Annhig Shout Out: Cornwall
 

I trust you, and anybody else who wants to join in, are "out there" to comment. After some further consideration, more than a few YouTube as well as other "video" stimuli reviews, I have decided that the decision not to visit Cornwall next year was hasty and ill-conceived (to be charitable to myself).

That said, the question is one of basing as in where (with a car) for several days. Given that I live in the beach and despite a love of mountainous terrain I'd prefer to be somewhere on or within sight of the ocean.

I keep reading reviews of St. Ives hotels which look appealing. The only thing I know about the place is from that childhood nursery rhyme; ditto, more or less as to the supposed "pirates" in Penzance.

Scenery is important as are other so-called "location-unique" experiences. Bottom line: just being there and soaking it up for a couple of days. Probably in August BUT it could be earlier like May or June.

Help!

St Ives is beautiful and being reasonably sizeable has a fair choice of restaurants and cafes. There is the Tate (mini version), Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden, and lots of higgeldy piggledy streets to explore. Plenty of small art galleries and potteries too. The only real downside is that parking is scarce so be careful when assessing properties to ensure a parking space is included. You also have to not mind walking up and down some steepish streets from time to time.

On the other side of the coast ie south not north, I think Falmouth is a great base. The town itself again has plenty of places to eat and drink, plus the maritime museum, plus the Carrick Roads (which is actually the waterway inland from Falmouth) that feeds many beautiful creeks and creekside villages. You can drive to most of the villages or get ferries to some of them too. I am biased toward Falmouth as my brother lives a stone's throw from there and I have spent many happy days/weeks exploring the area.

Third option is Penzance - another sizeable town with good transport links. I don't think it as picturesque as the other two but it is well positioned/has good transport links.

If you have a car tbh you could choose to base yourself at one of the many picturesque fishing villages such as Porthleven, Mousehole/Newlyn though you would need to venture out more often to find things to do and a wider choice of places to eat. I don't like Mevagissey before anyone suggests that btw.

Probably St Ives, then Falmouth would be my top 2.

PS I would strongly advise June to avoid the school holidays.

Dukey - I will not comment upon the wisdom [or otherwise] of your previous decision to eschew Cornwall, but heartily endorse your change of mind.

So - you can have beach and scenery in St Ives, and beach and scenery in Penzance. The former faces [north] west and is quite hilly [I believe that this may be a factor]; the latter faces south and is a little hilly but possibly in a less inconvenient way. But they are within easy reach of each other with a car, so the difference is hardly worth worrying about.

My preference is for PZ; I love the atmosphere of the town, the light, the art of the Newlyn school, the gardens, the climate and the scenery. St Ives has its attractions too - the beaches, the harbour, the artistic history [which is not so much to my taste but might be to yours] - but the traffic and parking are terrible, it can be swamped with tourists, and I don't find it as charming as PZ. Take your pick.

In either case, if you want to visit some of the iconic gardens of Cornwall when they are at their best, it would really have to be May, possibly June when there will be fewer people around, whereas in August the best of the gardens are over and there will be a lot of tourists as that is the middle of the UK school holidays.

As for accommodation, there are indeed a few nice hotels in St Ives; they are not in such good supply in PZ, or so I believe. [I've stayed in neither]. We have eaten well and heard good things about the Pedn'Olva in St Ives; ditto the Bay in PZ. Both suffer from being at the top of hills. There is also the Carbis Bay just outside St Ives which is a traditional coastal hotel with a good restaurant.

Hope that helps as the first instalment. Keep the questions coming!

RM - May or June would avoid school hols would they not? [except for a week in the last week of May/ first week of June which will be summer half term in many places depending on how the dates fall].

I deliberately didn't mention Falmouth as Dukey didn't but since you have mentioned it, I agree with you that it makes a great base indeed we stayed there for a week before we moved down here and loved it. I still do, and there is a plethora of good hotels, including the Greenback where we had dinner on Friday night with Toucan2 and her sis.

I also am (was) considering Cornwall for next year. Turns out the people we were to be traveling with probably need to postpone for a year or two so we may wait for them for that trip. But I'm curious about the timing. Ann, as you said June would be ok to avoid school holidays but what about July. I take it August is worst of all.

So WHEN - if you could pick any time of year, would you suggest for a Cornwall/Devon trip (of approximately 2 weeks). Taking into account things such as weather (which obviously no one can predict day to day, but overall), foliage in bloom, and crowds (or anything else that would matter that I haven't thought of).

