What's Open in Cornwall on Boxing Day: Attractions, Cafés and Pubs by Town

Short answer: Open: the beaches, the coast path, most town pubs at lunchtime, Eden (usually), Heligan's Night Garden (selected nights), the Boxing Day swims. Closed: the National Trust houses, Tintagel Castle, the Mount, most cafés, all the seasonal attractions. Check social media on the day for hours; websites don't get updated over Christmas.

This is one of our town-by-town winter guides — the full county picture is in Christmas and New Year in Cornwall 2026.

The honest picture of Boxing Day in Cornwall: it's a beach-and-pub day. A few big attractions open, a few cafés in the year-round towns keep going, and nearly everything else is shut. Here's the usual pattern — always confirmed on the day by the venue's social media, never by its website.

Usually open on Boxing Day

• Eden Project — most years, with the ice rink; check the Christmas calendar.
• The Lost Gardens of Heligan — the Night Garden light trail often runs from Boxing Day; the gardens by day, check.
• Paradise Park in Hayle and Newquay Zoo — usually open with shorter hours.
• Bodmin Jail — usually.
• The Boxing Day swims: Perranporth, Poldhu, Charlestown, Watergate Bay, Newquay harbour.
• Every beach, every coast path, and the Camel Trail.

Closed

• National Trust houses — Lanhydrock, Trelissick, Cotehele reopen after; some estate car parks and walks stay open.
• Tintagel Castle, St Michael's Mount and Pendennis — closed Christmas Eve to Boxing Day.
• Almost all cafés in the villages; the ones in the year-round towns (Bude, Falmouth, Penzance, Truro) are your best bet.

Town by town: the pub that's open

These have opened on Boxing Day in previous years and usually do lunch; book, because they're the only ones and everyone knows it.

• Bude — The Brendon Arms, The Preston Gate Inn.
• Padstow — The Golden Lion Padstow, The Shipwrights Padstow. Padstow over Christmas.
• Newquay — The Red Lion Newquay, Fistral Beach Bar.
• Perranporth — The Watering Hole Perranporth, The Tywarnhayle Inn.
• St Ives — The Sloop Inn St Ives. St Ives on Boxing Day.
• Penzance / Marazion — The Dolphin Tavern Penzance, The Godolphin, Marazion.
• Falmouth — The Chain Locker, Gylly Beach Cafe.
• Truro — The Old Ale House Truro; most hotels do a Boxing Day lunch.
• Fowey — The Ship Inn Fowey.
• Looe — The Ship Inn Looe.
• Port Isaac — The Golden Lion Port Isaac.
• Tintagel — The Cornishman Inn Tintagel.

The rule

Ring or message the day before. Boxing Day hours change on a whim, kitchens close at 3pm, and the website will still say "open daily".