Credit: Visit Newquay
72 hours at SeaSpace: The wildlife edit
Winter in Cornwall isn’t a time for staying indoors. Crowd-free beaches and warmer seas draw wildlife to the coast – seals in the coves, humpbacks cruising just offshore. Much like at SeaSpace, some are local residents, and some swing by for a short stop off – but they all know how to make the most of what our coastline has to offer. Our three-day itinerary brings you face-to-face with the winter wildlife on our doorstep.
Day one: Spray, seals and ocean giants
Grab a barista coffee from the SeaSpace café and sip it outside on the clifftops, watching nature wake up: Gannets diving for breakfast, seals bobbing in the swell, and gulls perched on Big Humphrey Rock, just offshore.
Head to Polly Joke (20 mins drive) for some guaranteed seal spotting. From the National Trust carpark (£2/day) it’s a ten-minute walk to this wild little cove that’s the winter playground for grey seals and their pups. Hit the coast path west and peer down from the cliffs to see dozens lounging on the sand and diving out to sea.
Continue along the coast path around Kelsey Head to Holywell Bay, keeping an eye out for more seals and the shags and gulls gathered on Chick Island. Then cut back across the fields to Polly Joke on a 3.7-mile circular loop.
Time for lunch back at SeaSpace – Italo-American plates with a view at Tallo, so you can keep eyes on the horizon while you eat.
Binoculars at the ready: step onto Porth Island and scan for humpback whales – watch for their signature bushy blow and the gannets that track them. These ocean giants pass the north Cornish coast from December to February on their way to warmer waters. Last winter, they were regular visitors – sometimes so close you could see them from your window at SeaSpace.
Day two: Eyes to the skies
Hop on a Beryl e-bike (20 mins) or drive (10 mins) from SeaSpace to Pentire Headland for a first-light stroll with a chance to spot short-eared owls gliding low. According to Cornwall Wildlife Trust, they’re “most easily spotted in winter, when resident birds are joined by migrants.”
Even if the owls are elusive, the sunrise views along the coast are worth the early start, and you can warm up with coffee at Lewinnick Lodge, where passing dolphins are sometimes spotted.
After time out back at SeaSpace – swim, padel, read a book – drive the coast road to Mawgan Porth (10 mins). Scour the low-tide rocks and tidal pools for the bright orange beaks of oystercatchers – in the hush of winter, you hear their shrill, piping calls before you spot them.
Continue along the coast to Padstow (20 mins) for a sea safari boat trip with Wavehunters. Taking in local wildlife hotspots including Daymer Bay, The Rumps and Pentire head you could get up close with seals, cormorants, shags and This short blast out to sea is ideal in winter, getting you up close to seals, cormorants, shags and – if it’s calm – sometimes even dolphins.
As dusk falls, catch one of winter’s most mesmerising spectacles: starling murmurations. From November to February, thousands of birds twist and shimmer in the fading light. Watch from the banks of Padstow’s Camel Estuary, drive 45 minutes inland to Roughtor on Bodmin Moor, or you can often simply look up from Newquay’s Barrowfields – just five minutes from SeaSpace.
Day three: Feeling chouch-ed
Kick off with a big breakfast at SeaSpace café before a brisk stroll along the South West Coast Path to Watergate Bay (two miles). Keep your eyes peeled for the humpbacks in the distance, but closer to the cliffs look for the red beaks and black wings of rare Cornish choughs, often seen here from November to March.
Lunch with a front-row view of the surf from The Beach Hut, then stomp the shoreline looking for the silvery-grey heads of resident jackdaws peering from cliff cracks. Listen for the distinctive ‘ca ca ca’ calls of these intelligent, sociable birds. As local ecologist John Blackburn says: “Other birds migrate, or disappear off to sea, but the jackdaws are the real residents of Watergate Bay.”
Trade ocean views for countryside on an inland loop back to SeaSpace, cutting along the ‘goat track’ partway up Watergate Hill. Take in a quiet winter view of Porth from the vantage point, and keep an eye out for skylarks – winter may mute their iconic song flights, but you can still spot them hopping across the field stubble.
Optional wildlife treasure hunt
There are some surprise visitors further afield across Cornwall in winter, too. The incredibly rare booted eagle has been spotted at Marazion. Fin whales seen in Falmouth Bay. Up for the search? Check the latest sightings on Cornwall Wildlife Trust and head out to see what rarities you can spot.
Or simply while away your final afternoon at SeaSpace, one eye on your book, the other scanning the horizon for the spray of a passing humpback.