THERE are some great places for a break in Britain – and Cornwall is up there with the best.

My wife and I might be a bit old to take up surfing, but that didn’t stop us heading for one of the most popular of the county’s resorts – Newquay.

Busy in the height of summer, we took advantage of the springtime ‘shoulder’ season and made a long weekend of it.

We chose our base well – the Fistral Beach Hotel and Spa is perfectly positioned, overlooking the sea and the long, sandy Fistral beach.

We couldn’t get enough of that superb view, whether sitting on our balcony, or while enjoying breakfast in bed or – perhaps best of all – while soaking in the bath, a glass of bubbly in hand.

The hotel boasts more ways to relax than we had time for, including a soothing spa, laid-back lounge bar and a beach-side restaurant, so we were tempted to simply stay in and enjoy the facilities, all the while wearing our bespoke bath robes.

But no, we were determined to venture out and, after exploring the town, we settled down in Barefoot at the Beach, which consists of a downstairs dining and bar area and an upstairs restaurant.

By day, it offers a family-friendly environment and a reasonably-priced menu – also within a stone’s throw of the beautiful beach. By night it livens up a little, with live bands and a huge selection of drinks.

This summer Barefoot on the Beach is due to be rebranded as 12 Beach Road, but even if you have to keep your shoes on, don’t expect anything other than a good time there.

Next day, we decided to do our bit for the environment and keeping those beautiful beaches clean, so we joined in a tidy-up session, collecting rubbish and tiny pieces of plastic from the sands. Actually, it appears we promised to do this while chatting to someone we had met and shared a drink with the previous evening, but it still seemed a good idea the morning after.

It was quite an eye-opener, actually, to see the number of plastic fragments and bits of net mixed in with the sand. We also dug up a metal waste bin filled with cans. The cans and the bin itself were rusted to the extent of falling apart, but bright and intact among them was a single plastic straw – perhaps the best advertisement for switching to paper straws you could have.

Next up before we headed for home was Newquay Zoo – a relatively small zoo now approaching its 50th anniversary which in addition to being a family attraction is an education, research and conservation charity.

There’s a wealth of animal life at the zoo, but it’s an ideal attraction to fit into a single day, although we missed out on the lions being fed as we visited on a Monday (their fasting day). I’m told they’re more lively on Tuesdays!

There was plenty more we could have seen and done in and around Newquay, but that will have to wait for another weekend – or possibly longer. More than a seaside resort, Newquay has a lot to offer; a lot more to be discovered.

Newquay Zoo

Trenance Gardens

Newquay

TR7 2NL

newquayzoo.org.uk

Barefoot at the Beach (12 Beach Road)

12 Beach Road

Newquay

TR7 1ES

http://barefootnewquay.co.uk

Fistral Beach Hotel and Spa

Fistral Beach

Newquay

Cornwall

TR7 1PT

(room rates are from £80 per couple)