Cornwall vs Devon – which is better for a holiday?
Think of a British seaside holiday and you probably imagine the farthest reaches of the West Country. Devon and Cornwall have been dishing up cream teas, bucket-and-spade-worthy beaches and dollops of hedgerow-fringed countryside to holidaymakers since summer breaks began. But which county does it better? Our writers Tom Mulvihill (representing Cornwall) and Anna Turns (representing Devon) slug it out below…
​​Seaside
Cornwall
With its 1,086 km of coastline (considerably more than Devon’s paltry 819 km), Cornwall is revered around the world for its incredible beaches – more than 400 of them – and stunningly pretty harbour towns and villages. Visitors flock from all corners of the globe to see St Ives, Mousehole, Fowey and Falmouth. Can the same really be said for Torquay or Dawlish?
Devon has some alright beaches but they pale in comparison to their counterparts in Cornwall, which range from sweeping sands such as the ones at Praa and Whitsand Bay, to secret little coves like Nanjizal (near Lands End) and Bossinney (near Tintagel). Then there are some of the UK’s best surfing breaks, such as Sennen, Porthmeor in St Ives, and Newquay’s Fistral Beach; or coastal beauty spots that could have been plucked out of a Caribbean holiday brochure – Porthcurno, for example. When all’s said and done, west is best for a seaside holiday.
Devon
Yes, some of Cornwall’s beaches are lovely, but I’ve heard it described as a beautiful frame with a dreary painting in the middle. Meanwhile, Devon is the only county to have two distinct coastlines, and it comes with secluded spots such as Wonwell and Soar Mill.
The Devon seaside is cleaner too, with 13 Blue Flag beaches – including the aforementioned Dawlish Warren actually (Cornwall has just nine). Oh, and Torquay officially has the best sand for making perfect sandcastles, according to scientists.
For seaside stuff to do, Devon has more Royal Yachting Association sailing clubs, while Plymouth Sound is the UK’s only national marine park (good for world-class rockpool rambles and snorkel safaris at Wembury beach). Meanwhile, North Devon’s best kept seaside secret is quite possibly the Sri Lankan curry nights at Barricane beach, right by some fabulous surf breaks.
You can take a ferry to visit car-free Lundy Island, a pitstop for puffins that’s surrounded by the UK’s first marine nature reserve. Then, towards Sidmouth and Seaton, fossil hunters can explore cliffs where dinosaurs once roamed. Hands down, Devon wins on diversity.
Food and drink
Cornwall
Let’s put the whole cream tea debate to one side for now (it’s jam on first, and all right-thinking people know it). The simple fact is that Cornwall has the kind of regional cuisine that those across the Tamar can only dream of, with mouthwatering delicacies such as Cornish yarg, stargazy pie, hevva cake, saffron buns and, last but not least, the pasty (not invented in Plymouth, as some Devonian propagandists would have it).
For fine seafood dining, there’s nowhere finer than the holy trinity of Padstow, Rock and Port Isaac, where celebrated chefs such as Rick Stein, Paul Ainsworth and Nathan Outlaw have been doing ever more inventive things with fish for years. Decades even.
Sure Devon has one more Michelin-starred restaurant. But what do those pencil-necked desk jockeys know? Anyone who wants a real taste of the West Country comes to Cornwall.
Devon
Spread the clotted cream like butter, then add a dollop of jam. Enough said. And, as we’re talking about sweet stuff, Devon also has the best ice cream. Hocking’s vanilla is a contender but Salcombe Dairy’s honeycomb should probably get top scoop (both beat Cornwall’s cloying clotted ice cream).
There’s no need for fancy restaurants here (even if we do have more Michelin stars). For the freshest seafood, eat near a fish market or harbour at one of Mitch Tonks’ Rockfish restaurants. They’re far more accessible than overpriced fish and chips from Stein or Outlaw. Devon crab is sold as a delicacy around the world – get cracking at Salcombe crabfest on May 5. And, with 40 farmers’ markets, (almost double the number listed for Cornwall), Devon has the best artisan producers, from Quicke’s cheese to carbon-negative Two Drifters rum.
