Nanny Pat’s days out: Helston Boating Lake, Coronation Park and Loe Pool


Two children watching the boats row by at Helston Boating Lake in Cornwall.

If you’re out and about near Helston, this is a little gem of a place to entertain the children en-route, as Nanny Pat discovered on a day out with Wilf and Megan.

Wm-climbing

The boating lake is part of Coronation Park, just outside the town centre. The lake itself is quite large and has a hard level path all around it, perfect for wheelchairs and buggies. You can hire a pedalos or a rowing boat if you’re feeling adventurous! There’s a great little outdoor play area with some challenging climbs in the tree house structure plus a skate park. When you’re ready for refreshments, stop at the Lakeside Café, which is modern and spacious – we indulged in their ice creams.

Loe Pool

Just down the road from Helston is an inland freshwater lake known as Loe Pool or the Loe which is a nature reserve and a great spot for bird watching. Legend has it that Loe Pool is the home of the Lady of the Lake and King Arthur’s sword Excalibur. It’s separated from the sea by a long shingle bank called Loe Bar.

You can park at Penrose Amenity Area car park (same one for boating lake) and walk through the National Trust property at Penrose alongside the Loe to Porthleven, which is a pretty fishing village with good cafes and amenities. It’s a five mile walk and there are regular buses back to Helston (2 or 2A) if you can’t manage both ways.

There are good paths and tracks but it can be muddy, so if you’re out with babies or toddlers it’s probably a day for the backpack, not the buggy. You can find full directions for the walk on the carfreewalks.org or the AA website.

treehouse

Getting there

From Bosinver it will take just over 50 minutes to drive to Helston. The postcode for the Penrose Amenity Area car park is TR13 8SG. It’s easy to find – on the B3304 (Porthleven Road) just off the junction with the A394 (Penzance Road).

Have you explored the area around Helston? We’d love to hear your recommendations for family friendly places to visit. Why not leave a comment below, tweet @bosinver or post on our Facebook page?

Share this post:

Red cow with a red heart clipart

Here are some more posts you may like


Action Nan and the rest of the team are always busy writing posts that we think you’ll like – from top tips on where to take the kids, to what’s likely to be going on in the local area when you stay – we’ve got it all in our blog!