Planning a roadtrip (late June) to Dorset/Cornwall, any recommendations?

I am planning to head south with a group of friends and do a road trip around Dorset (Weymouth is on the list) and Cornwall (i.e. Eden Project, Tintagel) areas. Are there any recommendations for MUST SEE places around there?

There is a beautiful holiday park at Weymouth called Osmington Mills..Me and my fella are going camping there soon..Here is the link:- www.osmington-mills-holidays.co.uk

Poole is a cute Seaside town...there is a fantastic famous pottery place...very funky..see link..

www.poolepottery.co.uk

Corfe Castle is good for piccys

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-corfecastle/

Also Monkey World rescue centre is a fab place

www.monkeyworld.org

CORNWALL

You should also look up on google The Beast of Bodmin Moor!..lol!

I love Newquay in Cornwall especially Fistral beach.  Very much a surfer town!

Penzance is sweet..

I don't know anything about Dorset, but I can definitely make some Cornish recommendations.

I'd actually recommend staying away from Penzance and Newquay! They've both seen better days! (Unless you want to try Jamie Oliver's restaurant in Newquay.)

The Eden Project is fabulous - I see you've already put it on your list. If you like gardens, there are tons of lovely ones in Cornwall;. Trebah is my favourite. It's smallish, but lovely. There are lots of other gardens listed here.

The National Seal Sanctuary in Gweek is another of my favourite spots.

St. Ives is a lovely town. Tate St. Ives is there, if modern art is your thing. Even if it's not, the building is well worth seeing. It's gorgeous! Have a glass of wine in the cafe overlooking the beach. The views are stunning.

While you're in St. Ives, have lunch at the Porthminster Beach Cafe, right on the beach.

Take a drive to Fowey - probably my favourite spot in Cornwall. If you're into camping, there's a fab site just across the river (on the ferry) in Bodinnick.

Let me know if you have any questions!

(Edited because I forgot to mention the Minack Theatre!)

It's a good few years since I was in Cornwall, but even then Newquay could get a little hectic during peak holiday times.  There are a lot of other seaside places along the north coast with the same surf and craggy rocks if you want that sort of thing but without the crowds.  Porthtowan is (or at least was) a nice little place, for example.

If you're interested in the tin mining history of the area, you could pay a visit to the Poldark Mine at Wendron, near Helston, where you can take a tour of the old mine workings.

The Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station on the Lizard Peninsular is a place to head if you like technology and communications history.   It's grown enormously since I worked there in the 1980s, and now has all sorts of visitor displays and exhibits.   

Whether you're an old rail buff or just like a pleasant trip through the Cornish countryside, there are several miniature steam railways in the county, such as the Lappa Valley Railway.

A good few years since I've been so can't really recommend places - but I can recommend some beer!
Try these if you see any - had a couple last week when I was in London, the Atlantic IPA was very nice!
http://www.sharpsbrewery.co.uk/

Wow! so many great recommendations! thanks guys!! (loove this forum!).

Paul_1966,Chary & LuckyCuz - I'm excited!! thanks for your ideas! I'll print a map and start marking the places to plan the route!

tykeman - I'm sure we will really make the best your tip! 

Anymore must sees not to be missed?

I love Polperro! Definitely worth a trip! 

If you go to St Ives stop off and spend a night at the BLUE bar in Porthtowan, especially if its a friday or saturday night as there wil be a band on. This bar is run by an old friend of mine (he also has restaurants in St Ives and Falmouth now) and is right on the beach. He grew up in the Bahamas so it themed as bahamian bar - very chilled, on the beach, good food and people travel from across the area to spend a night there. Camping / B&B also in the village. Beach is also good for kids/swimming/surfing/sunsets and has lifeguards.

I go down 2 or 3 times in the summer for a weekend - highly reccommended!!!

webcam on site so see it now in realtime   -  www.blue-bar.co.uk

I second (or third?) St Ives.  It's well-worth an overnight stay - at the very least a long afternoon!!  Very lovely town with a great feel to it...ironically not touristy at all, though I'm sure it's full of them.  The seafood restaurants are exceptional and serve (cheap!) fresh catches.  It's also within close drive of Land's End, which of course should be on everyone's itinerary when visiting Cornwall .

It's also within close drive of Land's End, which of course should be on everyone's itinerary when visiting Cornwall .

I don't know if it's still there, but back in the days before Lands End was developed there was a signpost with multiple arms (a bit like the one they had at camp in M*A*S*H, if you remember that): John O'Groats 874, New York 3147 etc., or whatever the precise mileages happen to be.

Portsmouth has the HMS Victory (Nelson)

Portsmouth has the HMS Victory (Nelson)

But that's in Hampshire!

In fact I'm puzzled by the road trip to Dorset/Cornwall and how they'll manage to miss out Devon!

yes but they plan on going to Weymouth and its only "round the corner" metaphorically speaking of course..lol

I know! Devon is beautiful! (thats where my family are from  )

Tintagel is amazing. Definitely give yourself a few hours to explore. It is huge with lots of places to see. A great place for a picnic!

We were told to go there but no one gave us the heads up how massive the grounds are so we didn't see much in the 1 1/2 hours were were there. There is a lot of walking and stair climbing involved. It takes awhile to get to the gate too so make sure you have enough hours on the carpark ticket.