The county caters well for ethical diners too. Organic veg takes centre stage at The Bull Inn in Totnes, while the experts at Eat Weeds or Wild and Curious will take you foraging for your own mushrooms, seaweed or woodland treats.
Eat your way around various food trails or sip sparkling wine at one of Devon’s award-winning vineyards. If you’re still peckish, book a seat at Wild Artichokes to enjoy Jane Baxter’s feasting menu. You won’t leave hungry.
Attractions
Cornwall
With such abundant natural beauty all around, there isn’t much call in Cornwall for more cosmopolitan entertainments. Good thing too, because its sole city Truro (population: 21,000) is hardly a bustling metropolis. It could be much worse though… it could be Plymouth. And, as we all know, size isn’t everything: Falmouth is every bit as vibrant as Exeter, despite being a quarter of the size.
Anyway, the county punches well above its weight when it comes to culture: there’s the Tate St Ives with its fabulous modern art collection, the Maritime Museum in Falmouth, the fantastically spooky Bodmin Jail Attraction, and Tintagel Castle. Then there’s the Eden Project – one of the UK’s must-see visitor attractions – with its iconic geodesic domes containing two jaw-dropping recreations of rainforest and Mediterranean biomes.
Devon, by contrast, has Diggerland and Paignton Zoo. It’s not even close.
Devon
Admittedly, zip-lining over a quarry styled as a rainforest at the Eden Project does create quite a high, but there is so much to do in our two cities. Including Plymouth.
It’s home to Mildred the woolly mammoth, the country’s oldest synagogue, its best aquarium, largest regional theatre and the photogenic Tinside Lido. Exeter, meanwhile, is a Unesco City of Literature, home to the RAMM museum, lots of little indie shops and even vaulted underground medieval passages. Out of town, Kent’s Cavern prehistoric caves beat Cornwall’s haunted jail any day.
If Diggerland isn’t your thing, the bear tail assault course is a brilliantly muddy family adventure. Then there are Devon’s festivals for gourmets (celeb chefs flock to Dartmouth food festival) and musos (Razorlight headline this summer’s Tunes on the Sands at Blackpool Sands; the Leveller’s Beautiful Days is super family friendly). The eccentric Pigs Nose Inn hosts top gigs from the likes of Blur. It seems like a clear win for Devon in the stuff-to-do stakes.
Countryside
Cornwall
Devon has green fields and rolling hills and whispering woods and other such things. It’s all very nice and looks good on a packet of Ambrosia custard but, really, don’t a lot of places have those things? If you’re from up country and driving down for a holiday in Devon, you may as well stop in Dorset or Somerset for all the difference it will make.
Cornwall, on the other hand, is a place apart. From the crumbling engine houses of long-abandoned mines to the neolithic monuments that litter the Penwith Moors, history looms large in the Cornish landscape. Climb the rugged hill to Rough Tor, trace the gorse-strewn path from Men-an-Tol to Lanyon Quoit, or wander through the woods of St Nectan’s Glen to see the waterfall of the same name – you could be treading in the footsteps of Merlin himself.
Devon
Devon is almost twice the size of Cornwall, so there’s more countryside to explore – and huge diversity too. In Dartmoor national park, the largest area of open country in the south of England, you’ll find wild moorland, waterfalls and the temperate rainforest of Wistman Woods. In the north, ancient hedgerows line the lanes (some are 600 years old). At Braunton Burrows, rare plants and insects hide in Unesco-protected dunes.
That’s not the only wildlife in these parts. South Devon is home to the rare cirl bunting, a pretty yellow farmland bird that can be seen most easily at Prawle Point. Watch wetland wildlife on an east Devon beaver tour and spot avocets on a winter cruise along the Exe estuary. For a memorable walk on Dartmoor, join llamas and alpacas for an afternoon tea trek over the tors.
There are accessible trails to discover too. Miles Without Stiles routes are suitable for people using wheelchairs, mobility scooters and pushchairs – visit the scenic Plym Valley trail near Plymouth, north Devon’s Tarka trail and the Granite Way, following an old railway line across the dramatic Meldon viaduct.
