7 Things To Do in Cornwall for Kids!

The National Trust have published a Bucket List for kids under 12 of:

50 Things To Do Before You Are 12 - a Bucket List for Kids

Getting kids outside having fun is what summer's about - so the National Trust have published a list of things for kids to get done before they are 12. Research has shown that if you get outdoors and doing things before you are 12, you're more likely to be aware of your environment as you become an adult. The National Trust have even chosen five 'super rangers' at National Trust properties across the UK - chosen as experts in specific activities

So where can you fulfill your bucket list in Cornwall?

Cornwall is 80 miles long, from Launceston on the Devon border down to Land's End. At the tip it's about 7 miles wide, in the middle it's about 20 miles wide - and at the Devon/Cornwall border it's approximately 40 miles wide. So there's a lot of space to explore and to gt your kids' Bucket List ticked off.

Here are the first seven things to do before you are 12:

If you want to climb a tree, you need to find a wood!. Cornwall has a few woods that you can check out:

• Luxulyan Woods: These can be accessed by road or by train. Luxulyan Wood is along the Par-Newquay branch line - if you take the train, you can look deep inside the woods as you arrive. The woods also provide a great place to cycle.

• Cardinham Woods Just 3 miles outside of Bodmin, the Forestry Commission owned Cardinham Woods provides some great opportunities to find the perfect tree to climb. There are also cycle paths and lots of woodland trails to explore.

More than Tree Climbing

If you're after a more exhilarating experience, then why not try Tree Surfing! You can do tree surfing right on the Devon/Cornwall border (although it's actually in Devon, not Cornwall), take a look at Tree Surfers http://www.treesurfers.co.uk/

To get the chance to roll down a really big hill, first you have to find one! There are quite a lot of steep hills in Cornwall, although a lot are rocky or granite-strewn.

• Stowe's Hill: Close to Liskeard you'll find Stowe's Hill - providing plenty of scope for finding a really big hill to roll down. You can also check out the Cheese Wring while you're there, which is a granite tor near Bodmin.
• Perranporth Sanddunes: Another place in Cornwall where you can roll down a really big hill is the the top of the grassy sanddunes above Perranporth Beach.
• St Agnes Beacon: Owned by the National Trust, on the north coast of Cornwall, St Agnes Beacon rises over 600 feet above sea level - providing plenty of opportunity to find a grassy slope to roll down, St Agnes Beacon is owned by the National Trust: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/local-to-you/south-west/view-page/item603605/
• Beacon Hill: Rising above Bodmin, at the top of Beacon Hill is a monument that can be seen for miles around. This is a huge, grassy, high hill ideal for rolling down.

You can camp out in the wild in your own garden, or the garden of a neighbour, friend or relative. But if you want the full experience of wild camping then that might take a little more thinking about.

Similar to camping out in the wild would be to choose a simple camping field - one where the only facilities are a toilet block and outside tap.

Wild camping is great fun, but in the UK you have to think about what you are doing. You can legally camp on public land, but not on private land. Lone travellers will tend to take the advice of camping late and rising early and leaving.

If you are wild camping, it is important that you only leave your footprints.... leave the site exactly as you found it.

For an enjoyable experience, there are plenty of basic camping sites in Cornwall where you can pitch your tent in a field - with the additional top luxury of having a toilet block close by. If you do want to try wild camping, ask around local pubs and speak to farmers - they'll know where you can go safely.

Building a den can be great fun - but it does take time and you do need to make sure you can find everything you need. The VisitWoods website have put together a guide to Building a Den, which you can find at: http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/.

There is also a Wood Search function on the VisitWoods website, to help you find woods in Cornwall where you can build a den. Apart from the woods listed there, also check out Luxulyan, near to Bodmin.

Skimming stones is simple and costs nothing - but it does take practice:

• Find a beach that has a good selection of stones - some people swear by flat stones, others prefer more rounded ones.
• Standing just a few feet back from the water, use a similar motion to that of throwing a frisbee - a flick of the wrist
• The objective is to make your pebble bounce across the surface of the water as many times as possible before it sinks.
• Count the bounces out loud!
• To win: Simply be the person whose stone bounced the most times before sinking.

Cornwall has over 200 miles of coastline and over 300 beaches - so there's plenty of opportunity for you to skim stones, but you will need to find beaches that are stony and not sandy. Charlestown, on the edge of St Austell is a stony beach on the south coast.
Ferryboat Inn, Helford Passage
top stone skimming tips featured below:

For National Trust members, keen to max out their card usage, take a stroll through the gardens down to Durgan Beach, where you'll find plenty of stones on the Durgan Beach, at Glendurgan Gardens. Durgan Beach is a dog friendly beach on the Helford River, just beyond Falmouth.

Although Cornwall is warmer than most of the UK, this actually translates to it being wetter! If it's raining, the best place to go and run around is on any of the sandy beaches and in the streams that cross the beaches. Why not try:

• Porthluney Beach:, On the edge of the privately owned (but open to the public) Caerhays Estate, on the south coast you'll discover Porthluney Beach - a wide, sandy beach, with a stream running down one side - and a great beachside cafe to enjoy a mug of hot chocolate in when you're finished.
• Watergate Bay: If you're seeking more of a challenge, when the tide is out, Perranporth Beach and Watergate Bay on the north coast are both 2 miles long! Why not race each other along the entire length of the beach, then scurry into either the Watering Hole pub for a drink or snack on the beach at Perranporth, or the Watergate Bay Hotel, for lunch or a pot of tea and some scones.

Cornwall is perfect for flying a kite. Cornwall is a peninsula, projecting into the Atlantic Ocean - and the winds are strong. As you're driving around Cornwall, close to the coast, you'll often see trees that have grown bent over because of the fierce winds.

There is plenty of space to fly regular kites on most of the beaches, or, if you fancy something a little more challenging, why not try your hand at kitesurfing! The best places to kitesurf in Cornwall include...

North Coast:

• Watergate Bay
• Perranporth
• Hayle

South Coast:

• Par
• Marazion

If getting wet isn't your thing, then you can have a go at kite buggying around the beaches at Perranporth or Watergate Bay. Beginner and Taster Sessions begin from £20-30/hour and you can book anything from a 2 hour session through to whole days.