Cardinham Woods

About

Nestling in a beautiful valley with a bubbling stream, Cardinham Woods is open 364 days a year and is bursting with opportunities to explore.

If you’re looking to entertain the family, get active, rediscover your connection with nature, or just make unforgettable memories, look no further than Cardinham Woods.

Cardinham Woods is set in the heart of Cornwall, nestling in a beautiful valley with a bubbling stream, stunning viewpoints, and fascinating history. With easy parking, toilets, and an on-site cafe, there is no excuse not to explore the forest at any time of year!

Entertain the family at Cardinham Woods

Stroll along the streamside Lady Vale Walk and linger at the remains of the clapper bridge, or set out deeper into the forest for a more challenging hiking adventure. Kids won’t want to miss our Stick Man activity trail! If a whole forest to explore isn’t enough, don’t worry – we’ve got plenty to keep kids of all ages entertained. Get stuck into the play area outside the cafe or head to the riverside meadow, the perfect place for a spot of football or frisbee. For a totally unforgettable forest experience, check out Badger Forest School’s holiday activities and bespoke birthday parties.

​Find your peace at Cardinham Woods

Explore the wider forest with one of our walking trails. The Lady Vale Walk is shared between walkers and beginner cyclists, with beautiful colours to enjoy. For a more immersive forest walk, choose from the waymarked Callywith Wood Walk, Deviock Trail, Wheal Glynn Walk and Lidcutt Loop, or make up your own route. Visitors with reduced mobility can explore the forest with our off-road mobility vehicle, available to hire via the Countryside Mobility scheme. Our easy-to-use scooter can tackle forest terrain come rain or shine.

To burn off some energy, bring your bikes to work up a sweat. Beginners and gentle cycling are welcome on the Lady Vale Walk. Confident off-road cyclists will love the Bodmin Beast mountain bike trail.

Eating and drinking at Cardinham Woods

After your forest adventure, refuel at Woods Cafe. You’ll be spoiled for choice with delicious homemade light bites, locally made cakes, and hot and cold drinks. Or bring your own picnic to enjoy in your favourite spot. There are picnic areas in the meadow near the car park, and halfway along the Deviock Trail (steep climb). To help us prevent wild fires, please never light a BBQ or fire in the forest.

Accessibility at Cardinham Woods

Cardinham Woods aims to cater for every interest and ability with trails of varying length and gradient, accessible parking and toilet, mobility hire, and staff training. Read our full accessibility guide or contact our friendly team for help and information.

Dogs at Cardinham Woods

Dogs love Cardinham Woods with exciting sights smells to explore and plenty of shade and a stream to paddle in on hot summer days. The woods are surrounded by farmland and sensitive livestock, so please keep dogs in sight at all times and on a lead if they don’t return when called.

Spend some special bonding time with your pooch with our exclusive activity: Forest Walkies with Wallace & Gromit. Take on Gromit’s challenges along the trail and solve Wallace’s crossword for a chance to win a dog-friendly holiday!

For happy times and waggy tails, please check out forest dog code.

Car Park Prices 

We now have a new parking system at Cardinham Woods. Our new system uses automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology and will allow us to operate more efficiently.

You’ll still pay for your parking when you arrive, but you don’t need to display a ticket anymore as your vehicle registration will be captured on your way in and out of the car park. You can still use the RingGo app as well.

Up to 1 hour £3.50
Up to 2 hours £4.50
Up to 4 hours £5.50
All day £7.50
Minibus £12.00
Coach £15.00