Short answer: Two adults can do Wheal Martyn for £34 (adults are £17 each), or a family of four can use its £43 saver, then enjoy the free coast at Charlestown and Par Beach (£2 parking from November to March). The Eden Project online price for one adult and one child is £48, so it takes the whole budget.
St Austell is the town where a £50 day gets decided by one question: do you buy a ticket to the big name or not? The Eden Project is just down the road, and its online price for one adult and one child is £48, which eats the whole budget before you have parked. This guide keeps to £50 for two adults (and a family version), using prices from official pages. Where a figure is our own allowance for food, we say so.
Only barely, and only for one adult and one child. Eden's ticket page lists a General Ticket (an annual pass) at £35.50 for adults online and £39.50 on the door, and £12.50 online (£15 on the door) for children aged 5 to 15, with under-fives free. One adult and one child online is £48. Two adults is £71. Eden also lists a Universal Credit or Pension Credit day ticket at £15 for adults and £7.50 for children. Cornwall and Devon residents can buy a Locals' Pass from £26.80 for adults. If you want the Eden day, our Eden Project visitor guide covers tickets and parking.
Wheal Martyn Clay Works is open daily 10am to 5pm and is the best value paid day for a family. The prices page lists adults (16 and over) at £17, children (5 to 15) at £7.50, under-fives free, and family savers of £43 for 2 adults and 2 children or £50 for 2 adults and up to 4 children. Full price tickets include free entry for a year, which is useful if you live nearby. The site sits within 26 acres of woodland, has a licensed cafe in the old clay works with a children's menu, and welcomes dogs. Google gives it 4.6 from 1,234 reviews, though a reviewer warned the site is hilly with uneven paths and some steps, so access is limited for wheelchairs. Our easy-access days out guide has alternatives. Two adults come to £34, which leaves £16 of a £50 budget for lunch and parking, and the prices page does not mention a parking charge.
The Lost Gardens of Heligan is not a £50 day for two at standard rates, with adults at £28.20 and children aged 5 to 17 at £10. It does list a Universal Credit and Pension Credit rate of £5 per adult and £1 per child, for the recipient and up to five household members, with proof shown on arrival. A student ticket is £15.70.
Those allowances come to about £42 plus the Charlestown parking charge, so you stay close to £50 without paying for an attraction. They are our estimates, so check menus on the day.
Trinity Cafe (4.9 from 75 Google reviews) is called the best value in St Austell by a reviewer who had a cream tea with a scone baked on site. Jake's Bakes (5.0 from 57) has big cakes and a play area. Waffled UK (4.8 from 278) does waffles and pancakes, but reviewers mention drinks prices and an added service charge, so read the menu. Niles Bakery suits a cooked breakfast or a pasty for the road. For pasties, see our best pasty guide. For breakfast comparisons, see where to get breakfast in St Austell.
Town centre tariffs vary by car park, so we have not priced them here. Cornwall Council publishes the tariff for each of its car parks, and the machines show it on arrival. Our parking guide covers where to park. Par Beach at £2 in winter is the one known price, and you can walk or catch a bus in from there.
Yes, if you choose one paid attraction and fill the rest with free coast. We think the strongest budget day is Wheal Martyn followed by a walk on the Pentewan Valley Trail. See is St Austell worth visiting and the St Austell guide for more.
Only for one adult and one child: £35.50 plus £12.50 online is £48. Two adults is £71, so Eden does not fit a £50 budget for two. Eden lists a Universal Credit or Pension Credit day ticket at £15 for adults and £7.50 for children.
Its prices page lists adults at £17, children 5 to 15 at £7.50, under-fives free, and family savers at £43 for 2 adults and 2 children or £50 for 2 adults and up to 4 children. Full price tickets include free entry for a year.
Cornwall Council lists a flat £2 from 9am to 4pm between 1 November and 31 March, free from 4pm to 9am. From 1 April to 31 October it is £1 for under an hour, £1.80 to two hours, £3 to four hours and £4.20 for 24 hours.
The Pentewan Valley Trail, Charlestown harbour and beaches such as Carlyon Bay and Par are free to enter, though parking may cost.
Heligan lists £5 per adult and £1 per child on Universal Credit or Pension Credit, for the recipient and up to five household members, with proof on arrival. Standard adult tickets are £28.20.
Times, prices and dates are the businesses' and organisers' to change, so check before you travel. Spotted something we've got wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.
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