Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and if you’re panicking at the thought of candlelit dinners and expensive bouquets already, fear not! Spending the day indoors may sound cozy and inviting, but if you want to do something a little more exciting, why not explore the great outdoors and everything our wildlife and wild places in Cornwall have to offer? Even in the cold of February, there are plenty of romantic activities to enjoy in our countryside and on our coastline.

Listen to the sweet serenades of birds

This is one for you early morning risers. Get your Valentine’s Day off to the best start by hearing the sweet symphony of birdsong in your local woodland, including at our Cabilla & Redrice Woods nature reserve. According to medieval folklore, Valentine’s Day is the start of the spring mating season when birds call to attract a mate, although for some species it starts a lot earlier. It’s also where the term ‘lovebirds’ stems from too!

If you’re new to identifying birdsong, now is surprisingly the best time to start. Although the Dawn Chorus is at its peak in May, there are only a few birds (such as robins, blackbirds and song thrush) that enjoy singing in the winter months, making it nice and easy to hear their calls. The early start might not seem so attractive but grab your coat and a flask of hot chocolate and you will be certainly rewarded with a romantic experience.

Go stargazing

Sprinkle some magic on your Valentine’s Day by seeing the stars together - it’s a great way to experience the beauty of our wild places here in Cornwall! What could be more romantic than grabbing some blankets, finding a comfortable spot to lie down and looking up at a star-filled sky above you?

You don’t have to travel far for this incredible experience, you could even do it in your garden if you wanted! However, if you’re after a spectacular view, we’d recommend taking a trip to West Penwith (which became an Internal Dark Sky Park in December 2021). Our Chun Downs nature reserve, as well as places such as Lanyon Quiot and Botallack, have great dark skies and are well away from the lights of Penzance and Mounts Bay.

Watch the sunset together

The coastal dunes at our Upton Towans nature reserve provide the ultimate setting to end your Valentine’s Day. Take a moment or two together to embrace all that nature has to offer, with a spectacular view of the ocean against the evening glow of sundown.

For those that like to explore, take a short stroll along the coast path to get up close with our ponies at Gwithian Towans (near to the large car park). These grazers are helping us create the perfect conditions for dune-specialist plants and animals but please do take care around them and refrain from feeding them (they have plenty of food already!).

See one of nature’s spectacles

There’s still time to spot the incredible aerial displays of starlings as they twist, twirl, swoop and swirl across the sky – an art form otherwise known as a murmuration. Murmurations are most common in the winter months, when starlings from all over Europe join our resident birds from the UK.

Wrap up warm, head out at dusk on a clear, dry evening just as the sun is setting and if you’re lucky, you’ll be rewarded with a wondrous sighting of these familiar garden visitors.

Show your local beach some love

Give something back to Cornwall’s wildlife and wild places this Valentine’s Day by joining in with our 'Love Your Beach' campaign! Huge storms in winter cause large amounts of plastic and litter to wash up all around our coastline, posing a significant danger to our marine life. In 2019 alone, 80,000kg of rubbish was removed from Cornish beaches by volunteers.

Although it may require a bit of effort, it will be a rewarding way for you and your loved one to spend some quality time together. You might even find a piece of coastal treasure to take home with you, such as a shard of sea glass or an iconic piece of washed-up lego! If you can’t attend or have missed our beach clean events (organised by our fantastic Your Shore Network groups), go ahead and hold your own mini clean up at your favourite beach or stretch of the coast path. Draw or make a love heart, take a picture and post it on social media using the hashtags #loveyourbeach and #yourshorenetwork to get involved.