Cornwall
 

Starting to plan 5 day trip to Cornwall. Would like to stay on coast so we can go out for day trips. Any suggestions would be helpful.

I'd suggest Penzance or St. Ives if you plan to use public transportation. There's a local bus with a circular route that includes both towns plus Land's End and everywhere in between. I enjoyed both towns and loved that bus which stopped by my hotel on the edge of St. Ives.

I stayed at this small hotel: http://www.thurlestoneguesthouse.co.uk/
If you plan to have a car they have parking in front. It's walking distance from St. Ives along the Coast Path and the train stops just down the hill.

When is your trip to Cornwall? The 300 bus which makes a circle from St. Ives to Lands End to Penzance back to St. Ives only runs in the summer. I really recommend it as a great route to see the coast of Cornwall. Sit up on the upper deck, in front. It is breathtaking how close you get to buildings and buses going the other way :)

The 300 bus, if you are there at the right time, is one of the most exhilarating bus rides in the country. The only problem with St Ives and Penzance though is that they are in the far west of the county. If you want somewhere a bit more central, Mevagissey is very nice, and is close to St Austell which is on the main train line.

For a look at the places on the south coast of Cornwall, see
http://postcards-pfte.blogspot.com/s...label/Cornwall

I'd vote for Fowey- lovely little town and not too far down into Cornwall. You can check the weather forecast each day and head for north or south coasts as the weather is often different. Another very pleasant & lively place is Falmouth.

Hi carole,

what time of year are you planning to visit us?

in fact if you want to do day-trips, it's worth thinking about NOT staying in the coast, as that would give you the chance to see a different bit of the coast every day. Cornwall is quite spread out, and if you stay at, say, Penzance, it's a long way from Fowey, and vice versa.

possibly the most central place to stay is Truro, which being the county town [technically a city but a pretty small one] is a good place to visit in its own right, but is also very well placed for visits all around the county - very few places are more than an hour's drive away.

if you decided to stay on the coast, Falmouth would be my suggestion - loads of accommodation in every category from small B&Bs to 4 star hotels, the beach, boat-trips, and easy access to the south coast and north coast too.

When I think of Cornwall I think of the coast and while the suggestion of staying in Truro is a practical one, to be sure, I'd opt for waking up every morning with a view of the sea and then sometimes travel a bit further for the rest.

I also stayed a few days in Falmouth and liked it. But I liked staying in the far west better. It's always a matter of personal preferences and maybe if I'd had a car mine would have been different. But I loved the bus, loved having the train close by for day trips further afield and I loved the openness of the landscape.

One day, deciding to go to Land's End, I took the bus, got off at Sennen Cove and walked the last couple of miles along the Coast Path. The landscape was stunning, the path uncrowded and what most struck me when I arrived officially at Land's End was the crowd and the utterly mundane small development there for the tourists. If I'd arrived by car it would have been so disappointing. But I'd arrived on foot with the aid of that lovely bus and it made my experience a world removed from the other reality. Not having a car, in this case, made all the difference.

After years of extensive travel around the world if I had to choose one good lesson it might be that it isn't necessary to see everything in a country or even part of a country to have had the very best experience. I try now to remember it and opt instead to see a much smaller part and see it well. Seeing it well often means walking and reducing one's view to an intimate part of landscape and the conversations one might have with fellow walkers along the path, very satisfying the way driving distances may not be. I have gone on, haven't I.

You haven't given us much info -- what sorts of things/places do you hope to see/do?

If you want explore different parts of Cornwall, staying out in the far west will make it very difficult to almost impossible.

And "<i>Would like to stay on coast so we can go out for day trips.</i>" is sort of at cross purposes. The coast is gorgeous -- but being on some parts of the coast can make it more difficult getting to other to other parts of the region.

The driving is slow to very slow, so if you are out near the western tip -- seeing things in eastern Cornwall will be an all day slog.

I'd personally choose something more central (the internal bits are very pretty too)

Truro is a good choice. But if you definitely want to stay on/near the water, then around Falmouth makes a lot of sense.

Or another option is stay 2 days in one area and 3 days in another. It could be 2 days out in the far west (but NOT Land's End) and 3 days in the east -- like near Fowey. That way you could see a lot at a more leisurely pace w/o hours in the car every day.

One day, deciding to go to Land's End, I took the bus, got off at Sennen Cove and walked the last couple of miles along the Coast Path. The landscape was stunning, the path uncrowded and what most struck me when I arrived officially at Land's End was the crowd and the utterly mundane small development there for the tourists. If I'd arrived by car it would have been so disappointing>>

I ALWAYS suggest the guests and visitors that they park at Sennen and walk to Land's end, rather than driving. but you do have more freedom with a car - we recently did a lovely drive from Penzance down to Porthcurno to see the Minack, along to Sennen via Cape Cornwall, and up to the Gurnard's head. then we drove back to Penzance over the centre of the peninsular, but we could just as easily have carried onto St. ives, or even Padstow.

jj- personally i would not recommend Fowey to someone who only had 2-3 days there, because it is so out of the way, that it DOES take hours to get anywhere else. St Mawes suffers from the same problem. in fact, i can't think of anywhere on the east coast of the county that doesn't suffer from the same problem. Hence my recommendation of Truro!

