Living in Newquay

Newquay is a string of beaches with a town stitched across the headlands. Fistral is a surf beach with a national reputation. The airport is genuinely useful, which almost nowhere else in Cornwall can say. The harbour is small and the old town sits above it.

The reputation is stag weekends. That is a real part of the centre in season and a lazy description of the rest of the year. Streets away from the front are ordinary family housing. The town is car-dependent once you leave the beaches, and the sprawl is part of the deal.

It works if the sea and the flight home matter, and you pick the neighbourhood on purpose. It is a bad surprise if you wanted Padstow and booked the cheaper house on a Saturday-night street.

Who it suits. Households who want beaches and flight links, and can choose a street back from the nightlife.

The catch. The centre in high summer is a resort. Parking, hen parties and a spread-out town plan are the daily friction.