There was a time when Cornwall had little more than its glorious beaches and scenery to keep holidaymakers busy but that is no longer the case. If you look through our information files you will find a wealth of facilities and activities. There are so many pieces of information, over a hundred different categories in our database, that we thought we should clarify some of them as 'what there is to do in Cornwall', so below we have categorised the many attractions Cornwall has to offer you. There are some ideas on what to do for all weather eventualities, if it's a glorious day you won't need much help from us, but if the weather isn't as good as it should be you might want some pointers. We suggest that you do this part of your holiday planning in advance. You can use our data-base to make notes, copy off and paste a holiday itinerary, arm yourself with a list of alternatives, telephone numbers and useful contacts.

Special Events

Coast Along for WaterAid - Saturday 11th September 2010

Take part in WaterAid’s sponsored walk around the beautiful coast paths of Britain and help provide safe water and effective sanitation to some of the poorest communities in Africa, Asia and the Pacific region.

The Challenge
The aim of Coast Along is to have a team of walkers on sections of the National Coast Paths around the UK on the same day.

The terrain is varied, each path being between 4 and 15 miles in length and graded from 'easy' to 'severe'! So whether you seek a leisurely weekend break with family or friends, or a more challenging team building exercise, Coast Along has something for everyone!

Contact Details
To find out more, and to register for Coast Along visit www.coastalongforwateraid.org  or contact coastalong@wateraid.org

Carn to Cove autumn season - programme

Carn to Cove is Cornwall’s performing arts scheme for rural communities. We fill local sports halls, chapels and our wonderfully varied village halls with poetry, laughter, music, drama, stories and dancing. Local people choose the live shows they want to see and hear in their halls. This means we have loads of variety for everyone across Cornwall.

Four new communities are taking part this season thanks to the funding from the Feast programme - Millbrook, Porthtowan, Portreath and Ruan Minor. Carn to Cove works in close collaboration with Cornwall Young Promoters Scheme and this season are able again to offer young people some free tickets to all events (must be booked in advance) under the “A Night Less Ordinary” scheme. We have 87 shows in 48 communities this autumn - this is the highest number of shows to date.

The season starts on 3rd September in Maker with Rame with Charity Shop Cabaret, which will come direct from its run at the Edinburgh Festival. Other Cornish performers this season include music as diverse as indie rock & pop from The Hitchcock Rules, Cornish folk from Dalla, Salsa from Kabasa, and Duchy Opera’s take on Franz Lehar’s ‘The Merry Widow’. John Brolly continues to perform his successful storytelling show, ‘Out of the Box’ and Craig Johnson will tour two shows – ‘Skillywidden’, and brand new ‘Universarama’! Lastly, Cornish dance and theatre is represented by Miracle Theatre, who open their new production, Bish Bash Bosh and C-Scape. From outside Cornwall we have guitarist Esteban Antonio, Hoover the Dog, and Michael Lunts performing his Chopin show ‘The Last Ballade’. Spanish Flamenco dance from newly arrived Cornish resident, Claudia Caolin. From further afield the TG Collective will play a combination of gypsy hotclub, flamenco, jazz and contemporary classical music and our international visitor is Mamane Barka, who comes from a family of Nigerian nomads, and will play desert blues on his Biram – a 5 stringed harp. For children there is Puppetcraft’s new show ‘A Selfish Giant’ by Oscar Wilde and Shanty Theatre present a show telling the story of the Black Death ‘A Rat’s Tale’. Though nearly all the shows are suitable for children, check each listing for our age guide. We have a mix of comedy and magic from Ian Keable who has ‘Nothing Up My Sleeve’ and Gonzo Moose make their debut on Carn to Cove with a show called ‘Is That a Bolt in Your Neck? As do Multi Story Theatre Company, with their show ‘Sealskin’. Finally we have some archive film nights from the Independent Cinema Office, with Brit Chic and Bombs at Teatime.

For more information visit our website: www.carntocove.co.uk

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Wet Weather

One of the problems with wet weather in high season is that there are a lot of other people thinking exactly the same thing as you are, where shall we go today? Whether they flew or bought car insurance through a company like Aviva and drove here doesn't really matter, they have spent money to visit this place and they will want to fill their day with something worthwhile. This usually leads to the coastal areas being quiet and the inland towns and villages being crowded. Locally you will find the traders in the towns praying for bad weather whilst the rest of the population are more than happy for the sunny days to continue. Because this situation exists, the movement into towns during bad weather, you might want to beat the norm by thinking of some alternatives.

Generally it will make your life easier if you try and avoid the crowds, so, if you do decide to go somewhere away from the coast, get there early or late, before others arrive or after they have gone. Always try to think of inclement weather as a bonus, a chance to do something which you have always thought you might like to try but have never got round to doing. A positive attitude and planning towards negating bad weather will not make the weather change but it will help stop you resenting it, you could find that it is a bonus in that you find out about something which you can really enjoy. Alternatively you might not enjoy this new experience in which case you can be pleased that you didn't waste a sunny day finding that out!

If it's wet weather does it really matter if you get wetter! Try a water sport of some kind, take a lesson in anything that takes your fancy - water skiing, windsurfing, surfing, etc; you'll be snug in a wet suit and won't notice the weather. A good way to spend a wet weather day is by seeing the countryside by bus or train. There are excellent scenic rides with good walking opportunities associated with them (if the weather clears) or visits to towns. Visit our Travel section for more on this. A word of warning, if its windy as well as wet your options on water based activities become reduced.