A festival is the perfect excuse for a weekend in Cornwall. Base yourself in a harbour town, build the trip around what is on, and you get the best of the county in a couple of days. Here are some of the weekends worth planning around.
A music weekend on the north coast
Newquay and the north coast come alive in summer. Boardmasters is the big one, pairing music at Watergate Bay with surfing at Fistral, while Tunes in the Dunes plays right on Perranporth Beach.
A regatta weekend in Falmouth or Fowey
The sailing towns throw their best parties in August. Falmouth Week combines racing with a carnival and fireworks, and Fowey Royal Regatta does the same on its own beautiful estuary.
A food weekend
Time a trip around the Falmouth Oyster Festival in October, or the Padstow Christmas Festival for a festive weekend of chef demonstrations and harbour lights.
A weekend on the Isles of Scilly
For something different, the World Pilot Gig Championships turn St Mary's into the centre of the gig-rowing world each May, and the Scilly Folk Festival fills the islands with music.