Trevalon

Turn south and you’re on a popular southern Cornwall beach in around 20 minutes by car. Overlooked by its pretty namesake town, Looe Beach is a swathe of golden sand with safe swimming and watersports like kayaking – it’s also good for rock pooling if you have younger kids. From there, you can join the South West Coast Path for jaunts to Bodigga Cliff (45 minutes on foot from Looe) for sea views, or to the Chapel of Lammana (half an hour) to inspect the clifftop ruins. Turn inland and it’s 20 minutes’ drive to Bodmin Moor, where you can follow sections of the Copper Trail from St Neot (also 20 minutes), which links former mines and villages, scramble up to the precarious Cheesewring granite formation atop Stowe’s Hill (25 minutes), or hike up to the Hurlers Stone Circles (20 minutes), a group of ancient standing stones. The water rides and carousels at Camel Creek Family Adventure Park (50 minutes) make a great day out with the kids, and for more high-octane adventures, you can whizz down zipwires at Adrenalin Quarry (20 minutes).