Accommodation
Cornwall
One could quite reasonably argue that there are too many options when it comes to booking a stay in Cornwall, what with the recent proliferation of holiday lets. But that does equal an extraordinary breadth of choice. Fancy a luxe stay in a five-star seaside resort or some boutique bolthole? They come by the bucketful down here: Hotel Tresanton, Carbis Bay Hotel, The Scarlet, The Nare – each a byword for comfort and style. A self-catered cottage? From Polperro to Mousehole, there are hundreds to choose from.
After something a little more alternative? You can stay at a 15th-century star fort in the Scillies, a modernist off-grid glampsite in a disused quarry on the north coast, an island eyrie in Newquay, or a converted helicopter (yes, really) on the Lizard. Devon is admittedly cheaper than Cornwall when it comes to room rates. But then again, so is Croydon – and you wouldn’t want to book a holiday there.
Devon
Devon’s best accommodation (including Hotel Endsleigh, famous for its fairytale gardens) is easier to access than any Cornish address. And there’s something for everyone.
For posh pursuits such as falconry and croquet, stay at Dartmoor’s Bovey Castle or Michelin-starred Gidleigh Park. The Pig at Combe emulates relaxed country manor chic while Boringdon Hall’s Gaia Spa near Plymouth comes complete with crystal salt steam room and herbal sauna. Meanwhile, for a 1920s shindig, dig out your cravat, cross the causeway by sea tractor, then order a Burgh bramble cocktail at the art deco-inspired Burgh Island Hotel.
There are also understated options – at more pocket-friendly prices than you might find in Cornwall: book a swanky lodge at the family (and dog) friendly Mole Resort or glamp under the stars in a shepherd’s hut at Buckland Abbey, try a luxury treehouse near Chulmleigh or unwind at one of Longlands’ off-grid safari tents.
Peace and quiet
Cornwall
Try and visit Salcombe or Woolacombe in the middle of August, then see how tranquil you feel by hometime. Cornwall has its crowding issues too (it would be silly to deny it) but it’s not hard to find a bit of respite, even at the height of peak season. Avoid the obvious places – the seaside towns and some of the better known beaches such as Porthcurno and Kynance Cove – and you can easily spend a whole day outdoors without seeing another soul.
The best thing to do is head inland. Most tourists stick to the coast, leaving swathes of bucolic countryside untroubled by all but a handful of those who know better. Visit fascinating sites such as the ancient village of Carn Euny, the abandoned pleasure gardens of Tivoli Park in the Fowey Valley, or the temperate rainforest that runs down to Tremayne Quay on the Helford River. Blissful solitude (or as good as) awaits you there.
Devon
Cornwall has the highest number of holiday homes in England and Wales and hotspots such as Padstow explode with visitors, queues and possible tensions between locals and tourists come summer. For a more peaceful break, I’d recommend sticking east of the Tamar.
Get up early for the dawn chorus or walk the foreshore at low tide, searching out washed-up treasures such as mermaid’s purses (the empty egg cases of sharks and rays). Hire a kayak or paddleboard to explore the lesser-visited creeks of the River Dart or north Devon’s River Taw.
Head to the open expanses of moody Dartmoor for a swim at Sharrah Pool or join a wildlife safari on Exmoor to trek through the craggy paths made by wild ponies and red deer (smug note: Cornwall doesn’t even have one national park to compete with Devon’s two). Meanwhile, the Iron Age fort of Blackdown Rings is a South Hams gem – and, unlike the majority of Cornwall’s heavily advertised attractions, most visitors drive past its brown sign without even noticing that it’s there.
Closing statements
Cornwall
For all the arguments and mudslinging about cream teas and whatnot, I say it’s the public who ultimately decide this matter: 4.5 million voted with their credit cards and booked holidays in Cornwall last year; a paltry 4.4 million opted for Devon. I rest my case.
Devon
Aside from being much easier to get to by road, train, ferry or plane, Devon is bigger, better and bolder. Even if you all flock here, there’ll still be plenty of space on a cove or tor. In Cornwall, you’re likely to be queuing for that pasty or searching for a tiny parking space along with all the other Poldark or Doc Martin fans for most of the day. For sandy toes, windswept hair and heartfelt nature connection, Devon is where the best folk go.