Holiday in Devon and Cornwall

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mark_farrell

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Mark
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Hi all,

I'm on holiday to Devon and Cornwall for a week next Friday. I tend to take landscape shots mostly, and have a 5D MkII with a 24-105, nifty 50, 90mm macro, and am hiring that Sigma 12-24 for the trip. I also hope to have a 10-stop filter by then too.

Could anyone recommend me some places down there to go for shots? Obviously I'm thinking coastal, but moorland / rocks would also be good. I'm currently up in the Lancashire moors though, so I'm running out of vaguely creative ways to shoot boggy grass!

Also, we're taking two days to leisurely drive home back to the North West. Any good detours to places I should go for photos? I should add that I'm emigrating to Australia in June, so am looking to capture bits of the UK I may not see again for a long time. I think we're planning on doing a few NT properties whilst we're down there, and on our way home, so if any are particularly more photogenic than others it would be good to know - especially where flowers and gardens are concerned...

Cheers,

Mark
 
Where to start?!

If you want to give your landscapes a bit of a theme whilst you're in Cornwall (especially if you're in the west), then the old mine buildings and engine houses make a great subject matter. There are some very dramatic coastal ruins (The Crowns at Botallack - Google Image it) which combined with the rugged cliffs result in some great images.

I'm not familiar with the moors near you, but the likes of Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor of course may provide a variation on the theme for you.

Have fun. There's plenty down this way to keep you interested and I'm sure others will be along with some other suggestions soon.
 
Hi
It would help if you said where you were staying as if you take Devon and Corwall as a whole it is a massive area and one you cant cover for a holiday.

I am lucky enough to have lived down here all my life and the place i seem to keep going back to is north Cornwall.
The best places for landscapes are Bedruthan Steps, (a must visit),Trevose Head Lighthouse and costal path plus all the little beaches along the coastal Road from Newquay to Padstow.
If you like walking there is also the Camel trail along the Estuary.
Other places in North cornwall which i find are fantastic are Boscastle,Port Isaac,Tintagel and Polzeath and the Estuary walk to Rock.
just google these names and take a look.

As for Devon if you let me know where you are staying i can point you to some great spots.
 
Hiya,

We're staying in North Tawton, near Okehampton. (Cottages in Cornwall seemed double the price for what we wanted!) I have been briefly before with work, but wouldn't have the foggiest where the best photo spots were...

I'm not averse to doing a bit of driving, but clearly a 2-hour drive for sunrises is out - I'm on holiday for a reason! However a 2-hour drive after sunset is less of a problem... I was hoping in providing Rick Stein the opportunity to break my credit card one evening, so Padstow area is certainly a goer.

Is there anywhere near North Tawton worth getting up for before-sunrise skies? Also nearby candidates for startrail and moonlight photography would be good.

Cheers,

Mark
 
North Tawton is just off the North Edge of Dartmoor and close enough to the A30 to make it a reasonable base, you have the Town of Tavistock not too far away about 1/2 an hour, Plymouth about an hour, Bideford/Barnstaple about 3/4 hr north, The South Coast (Paignton/Torquay/Brixham) is about an hour away via Mortenhampstead. The North coast (both Devon & Cornwall) is where you will get your Coastal Sunsets and will include the places that have already been mentioned, Travel down the A39 for Bude, Tintagel, Boscastle, Wadebridge, Newquay and Padstow. Allow a good couple of hours to get to some of the Cornish spots.
 
North Tawton is 61.5 miles from Padstow and takes about 90 mins, a good day out would be to go to Bude and follow the coast down to Boscastle and Tintagel and come back along the Launceston road.

You are half way between Exmoor and Dartmoor so you have either park to drive around and explore, on Dartmoor Post bridge and Two bridges are excellent landscape areas, Badgers holt is a picnic area below a high tor which gives fantastic views in all directions and a great place for sun rise and sun sets.

You are not too far from the Tiverton Canal which offers something a little different, North Devon offers Lynton and Lynmouth with the Amazing cliff railway and this could be combined with a trip through Exmoor (good for wildlife as well as Landscapes)

best thing you can do is spend an hour on google typing in place names and seeing what comes up, i do that when i go away and you then get to see what the area is like.

The thing that will make all the difference to your shots is the weather so i hope it is kind to you, as you are between 2 built up areas the weather where you are staying might look horrible first thing but head for the coast and it will be totally different.
 
As has already been said north tawton is about 15 mins from dartmoor youve got castle drogo just down the road and there are some stunning views from the walk from fingle bridge up towards drogo and the moors themselves I often take a drive down myself as im only about 15 mins from North Tawton
 
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