A holiday cottage or holiday rental home on the Lizard allows you to please yourself

The Lizard (Lizard Point) with its lighthouse is a peninsula of Cornwall and the most southerly point of England apart from the Scilly Isles. This area is famous for a distinctive metamorphic rock, Serpentine. Lizard Point has had a lighthouse since 1751 to warn shipping about this attractive but dangerous coastline and its "Man O' War" rocks. There are many quaint coves on the Lizard including Mullion, Church Cove, Kynance Cove, Coverack, Cadgwith, Kennack Cove and Gunwalloe. Poldue Cove is where Marconi sent his first radio signal in 1901

Places to holiday on the Lizard

The face of tourism in Cornwall is changing, especially the types of accommodation available and this applies equally to South and North Cornwall. Many hotels and guest house are closing down and being converted into self catering holiday lets and the most popular choice by holidaymakers these days is holiday cottages.

Several nature spots exist on the Lizard including Mullion Island, the nature reserve at Predannack, Gweek National Seal Sanctuary and Goonhilly Downs. The Lizard is also home to the Cornish Chough, one of Englands rare breeds of bird. Cornish cottages are a perfect base for birdwatching, walking, getting close to nature and Cornwall beaches.

A holiday rental on the Lizard Peninsula is close to the Helford River and its numerous hamlets that evoke an atmosphere of past times. There are several inlets and creeks like Frenchman's Creek where Daphne du Maurier was inspired to write her book about romance and smuggling.

Things to do on the Lizard

The Lizard has many galleries, gift and craft shops and numerous places to eat, drink and try out Cornish specialities such as the pasty, clotted cream and Cornish ice cream. The Mullion Gallery in Helston has crafts and works of art from more than eight local craftspeople. You will never be short of gift ideas and even fisherman's smocks are very apparent in the area.

The Lizard Peninsula is the ideal place to take it easy and just mosey around the harbours and take in the views, with small cottages, whitewashed and thatched clustered around and colourful fishing boats moored on the beach. You can surf, swim, walk, windsurf, play golf, go horse riding a join one of the many scuba diving or surf schools in the area. There are numerous gardens to visit, fishing trips or join in a village barbecue.

Life in a Cornish holiday cottage really is about pleasing yourself. If you want to cook then this area has a multitude of organic farms or you can eat out, as many of the hotels, pubs and restaurants serve locally caught or grown food. Attractions near to Lizard cottages include Flambards, Trevarno Estate Gardens and National Museum of Gardening and Trebah Garden Trust or you can catch the Skybus from Lands End airport to the Isles of Scilly.

Weather at the Lizard

The Lizards climate is the warmest in Britain and the air is clear, crisp and untainted by industry.

Travel to the Lizard

Newquay airport is only an hour's drive away from the Lizard and National Express coaches have a direct service. Truro and Penzance are the nearest mainline railway stations and bus operators include Truronian, First and Western Greyhound.