A TOWN in the UK town that remains relatively untouched by tourists has been dubbed the “real Cornwall” by one local.
The British Isles is home to plenty of quaint towns and villages, so much so that some fly under the radar.
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One place that is often overlooked by tourists is Redruth in Cornwall.
While many towns and villages in the southern county are often besieged by holidaymakers, Redruth has gone largely unnoticed.
This is because the Cornish town doesn’t sit directly on the coast, with many Brits opting to visit a seaside town.
In an article in the Daily Express, Andrew McKnight, Managing Director at MAP Estate Agents, Andrew McKnight, said: “With its industrial past, Redruth isn’t as ‘pretty’ as some of the more traditional Cornish towns, though some would argue that Redruth is the ‘real’ Cornwall’.
“In the past, when industry was working, it was like Silicon Valley, and was one of the wealthiest parts of the world.”
To delve into the town’s mining history, visitors should head to East Pool Mine – an 18th-century copper and tin mine.
Meanwhile, Moseley Heritage Museum is another industrial mine that’s also home to locomotives.
Redruth also has other attractions, including Bassett Monument and Gwennap Pit.
Meanwhile, the UK’s biggest jewellery showroom is just an 8-minute drive from Redruth.
Cornwall Gold has been described as “Cornwall’s best-kept secret” thanks to its large jewellery showroom, tin room, free gold panning workshops, and an exhibition covering the history of Cornwall’s mining.
Other attractions include craft workshops and jewellery-making sessions.
The Cornish town also has plenty of retro shops like Daisy Rain Vintage, West End Vintage, and Lucky’s Record Bar.
And for those holidaymakers who want to stay overnight, the Cornish town also has its very own award-winning holiday park.
Nestled inside a wooded valley, Tehidy Holiday Park is just a 10-minute drive from Redruth.
In the last five years, the Cornish holiday park has won more than 20 awards, including being crowned the regional winner of Practical Caravan Magazine’s Top 100 Sites from 2013 to 2019.
Other accolades include being dubbed the best caravan and lodge site in the UK in 2018 and 2019, as well as bagging a Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award in 2020.
Located between St Ives and St Agnes in Cornwall, there are a range of facilities on-site, including a children’s play area and a games room with a pool table and a football table.
Other facilities include a launderette, a dishwashing room, several BBQ points, cookery stations, as well as charging points for electric vehicles.
The site has other attractions nearby too, including popular circular walking routes like Portreath to Tehidy Country Park, Porthcurno to Gwenapp Head, and Tehidy Country Park to Deadman’s Head.
Holidaymakers can choose to stay in either a caravan, cottage, glamping tent or a camping pitch.
While the holiday park will close for the winter, it will reopen for in April 2024 for next summer.
But there are other accommodation options too, including Penventon Park Hotel, a four-star hotel, with rooms starting from £89 per night, based on two people sharing a room.
Redruth is a five-hour drive from London, and it’s a 90-minute drive from neighbouring Plymouth.
And Redruth isn’t the only town in Cornwall that’s been overlooked by holidaymakers in recent years.
One of those that tourists have missed out on is Veryan in Cornwall, which has been described as a “serene idyll”.
Meanwhile, you can sip pints while watching dolphins and whales from the pub garden in this UK seaside town.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
And this beach town also has dolphins, as well as sea glass.
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