

 * Take a day trip to Rock across the Camel estuary. The Black Tor ferry departs from the Ferry Slip in Padstow harbour every 20 minutes from 7:50AM with the last sailing back between 4:30PM and 7:30PM depending on the time of year (adults £3, children £2). A water taxi also operates in the evenings from 7PM to midnight.
 * Take a day trip to Rock across the Camel estuary. The Black Tor ferry departs from the Ferry Slip in Padstow harbour every 20 minutes from 7:50AM with the last sailing back between 4:30PM and 7:30PM depending on the time of year (adults £3, children £2). A water taxi also operates in the evenings from 7PM to midnight.

Padstow has a lot of beaches within the local vicinity:

Others can be found across the other side of the estuary near Rock.

Eat
Padstow is sometimes referred to as "Padstein" due to the proliferation of eateries set up by TV chef, Rick Stein. These include:



Other restaurants include:



Go next

 * Go for a trip to the Eden project near St Austell
 * Newquay
 * Wadebridge
 * Rock
 * Tintagel