Cornwall, the PUSS PUSS Way: A Six-Day Escape Through Sea, Style & The Creative Coast

May 28, 2026
Design & Travel
Words & Photography:
Beanie Stolper

It’s that time of the year that sits in that in-between moment, issues just wrapped and the upcoming issue swiftly on its way. Everything is filed and delivered and a shift in pace without sacrificing taste is very much needed.

Cornwall isn’t the obvious choice, which is precisely the appeal. However it feels even more relevant somehow, more considered. No passport needed, far enough to feel like you’re actually going somewhere, but not so far it turns into an operation. The idea of Cornwall as sleepy or static doesn’t really hold anymore.

There’s a shift happening; young, creative, intentional. Studios replacing second homes, artists leaving East London studios for bigger spaces and sea air. Chefs opening restaurants that rival London town with dinners that feel like they belong in London but land differently here. A sense of space that actually changes how you think, with hotels that understand luxury is actually about atmosphere, personality and warmth. It’s not trying to be cool, which is exactly why it is. Cornwall doesn’t really announce itself loudly. That’s probably why fashion people love it. It’s less about being seen somewhere and more about how you feel once you’re there. So here is the perfect six-day rundown of where you need to be, Cornwall edition.

WATERGATE BAY

 

Stay: Watergate Bay Hotel
After heading down from Hampshire, through the winding roads past Stonehenge, the first stop was Watergate Bay. Blue skies, cold and fresh sea air, surfers somehow already in the water at 8am but magical and beautiful at the same time. A two-night stay in the Beach Lofts felt more like setting up home for a couple of days. Floor to ceiling windows opened directly onto endless Atlantic views, with waves crashing along the two-mile North Cornwall beach so loudly at night they almost sounded cinematic. The bathtub was less bathtub and more miniature swimming pool and the added living room with fireplace is the perfect way to spend endless hours watching the tides come in and out. The hotel pantry deserves its own mention too: cakes, tea, coffee and endless small comforting things that become deeply important after cold beach walks.
What Watergate Bay gets right is balance. It’s luxurious but still relaxed, enough that nobody cares if you arrive to dinner slightly windswept from the beach. There’s always this mix of people in knitwear coming back from surf lessons, couples drinking wine by the fire and us London folk really getting used to the slower pace of life down here and hastily hatching ways to move down here permanently.

 

 

Eat: The Beach Hut at Watergate Bay Hotel
Lunch at The Beach Hut, Watergate Bay’s beach front restaurant, immediately set the tone for the week. Long seafood lunches after sea air just hit differently here. Everything felt unfussy, classic and perfect: warm plates, salty chips, natural light pouring through the windows while the weather outside changed every ten minutes and constant entertainment from all the goings on down below.
Dinner: Zacry’s at Watergate Bay Hotel
Dinner at Zacry’s, headed up by Executive Head Chef Chris Eden, was the first time seeing Cornwall’s newer creative identity fully emerge. New and fantastical ways of turning what seemed simple dishes on the menu into intricate, complex, outstanding dining experiences that have stayed with me ever since. The menu was colourful, technical and surprising; Japanese radish, yuzu, scallop roe, tapioca textures, sake pairings. The room itself looks directly onto the sea, a reminder of the high calibre of dining in a coastal location. Let’s take a deep breath, no central line to rush back for and no slaloming around hordes of people in Soho. It’s sophisticated without becoming performative. Rustic Cornwall meets East London dinner party energy, but much, much warmer.

 

Do: Surf with Wavehunters
It’s Cornwall so of course you have to tick surfing off at least once and Watergate Bays’ ‘Wavehunters’ provide round the clock, whatever the weather lessons. A surf lesson in any month in Cornwall that isn’t the height of summer sounds slightly insane until you do it. One moment there was hail, the next full sun and a rainbow over the Atlantic. Afterwards, running directly into the sauna felt almost euphoric.

 

 

Dinner Escape: The Pig at Harlyn Bay
‘The Pig’ has been on my list for a long time, so what a better way to experience it than on this trip. Dinner at ‘The Pig’ felt like arriving at an impossibly tasteful countryside home. Cosy and familiar with seriously amazing food. The restaurant is situated in a cosy 11-table dining room, illuminated by candlelight. Caramelised onion tarts, crispy honey mustard pork and excellent wines were on the menu, classic British food cooked to perfection. Everything felt deeply cosy without tipping into cliché. With the menu changing daily you have no excuse! Cornwall really excels at that balance: comfort without twee-ness. Snug, homey and intimate. Perfect for a Cornwall dinner escape.
PADSTOW & NORTH CORNWALL

 

A quick trip from Watergate Bay to Padstow courtesy of the Landrover service that Watergate Bay offers. Meandering around the hills and along the coastal bays really is the way to do Cornwall in style. Arriving in Padstow feels exactly how you want it to. Quiet enough to wander slowly, traditional Cornish tropes still intact yet busy enough to still feel alive and being a bit more in the mix. 