OK, and thanks to you <B>both</B> for graciously taking the time to respond.

The <B>current</B> situation has us in Scotland for about a week next August followed by 6 nights in London and a retrun flight home.

Initially I was considering cutting London down to first three nights and then to two nights with the other four devoted to Cornwall. I <B>might</B> consider paying what will undoubtedly be a hefty airline change fee and simply extend the time period by several days to preserve the London nights and add the several for Cornwall.

However, we have more than enough FF miles to come over earlier in the year; could you elaborate a bit further on the comment, "it would really have to be May, possibly June..."? I am wondering now if we should <B>combine</B> some time in Cornwall with a second region which we could reach by car or by train and then do a second car rental.

We've been to, and loved, the Cotswolds and still have not done the Lake or Peak districts and the Dales and Moors in Yorkshire continue to elude us; no worries for you two; I'' sort that somehow.

I will investigate Falmouth further. I was thinking we could take the "Riviera" overnight from London and rent the car locally but if we are going to make an additional trip over might make other transport arrangements.

Thank you, again, for these helpful insights.

Most kids are on holiday after the first or second week of July, so the last week of June and the first week of July would be good. Gardens will be in flower and the weather should be good.

Yep st ives can get very busy (and I don't rate the picture hanging in the Tate), Falmouth would be my prefered option but Penzance is good too. Certainly avoid July and August when the wealthy and their kids come down to their second homes.

Speaking of which my sisters second home is in Looe and that is best avoided due to "staycationers" as we (on the wrong side of Brexit) now have to call "a holiday"

Noting Ann's comment about access, the Lost garden of Heligan might be too much (but read up on it) while Eden is well worth a trip even if the price is somewhat eyebrow raising

http://heligan.com/
http://www.edenproject.com/

you may not have time for this national trust renting thing but I was amazed two years ago when a BIL took over one of these stately homes for a week
http://www.nationaltrustholidays.org...gle_Brand_2016
knowing that you like the finer things in life..

opera
http://www.duchyopera.co.uk/

Hi Anne - yes May would work too, but it has bank hols I might want to avoid and the weather should, theoretically at least, a smidge warmer in June. Either are better than August though.

"knowing that you like the finer things in life."

LOL, believe me, if you only knew about all the meatloaf dinners.

Thanks for these helpful comments, Bilbo...am trying to figure some dates and the "second" region. Covent Garden (the opera house) doesn't have anything in May which intrigues nor does the Bastille (well, if we are coming THIS far what's a couple hours cross-Channel on the train?)

Will check out the Duchy (thanks for that)

ah - for those who like something a little different when it comes to accommodation:

http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/sear...-house-1-6747/

I agree that the Lost Gardens are a little far from the places we are talking about, the nearest big NT garden to PZ and St Ives is Trengwainton, but IMO it's not that special in after the end of May. But in/near Falmouth you have the Princess Pavillion gardens, magnificent Trebah, the NT's Glendurgan, and of course the Minack Theatre where the gardens have become a very impressive feature since we first saw them about 15 years ago.

Eden is always worth a visit, but I agree that it's become a tad expensive.

Also Trelissick near Falmouth which has stunning views over the creeks.

Also Trelissick near Falmouth which has stunning views over the creeks.>>

of course, RM, and they have a lovely "hot" border which is great later in the year, as well as gorgeous parkland.

The nearby King Harry Ferry gives wonderful views up the estuary as you cross over to the Roseland.

I always do that walk when I'm down there Ann. Down the hill from the house and onto the path that follows the creek round the headland. There's always a ship that (to me) looks like a pirate ship moored in the same spot. Past that, past the chain ferry and then up the hill where the road meets the ferry and back into the walled gardens for a tea or snack at the café. They also have a good second hand bookshop and a great mini art and craft gallery.

My favourite eateries in the Falmouth area...

http://www.gyllybeach.com/

http://www.castawaysmylor.com/

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restau...l_England.html

Great info. I've already seen mention of one Falmmouth hotel...any other recs on that score? I want someplace one could fairly easily walk into town/to places to etc, etc.

Dukey - the only one I've stayed at is the Greenbank, but it suffers from the same problem as the other big hotels in that they are not in the middle of town and require a walk up [and down] to get into town and the same to return.

