Essential Hotels > England > Cornwall > St Austell

St Austell is probably the most famous town in the county of Cornwall. It is also the largest town in this part of the southwest coast. It is located roughly in the middle of the county, which is one of the reasons why it is such a popular destination for visitors to Cornwall. St Austell sits along the south coast, with the curve of Carlyon Bay sitting just a couple of miles from the town centre. Good road and rail links mean that all of Cornwall’s major towns and visitor destinations can be easily reached. Newquay, Falmouth, Bodmin and Penzance are all accessible by main roads from St Austell.

Before the 18th century, St Austell was a relatively small area. Its fortune and subsequent boom was built on the discovery of kaolin clay. Kaolin is used in the production of porcelain. Up until this point, kaolin could only be sourced in China, so this offered a cheap and easy way of creating fine china without the import costs. In addition to clay, St Austell was also involved in the typical Cornish industries of tin and copper.

Like much of Cornwall, St Austell is today tailored more to the tourist market than as an industrial base. The town centre has recently undergone significant modernisation, and the nearby beaches of Carlyon Bay are a definite attraction. St Austell is also the nearest major town to the Eden Project. Eden Project is an ambitious botanical garden, housing tropical plants under futuristic-looking biomes. It is a major tourist attraction, promoting sustainable living and education, and is a very interesting day out.

There are also numerous small villages and secluded coves to explore along the south coast of Cornwall. For example, Mevagissey is a small harbour village a few miles from St Austell. Mevagissey has the quaint charm of a traditional coastal spot, with a history based around pilchards and smuggling.