Par & St Blazey: A Local's Guide

Updated 10 October 2026 · 8 min read

Par and St Blazey are Whasson's home patch: Leo lives here. They're often driven straight past on the way to the Eden Project, but this corner of St Austell Bay has a huge sandy beach, one of Cornwall's prettiest little coves, a wooded valley with a World Heritage viaduct, honest local pubs and the best rainy-day fallbacks in mid Cornwall.

Why stay in Par or St Blazey?

Location, mostly. You're about ten minutes from the Eden Project, a short drive from Fowey, Charlestown and Mevagissey, and Par station is on the main London to Penzance line. It's also where the Atlantic Coast branch line to Newquay begins, so you can reach both coasts without a car. Prices for places to stay are usually kinder than in the honeypot harbour towns, and you get ordinary Cornish village life alongside the sightseeing.

Par is the seaside half: the beach, the old harbour and the station. St Blazey is the older village just inland, named after St Blaise, who legend says landed at Par. It's where you'll find the parish church, the Par Canal and the start of the Luxulyan Valley.

Par Sands

Par Sands is a long, flat, sandy beach backed by dunes and grass, with a large car park right behind it (charges apply in season). Because the beach shelves so gently, the sea goes out a long way at low tide. That makes it a favourite with young families and dog walkers, and sources describe it as dog-friendly all year round. There's a café, ice cream and toilets close by.

• Good to know: the sand is deep and soft between the car park and the shore, which is hard work with a pushchair or wheelchair.
• There are no lifeguards on Par Sands, so keep a close eye on children in the water.
• At the eastern end the coast path heads up on to the cliffs towards Polkerris.

Polkerris

Polkerris is a tiny west-facing cove with a curving old harbour wall, a sandy beach and the Rashleigh Inn, a former coastguard station that's now one of the best-placed pubs on the south coast. Because it faces west across the bay, it's a lovely spot for a sunset drink. There's a small car park at the top of the lane, and it fills up quickly on summer afternoons, so walk from Par if you can.

Walk: Par to Polkerris and the Gribbin

From the eastern end of Par Sands, follow the South West Coast Path up on to the cliffs and along to Polkerris, about a mile and a half. Keen walkers can carry on round the headland to the red-and-white striped Gribbin daymark, a tower built in the 1830s as a landmark for ships, and on to Readymoney Cove and Fowey. Allow most of a day for the full walk to Fowey, then catch a bus back. Expect some steep sections and muddy patches after rain.

The Luxulyan Valley and Treffry Viaduct

Just north of St Blazey, the Luxulyan Valley is a steep, mossy, wooded gorge full of old industrial remains: leats, wheel pits, tramways and the massive granite Treffry Viaduct. Joseph Treffry built it between 1839 and 1842 to carry both a tramway and water for local mines, and the valley is part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site. It's free, open all year, and you can walk across the top of the viaduct.

• Start at Ponts Mill, just off the A390 between St Blazey and Luxulyan, where there's a small car park at the bottom of the valley. There's also parking at the top, just north of the viaduct.
• By train: Luxulyan station on the Newquay branch line is a walk from the top of the valley. The line itself runs through the valley beneath the viaduct.
• Wear boots. Some paths are very muddy, even in summer, especially between the viaduct and the wheel pit.
• For a gentler, flat stroll, follow the old Par Canal towpath between St Blazey and Ponts Mill.

Rainy days in Par

This is where Par really earns its place. Par Market is a big, old-fashioned indoor market with around 100 stalls and a food hall (see our full Par Market trader directory), and right next door Kidzworld is an indoor play centre where younger children can burn off energy. Add the covered biomes at the Eden Project and you have a whole wet day sorted within a few minutes' drive. See our rainy day guide for more ideas.

Places in Par & St Blazey

Tywardreath and the du Maurier connection

On the hill above Par, the village of Tywardreath was the setting for Daphne du Maurier's time-travel novel The House on the Strand. Du Maurier lived for years at Menabilly on the headland between Polkerris and Fowey, and this whole stretch of coast turns up in her books. It makes a nice stop on a literary day that ends in Fowey.

Pubs in Par and St Blazey

• The Royal Inn, opposite Par station: a big, friendly local with food, rooms and a large terrace. It's said to have got its "Royal" name when a 19th-century Prince of Wales's train broke down nearby.
• The Rashleigh Inn, Polkerris: beach views and good seafood. Book in summer, and check the parking rules carefully.
• The Britannia Inn, between Par and St Austell: a long-running family inn with the Waves restaurant, all-day food and a popular Sunday carvery.
• The Packhorse Inn on Fore Street, St Blazey: a listed former coaching inn and proper locals' pub. Check it's open before you make a special trip.

Getting there and getting around

• By train: Par station has direct trains to Plymouth, Truro, Penzance and London Paddington, plus the branch line to Newquay via Luxulyan and Roche.
• By bus: local buses link Par and St Blazey with St Austell, Charlestown and Fowey. Single fares in Cornwall are capped at £3 until at least March 2027.
• By car: St Blazey sits on the A390. Par Sands has a large pay car park, and Polkerris has a small one at the top of the lane.

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