Cornwall

Caned the credit card recently? No worries, we’ve rounded up the best ways to spend time but not money this January. Here&#8217;s a ton of ideas for a day out with mates, family or solo.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-get-your-cultural-fix">Get your cultural fix</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/national-maritime-museum-falmouth.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-20278" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/national-maritime-museum-falmouth.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/national-maritime-museum-falmouth-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/national-maritime-museum-falmouth-720x480.jpg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/national-maritime-museum-falmouth-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/09/national-maritime-museum-falmouth-787x525.jpg 787w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



Big up our lovely local museums and galleries! Check out <a aria-label="Falmouth Art Gallery (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.falmouthartgallery.com/Gallery/Home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Falmouth Art Gallery</a> (free) as well as a host of smaller art galleries in every coastal town. Locals can bag a pass to the <a aria-label="Tate St Ives (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-st-ives" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tate St Ives</a> for £5 if you have a Cornwall postcode, which will also get you into the Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden. 



Bookmark <a href="https://newlynartgallery.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Newlyn Art Gallery </a>(£7 for entry, gets you a year&#8217;s pass &#8211; £4 if you live nearby) when it re-opens after the winter break on 16 Jan. 



Also free is the Muddy award-winning Jackson Foundation in St Just, home to British landscape artist, Kurt Jackson. St Just is the most westerly town in Britain, it is on the edge, faraway, ‘isolated’; archetypically Cornish and distinct in its identity, geography and heritage. It has two valleys, one on either side: Cot and Kenidjack; Cot is the tamer of the two, Kenidjack is the wilder and less accessible. Both have been painted extensively by Jackson, although the exhibition currently on is his journeys along Cornwall&#8217;s waterways &#8211; this time Fowey.



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Take the coastpath south from Coverack alongside far reaching sea views and lovely Cornish coastline, after about ten minutes walking you’ll come to three small meadows either side of the path which is the Terence Coventry Sculpture Garden. Free to enter, the exact sculptures in situ depend on what work is being exhibited elsewhere, but there’s usually around 25 to consider and reflect on. Continue past and you’ll find empty paths and even emptier beaches, before retracing your steps to the pretty harbour of Coverack itself.



Museums



As for museums, they undeniably make a good day out, but in most places it will cost the adults accompanying them &#8211; the best value ones are the little local ones offering insights into Cornish life and culture, like the <a href="https://museumofcornishlife.co.uk/visit/">Museum of Cornish Life</a> in Helston.



Under 18s go free to the <a aria-label="Royal Cornwall Museum (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.royalcornwallmuseum.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Royal Cornwall Museum</a> in Truro and the adult pass is only £7.50 &#8211; this bijou museum is in the Duchy&#8217;s capital, and their current exhibition Snapshots in Time looks at Cornwall&#8217;s past through photos and more.



Under 5s go free to the <a aria-label="National Maritime Museum (opens in a new tab)" href="https://nmmc.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Maritime Museum</a> although the adult ticket will set you back £16.90 (return as often as you like over the year though), likewise the <a aria-label="Wheal Martin Clayworks (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.wheal-martyn.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wheal Martin Clayworks</a> where a family pass is £35 &#8211; reopens 14 Jan. In Bodmin, the science museum <a href="https://www.discovering42.co.uk/visit">Discover 42</a> is free for under 5s with kids £3.5 and adults £6 (bonus, also open on a Monday when most other places are shut!)



Bookish goings on



The counties’ bookshops are a rich mine of inspiring events, talks and&nbsp;signings. Muddy Award winning Edge of the World bookshop in Penzance hosts regular signings and talks &#8211; keep an eye on their <a aria-label="Facebook page for details (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.facebook.com/TheEdgeoftheWorldBookshop" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook page for details</a>. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Get outside</h2>



Like trees? Protect Earth is a charity dedicated to woodland creation and restoration. They work with all sorts of landowners across Cornwall and Devon to help rewild, plant trees and more, and are always looking for volunteers &#8211; in exchange for your work you get access to nature and sometimes accommodation too? They&#8217;re in Helston on 13 &#8211; 14 Jan, <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/volunteers-needed-near-helston-cornwall-to-create-a-new-wildlife-habitat-tickets-755701311967" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">details here</a>.



Cycle Trails



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="668" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/family-bike.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-22528" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/family-bike.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/family-bike-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/family-bike-720x481.jpeg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/family-bike-768x513.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/family-bike-786x525.jpeg 786w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



You&#8217;ll need a bike, obvs, so only totally free if you have one, but for an hour or two you can rent one reasonably cheaply. Cornwall has plenty of trails for cycling &#8211; including <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.visitcornwall.com/things-to-do/cycling/north-coast/padstow/camel-trail" target="_blank">The Camel Trail</a>, which is beautiful but not the only flat cycling trail suitable for a family ride. A Muddy favourite is the&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://cycle.travel/route/cornish_coast_to_coast" target="_blank">Coast to Coast Trail</a>&nbsp;(11 miles) starting at Portreath on the north coast, to Devoran on the south. The route goes from the Atlantic to the channel, so you’re basically cycling across England in a couple of hours! There&#8217;s also the new West Kernow Trail which starts and finishes in Penzance, and budding Olympians (or Tour de France riders) might enjoy the so-called &#8216;Cornish Alps&#8217; near St Austell.



