Nanny Pat’s days out: exploring the South West Lakes


Young child playing outside on a white outdoor rock climbing frame

Cornwall is well known for its beaches, but there’s also plenty to explore inland, including several wonderful lakes and country parks.

The SW Lakes Trust is made up of 19 different lakes and country parks in Cornwall and Devon. They’re great areas for walking and picnics, and many of them also have a range of other activities available, including fishing, bird watching, water sports and other outdoor activities.

This week, Nanny Pat, Wilf and Megan set out to see what Stithians Lake Country Park had to offer.

Stithians is a great place for families with children of all ages. The circular walk around the lake is 4.8 miles, and there are plenty of lovely spots to stop for a picnic. If you prefer to cycle, you can also hire bikes here.

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One of the best things about this kind of day out is that once you’re there, you don’t actually need to spend any money – there’s plenty of free fun to be had outdoors!

For younger children, there’s a good adventure playground and a small bouldering /climbing wall. Wilf (age 4) really enjoyed this, as it was big enough to offer him a challenge and sense of achievement. He also loved beating Nanny Pat and Megan to the next ‘acorn’ (each of the way marked posts has an acorn design on it). It’s a very simple thing, but it added an extra element of fun.

There’s also an Outdoor and Active Centre at Stithians, which offers sailing, windsurfing, rowing, kayaking, archery, climbing and WOW balls (these really look great – huge plastic balls are tethered at the edge of the lake and kids of all ages can roll around in them!)

Summary

A great family day out. There’s plenty here to do to keep active kids occupied for free.

Nanny Pat’s top tip: If you haven’t brought a picnic, Caffe Nova does good, freshly made food including homemade cakes. The menu’s not extensive, but everything is done well.

Getting there

From Bosinver, Stithians Country Park is about 40 mins drive. Take the A390 towards Truro/Falmouth. Once you reach the outskirts of Falmouth, take the A394 towards Helston and follow the brown signs to Stithians once you reach Rame.
The postcode for SatNavs is TR16 6NW, and there’s ample parking.

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Action Nan and the rest of the team are always busy writing posts that we think you’ll like – from top tips on where to take the kids, to what’s likely to be going on in the local area when you stay – we’ve got it all in our blog!