 

Eat: Prawn on the Lawn
You may be familiar with their London outpost however Prawn on the Lawn, Padstow edition is the real deal. Tiny, bustling and everything you want for a seaside fish restaurant in the perfect way. Seafood arrives as fresh as it can get. One of those places London people would queue outside for if it opened in Hackney, that isn’t to stay it is still always booked up! Grilled mackerel and monkfish tail were definitely the favourites.
After lunch we drove towards Port Isaac and Trevose Head where the coastline became overwhelming and dramatic. Cliffs disappearing into mist, coastal, fresh wind, beaches completely empty except for the occasional dog walker.

 

Lunch: Barnaby’s
Barnaby’s feels like the clearest example of modern Cornwall food culture right now. A local winery and farm that needs to be shouted about and I have been recommending to everyone since. Skin-contact wines from nearby Trevibban Mill, herbs grown locally, Cypriot influences running subtly through the menu, jalapeño tostadas beside flatbreads covered in sumac and garden herbs. It feels globally aware without losing any sense of place.
CARBIS BAY & ST IVES

 

Stay: Carbis Bay Hotel & Estate
Carbis Bay feels softer somehow. More polished yet it has the feeling of a proper get-away. The lodges are absolutely the insider move, set away from the main house, they offer a secluded and private stay. Direct beach access, breakfast delivered to your door in a picnic basket every morning and a bottle of wine arriving each afternoon accompanied by canapes, as casually as if everyone lives this way. At high tide, the sea practically reaches the rooms. Whatever the weather, it felt vaguely Mediterranean in flashes when the light suddenly hit the water properly and seals making regular appearances. Nestled above the bay is the C-Bay spa where total relaxation is the norm and how could you not with the infinity pool overlooking the coast below. There is something for everyone with the hydropool, cedar wood sauna and a plethora of treatments on offer.

 

Do: Tate St Ives & Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden
The idea of Cornwall as a creative and cultural hub is not a new idea. Barbara Hepworth’s studio alone explains why artists stayed permanently and new ones are flocking. A striking visit to her home provides an intimate look through not only her life but allows for close viewing of work that anywhere else would be behind glass or a barrier. Tate St Ives is an artistic love letter to the artists that have lived there, been inspired there or have found their way there. The building sits on the waterfront, if you take a quick break you will get enamoured by the endless surfers dotted along the shore. There is always something happening whether it is the art or the view.

 

Eat: Walter’s at Carbis Bay
Only a short hop, skip and a jump from the lodges sits Walter’s. The closeness to the hotel and estate means it is a no brainer and more reason to enjoy the stretch of beautiful coastline that the estate sits on.
The beachside restaurant is casual yet considered, created by Executive Chef Andrew Houghton it brings together Cornwall classics with further afield influences. With an array of events it is more than just a restaurant, another reason to stay close to your new home at Carbis Bay and totally relax.
PENZANCE & NEWLYN

 

Stay: Chapel House
Chapel House was probably my favourite stay of the trip. Less hotel, more impossibly tasteful friend’s Georgian townhouse where every object feels instinctively placed. Mid-centruy mixed with home comfort, your home away from home but much, much cooler. White walls, exposed wooden beams, fireplaces lit in the evenings, art everywhere, huge baths and organic bath products that actually smell good instead of aggressively “wellness.” Sue, who owns it, welcomes everyone with this effortless warmth that immediately changes the atmosphere of the whole place. There’s no overexplaining luxury here. No unnecessary “concept.” Just beautiful rooms, good taste and the feeling you’re being looked after properly. The bed and breakfast becomes much more than that once you’re there—a quick walk downstairs in the morning to Sue welcoming you in while cooking a full English to order right in front of you, the whole house carrying that rare feeling of being both deeply stylish and genuinely lived in.

 

Do: Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange
As well as St Ives, Newlyn and Penzance feel like the creative heartbeat of Cornwall right now. There’s a seriousness to the art scene here that feels refreshing after London’s constant performative networking energy. Real galleries, proper conversations, artists actually making work rather than endlessly talking about making work.

 

Eat: The Cornish Hen
Perfect warm Cornish pasties eaten outside while walking through town. No reinvention needed, you need to tick the pasties off at least once and this is the place to do it!
Dinner: Barbican Bistro 
Low lighting, long dinners, really good wine and the exact kind of neighbourhood energy London people spend years trying to find.

 

Wellness at Chapel House
The herbal sauna sessions led by Ruth Weaver at Chapel House somehow avoid every cliché attached to modern wellness culture. With education at its core, it brings a group of people together to bond, learn and more importantly relax. It’s less optimisation, more sitting quietly overlooking the sea while your nervous system finally catches up with you. Add sunrise swims at Battery Rocks, a dip in the garden hot tub and sauna and long coastal walks to Mousehole where the sea crashes against tiny stone houses and suddenly moving to Cornwall to open a ceramics studio starts feeling genuinely plausible. Rachel Lorente runs the in-house treatments, with the restorative massage giving you even more of a reason to stay firmly put and extend the time spent away from the bustling city life. 


FALMOUTH
Final Stop: Beach House Falmouth
Beach House Falmouth was the perfect final stop before driving back to London. A tiny cove, sea swimmers everywhere, DJs in summer, run clubs in the mornings and locally crafted and hand-picked drinks overlooking St Mawes. The Cool Box is the one stop shop for a quick in and out drink, no booking needed! 



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