These boots are made for walking



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/zennor-rb.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-22192" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/zennor-rb.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/zennor-rb-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/zennor-rb-720x480.jpg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/zennor-rb-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/zennor-rb-787x525.jpg 787w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



Try the coast path &#8211; not the whole thing, as that would take you months, but visit the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk/">South West Coast Path</a>&nbsp;website and you can take a look at the various parts &#8211; the path stretches for 300 miles around Cornwall (and back up into Devon both sides too) and is always good for a free stomp. Most of it is rather up and down though, so not the best if you&#8217;re reliant on wheels and you&#8217;re after a level walk.



For level walks, try Bude canal, the aforementioned Camel trail, Cardinham Woods, Tehidy Woods, or parts of the actual coast path in Penzance and Falmouth which go from beach to beach along the town.



If you fancy joining a walk with others, on 28 Jan the Women&#8217;s Rambler&#8217;s Group will be walking around St Columb Major on a free circular walk &#8211; <a href="https://fb.me/e/4d7OsyBH3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">details here</a>. 



Like your walks with plenty of photos? Try this no-tuition guided stroll with your camera with like-minded people in a beautiful location. <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wadebridge-photography-meet-up-tickets-763830717237">This one is in Wadebridge</a> on 12 Jan &#8211; but there are others across Cornwall if you check out their listings.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tap up some&nbsp;regional heritage</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/10/Cornwall-Gold-2023-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-CG_Panning_4_CMYK-1-copy-1000x667.jpg" alt="Cornwall Gold panning for gold" class="wp-image-31994" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/10/Cornwall-Gold-2023-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-CG_Panning_4_CMYK-1-copy-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/10/Cornwall-Gold-2023-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-CG_Panning_4_CMYK-1-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/10/Cornwall-Gold-2023-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-CG_Panning_4_CMYK-1-copy-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/10/Cornwall-Gold-2023-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-CG_Panning_4_CMYK-1-copy-788x525.jpg 788w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2023/10/Cornwall-Gold-2023-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-CG_Panning_4_CMYK-1-copy.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



Find out all about Cornwall’s tin mining past in the new Tolgus Mill interactive exhibition at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cornwall-gold.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cornwall Gold</a>, Redruth, and then try panning for gold yourself. Little ones will enjoy the dress-up section to become a Tin Miller or a Bal Maiden, and be fascinated as the Tolgus Tin Streaming Mill smashes rock into tiny pieces, removing the tin ore from the stone, and then employs a host of inventions to separate the valuable tin.



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Ah, the National Trust, where children under 5 go free and frazzled parents weep quietly in gratitude. Down here in Cornwall the adult membership basically pays for itself if you also like beach parking and also gives you entry to various properties later in the year (including Lanhydrock and Cotehele) but their gardens are open now, with the most dramatic perhaps being St Michael&#8217;s Mount. (Side note &#8211; it also gives you access to Stonehenge, handy for a break if you&#8217;re heading up country).



For the very free option until 31 March the harbour village, Steward’s House art gallery, shops and Island Cafe will be open at St Michael&#8217;s Mount. There are no public boats until 18 March, so the island can only be accessed if the causeway is open during business hours. So, if you can time it right and start on a dropping tide to walk across the causeway from Marazion, “following in the footsteps of giants and pilgrims” you can become your own part of the Cornish folklore with which the entire island is imbued (just make sure to leave enough time to also walk back). The castle itself re-opens in March.



For something altogether free, try heading up onto one of the Duchy&#8217;s many moors to check out some megalithic structures and stones. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/Carn-Euny.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-22250" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/Carn-Euny.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/Carn-Euny-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/Carn-Euny-720x480.jpg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/Carn-Euny-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/Carn-Euny-787x525.jpg 787w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



The four stones of megalithic structure known as Mên-an-Tol or the “Crick Stone” can be found on the West Penwith moor between Morvah and Madron. Dating back to the Bronze Age it is thought to be related to burial rituals, although Cornish poet&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._M._Thomas">D. M. Thomas</a>&nbsp;suggested Mên-an-Tol was “the wind’s vagina”. It is also thought the stones were used as a charm against witchcraft or ill-wishing, and could also for future telling. Apparently when two brass pins were laid crosswise on top of each other on the top of the stone they behave much like an ancient ouija board.



Still down in the far west you&#8217;ll also find <a href="https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/carn-euny-ancient-village/history/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Carn Euny</a> (above) – an Iron Age village near to Penzance, with great views and an underground passage called a ‘fogou’. Up on Bodmin Moor meanwhile you&#8217;ll find <a href="https://www.cornwalls.co.uk/history/sites/the_hurlers.htm">The Hurlers</a>, a standing circle of stones which date back to around 1500BC, as well as the (locally) famous rock formation&nbsp;The Cheesewring, which is basically a huge pile of large flat boulders precariously balanced on top of one another.

20+ fab, cheap and free things to do this month

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