Padstow is one of the most visited small towns in Cornwall — a fishing village on the Camel Estuary that has reinvented itself as a food destination. Rick Stein opened his first Padstow restaurant here in the 1970s and the town has since become shorthand for upscale Cornish seafood, spawning a cluster of fish restaurants and food shops around the harbour that draw visitors year-round.
The harbour itself is picturesque in the traditional Cornish mould: lobster pots stacked on the quays, working fishing boats, and a view across the estuary to the dunes at Rock. The town has a medieval core with narrow streets and a 15th century parish church, though much of what visitors see today is Victorian and Edwardian. The May Day Obby Oss festival — a pre-Christian fertility ceremony involving a large hobbyhorse paraded through the streets — draws large crowds and is one of the more genuinely ancient folk traditions in England.
The Camel Trail, a 17-mile traffic-free cycling and walking route on a disused railway trackbed, runs from Padstow up the estuary to Bodmin. It is one of the most popular leisure cycling routes in England; bikes can be hired in town. The estuary beaches — Trevone, Harlyn Bay, Constantine Bay — are among the best on the north Cornish coast for surfing and swimming.
The ferry to Rock takes a few minutes and saves a 15-mile drive. Rock and its surrounding dunes are popular for families and sailing.