It rains. Let’s start there.
Every Cornish accommodation website is photographed in July. Blue sky, long shadows, somebody carrying a surfboard. Useful if you are booking for July, less so if you are looking at a week in late October and wondering what you would actually do.
So here is the honest version of a wet day here, written in September by people who are (and, admittedly, love being) outside in it most of the year.
The pub is two hundred metres away
This matters more than anything else on the list. The Bolingey Inn is a short walk down the lane, close enough that nobody has ever driven to it, and it is the sort of place that improves in bad weather rather than emptying out. Local cider, food, and a fire.
On a wet afternoon that is the whole plan, and it is a good one. The friendly and welcoming staff give the inn a cosy atmosphere and it’s the kind of place where you can relax, play a board game or two, or even get to know the people who call Bolingey home.
The beach is better, not worse
Three miles of sand in the rain, with almost nobody on it, is not a consolation prize. It is the version most people never see.
Autumn is also when the surf picks up. Perranporth takes Atlantic swell for most of the year and the autumn swells are more consistent than the summer ones. If you were ever going to have a surf lesson, this is a better time than August, and the water is still holding its summer warmth well into October.
You will be wet either way. That stops mattering about ten minutes in.
The walk still works
The Saints Trail runs past the gate on a flat former railway line, so it is firm underfoot rather than the churned-up mud you get on a field path. Fifteen minutes into Perranporth one way, or out towards Goonhavern the other, where there is a garden centre with a cafe and a pub that has been standing about three hundred years.
Rain on a trail through a wooded valley is a different experience to rain in a town. Worth doing once even if you then retreat.
Inside, actually inside
The two shepherd huts each have their own kitchen and en-suite, so a wet afternoon indoors does not mean sharing a block with strangers. Chirps, our safari tent, has an indoor dining table, which sounds mundane until it is raining and four of you want to eat sitting down.
Every unit has a fire pit with wood included. Fire pits and drizzle go together better than you would think, and the covered outdoor space means you are not choosing between fresh air and staying dry.
There is no wifi on site, which we mention honestly rather than hide. The 5G signal is strong enough to stream on, so bring what you want to watch.
If you want to go and look at something
St Piran’s Oratory sits buried in the dunes north of the beach, and a grey day suits a thousand-year-old ruin considerably better than sunshine does. It is a proper walk out across the sand, so wear the right boots, but it is the kind of place that feels earned in bad weather.
The bit worth remembering
The reason a wet day works here is that you are not committed to a car. The pub, the trail, the town and the beach are all on foot, so a bad forecast does not trap you on a site with nothing to do.
That is the difference between somewhere you stay and somewhere you sit out the weather.
Rainy Day in Perranporth FAQs
What is there to do near Perranporth when it rains?
The Bolingey Inn is two hundred metres from our gate. Perranporth town is a fifteen minute walk along the Saints Trail, which is a flat former railway line rather than a muddy field path. The beach is three miles long and nearly empty in poor weather, and the surf is more consistent in autumn than in summer.
Is Perranporth worth visiting in autumn?
The sea holds its summer warmth into October, the surf improves, and the beach and town are far quieter. Sites like ours also have more availability and it is a cheaper time to come.
Do the units have somewhere to sit indoors?
Both shepherd huts have their own kitchen and en-suite shower room. Chirps, the safari tent, has an indoor dining table and two double bedrooms.
Is there wifi?
No, but the 5G signal is strong across the site.
Do I need a car?
No. The pub, the Saints Trail, Perranporth town and the beach are all walkable from the gate. Parking on site is free if you do bring one.
