Any day is an ice cream day we reckon, especially when you are on holiday in Cornwall! We’ve done a fair bit of ice cream eating ourselves over the years – all in the name of research obviously – and so we thought we’d share with you our top tips and recommendations for the best places to go for ice cream in west Cornwall. All of the places we’ve selected only stock locally-made artisan ice creams, so you can expect plenty of flavours, delicious creamy ice cream and the diet going out of the window….
Roskilly’s Farm, St Keverne, The Lizard
Roskillys is one of our favourite Cornish ice cream brands, you’ll found it sold at numerous cafes in Cornwall including Nauti But Ice in nearby Porthleven. You can also go straight to the horse’s mouth (or the cow’s udders?) and visit Roskillys Farm itself during your stay. Located on the beautiful Lizard Peninsular, the farm is about 35 minutes drive from Pengelly Retreat, in an area of lovely countryside. While you’re there, head to the cafe to buy an ice cream (of course!), feed the farm animals and then take the circular walk past the duck ponds, through woods to a view of the sea.
Favourite flavour? Hard to choose as there are so many to pick from… Malty Mystery, Mint Choc Chip and Cornish Fudge are all favourites for us.
Gwella Dairy, St Martins, The Lizard
Gwella Dairy is less well known than Roskillys but highly rated by locals in the know (shhh don’t tell any one!). Their farm and dairy which produces their delicious artisan ice creams is located at St Martins on the Lizard and you can buy ice creams there on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Make sure you check their social media for opening times as these can vary. The farm is about 25 minutes’ drive from Pengelly Retreat so it’s easy to nip over and try their flavours for yourself.
Favourite flavour? Gwella Dairy have a mouth-watering selection including Mint Choc Flake, Blackforest, Chocolate & Peanut… but one of our favourites is Thunder & Lighting , a classic ice cream with golden syrup layers and a cheeky sprinkle of popping candy!
Moomaid of Zennor, Zennor
Moomaid of Zennor is another awesome Cornish ice cream brand, their ice cream is locally made and absolutely lovely! They have several cafes in Cornwall but we like to go their original Zennor ice cream shack to enjoy an ice cream before heading off on a coast path walk with stunning sea views. Don’t forget to check out the actual Mermaid in the atmospheric church in Zennor village (see if you can spot her!).
Favourite flavour? We particularly like their Shipwreck flavour which is sea salt caramel and honeycomb in case you were wondering….mmm what’s not to love?!
The Free Range, Dairy, North Cliffs
Gwithian is one of our favourite nearby beaches (15 minutes or so from Pengelly Retreat) and lots of our guests head there for beach time and surfing. From there it’s just a short drive along the coast road towards Portreath to the Free Range Dairy who sell their home made gelato ice cream, milk shakes, hot drinks, cream teas (with their own cream of course) and cakes.
Favourite flavour? The flavours change regularly and you never know for sure what’ll be on the menu. We do love the white chocolate and salted caramel flavours though!
Mr B’s, Hayle
And last but not least, Mr B’s in Hayle is a local institution and the queue is often out the door at their shop at the Copperhouse end of Hayle (about 10 minutes’ from Pengelly Retreat). They have a sizeable range of gelato style ice cream with lots of tempting chocolatey flavours as well as some weird and wonderful monthly/seasonal specials. Grab an ice cream and then head to one of the lovely beaches nearby. Very popular, particularly in the summer months – it’s worth the wait though 🙂
Favourite flavour? Ferrero Roche is usually our top choice!