The only one I know of that is actually in the Town and on the flat and therefore easily walkable is this one:

http://www.thegrovehotel.net

It's in a very good position opposite the Maritime museum, and very walkable to almost everything you would want to see in Falmouth. I've never stayed there but it seems to get good reviews.

BTW, a favourite restaurant of ours is this one:

http://www.samphire-falmouth.co.uk

and if you want good fish and chips, forget Rick Stein, head for the Harbour Lights:

http://www.harbourlights.co.uk

Ann, thanks. Yes, the Grove gets good reviews on TA and the website says there is street parking as well as carparks nearby so that might be a good choice for us.

I don't know how amenable you are to non-hotel accomodation but the larger towns would have a fair number of cottage/apartment rentals and I know Falmouth has some decent airbnb options too. Assuming you didn't pick a hilly part of town, you'd have a level walk along the harbour and through town to cafes and pubs for when you didn't feel like venturing out in the car.

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/s/Falmouth-...verride%5B%5D=

Same with St Ives

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/s/Saint-Ive...s_tag=uFyOvIQl

RM67,

Thank you very much for taking the time to post those links. Unfortunately, we would not be interested in anything related to Airbnb.

quite likely the best guidebook on Cornwall

http://www.bradtguides.com/shop/brit.../cornwall.html

Hi - If I could just jump onto this topic - What will the weather, crowds be like the 4th week in May?? I have some other questions for our trip to Cornwall, but thinking I should start a new topic?

Hi dkd,

depending on when the summer half term holiday falls the crowds could be minimal or numerous. so far as I can see, half term will be from 29.5.17 to 2.6.17 so so long as you avoid that week, you should be ok.

and as for the weather, who knows? it could be hot, warm and wet, or chilly but it probably won't snow.

by all means start a new thread for your queries but why not link it here, so anyone who is interested can find it easily.

Thank you annhig! I have a lot of questions as I am planning for this trip. 1) what train line should we take to get from London to Cornwall? 2) Is Penzance a good place to stop on the train? What are other options? 3)What would be a good base to stay at? 4)We will be renting a car 5)We want to see gardens, pubs, small shops, walk the coastal trails. We are not into touristy things. 6)Are there bike rentals? Is that a good idea?
We are just starting to research the area and have not yet booked any inns. We need to stay in the moderate range for those accommodations. We have 4 nights to spend in Cornwall, I know it is not a lot!
Here is a preliminary list of places of interest to us:
Porthcurno, St. Ives, Falmouth, Padstow. We want to spend our days enjoying the scenery or a town, not driving place to place in a car. So maybe a town per day?? The more beaches, the better! Thank you in advance for any advice. (BTW, first trip to England!)

You don't have a choice of lines - or certainly not for the whole route. You will travel from Paddington to whichever station you've chosen in Cornwall (Penzance or Truro are the two major stops) using Great Western Railways. The only exception to this is if there is engineering that results in a convoluted journey, but you can avoid that by checking journey details when you book.

The driving doesn't have to be a chore as there are some spectacular scenic drives like the St Just to St Ives coastal road (passes abandoned tin mines and standing stones, views out to an often tempestuous atlantic, villages with tiny bookshops and tearooms to stop at on the way). Same thing with the road north to south from St Ives back to Penzance - more tin mines and views out to St Michaels Mount. B3306 and B3311 respectively I think.

All the places you have picked are very enjoyable.

Once again, I appreciate the answers I received to my own specific questions. I will sign off this thread now.

Although this is not a specific answer to specific questions,

Although this is not about Cornwall but about North Devon (which is nearby),

Although this is a bit dated,

I dare to recommend to read this trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...of-england.cfm

dkd,

As Dukey has signed off, he may not mind his thread being hijacked, so i will agree with RM67 and say that you don't have a choice of lines to Cornwall - you get on the train at Paddington and get off at any of the cornish stations; if you stay on til the end you'll end up in Penzance. If you want to go to Falmouth you need to get off at Truro and get the branch line to Falmouth, if you want St Ives you get off at St Erth and get the branch line to St Ives.

Where to use as a base has been covered a lot up thread, St Ives and Penzance more or less cover the same areas so I would pick the accommodation which suits you best. If you prefer Falmouth you will get more boat trips but it will be further to drive to points west.

As I think i said above, for the places you want to see Penzance would be my pick but you need to look at ST ives too.

I don't know about bike rentals in that area, I know of one round here but it won't help you. google bike rental in Penzance!

Thank you to all! I will research further and if I have more questions (and I will) I will start a new thread.