Another vote for north Falmouth. Love the place, would live there in a flash but for family.

Be very careful in planning. It cannot be emphasised enough how difficult some of the road system can be. Staying in areas around say Helford can add 45 minutes onto day trips, caused by the tiny single track, traffic packed roads.

B&B, hotel or cottage?

NORTH Falmouth, humpty? not sure quite where that is!

but you're right about not staying in some of the little out of the way places. they are awfully quaint, but mostly have managed to stay that way because no-one can be bothered to do the dreadful drive to get there. We rejected one lovely village as a place to live as i simply couldn't bear the thought of the drive to work and back every day.

Falmouth and Penzance win out because as well as being lovely in their own right, they are also vey well placed for seeing lots of other places.

Sorry Ann

Should have typed area to the north of Falmouth.

Mylor?
Flushing?

Easy to get to Falmouth, Truro and onto the A road system.

These are lovely :

http://www.creeksidecottages.co.uk/home

Even WE got lost in the back roads around Port Navas....and then met the milk tanker on a single track road with steep side and on a hill. Ever tried reversing a Volvo half a mile?

While Falmouth and Penzance are both fine places I preferred Penzance for the following reason. The center of Falmouth is a sort of strip running parallel to the harbor and felt congested with tourists while the center Penzance is spread over a much larger area so was more pleasant to walk around without the concentration of visitors in one area. It felt more "real" in that it seemed there were more residents than visitors as I walked around the town.

The center of Falmouth is a sort of strip running parallel to the harbor and felt congested with tourists while the center Penzance is spread over a much larger area so was more pleasant to walk around without the concentration of visitors in one area.>>

in fact that's only one part of Falmouth, but I can see what you mean. but it is a better place than Penzance for getting to the rest of the county.

Yes, Falmouth is more toward the center of Cornwall but it very much depends on what Carole plans to do with her 5 days. And there's quite a lot to see from wherever she decides to base herself. For instance, while I stayed in St. Ives it was very easy for me to take a day trip by train and foot to the National Trust property Trerice, outside Newquay. I went by train to Quintrell Downs, then by foot to the house, had a leisurely visit & lunch and returned to St. Ives on the train. Looking at the map one would guess such a trip might be better done from Falmouth but it was just as convenient from St. Ives.

So, not sure I buy one place being better in that way than another. I do, however, feel that one place will be more appealing than others as I felt an affinity for the west of Cornwall.

Looking at the map one would guess such a trip might be better done from Falmouth but it was just as convenient from St. Ives. >>

mmm - as both St. Ives and Trerice are on the north coast, I would immediately have thought that Trerice was in fact easier to reach from St. Ives than from Falmouth - there tends to be that sort of north-south divide in transport as well as in weather and sea conditions.

I actually agree with you about the attractions of Penzance and the far west, but for most tourists, I still think that Falmouth is a better base.

And I agree that Falmouth is a lovely place too. I plan to go back to see where I can get to by ferry.

I plan to go back to see where I can get to by ferry.>>

Flushing,

St. Mawes [and from there you can get a tiny ferry to "Place" and walk round to St. Anthony's Head,]

up Carrick Roads [the name of the estuary] to Truro and Trelissick

Down the Helford.

i think that's it!

Do I remember a garden that can be gotten to by ferry?

Trebah & Glendurgan?

Trebah and Glendurgan can be visited by ferry but only from Helford passage, i think, and you won't get there very easily without a car. but the Western greyhound no 500 bus goes to Trebah from Falmouth, and Glendurgan too I think.

there is a very nice walk that you can do from Glendurgan along the footpath that follows the estuary round to Helford. you can have lunch at either of the pubs [one each side of the water] then either walk back or get the ferry, if it's running [depends on the tides].

Trelissick OTOH CAN be visited by ferry easily from Falmouth - the Falmouth to Truro ferries stop there.

Then Trelissick is the one for which I brought information and didn't manage to see. Glendurgan is the one with the fantastic maze that interests me from the pictures I've seen. Must go back.

joannay - you're right about the maze at Glendurgan. it's particularly interesting because it's "built" on a slope so when you're above it, you can see the patterns the hedges make and people going through it and getting lost.

although i was surprised when we visited recently with a friend how interesting Glendurgan is in the summer, it's really a spring garden, like most Cornish gardens. the best summer garden IMHO is in fact Trelissick which has some great late summer borders full of dahlias and cannas as well as more exotic stuff, and a lovely apple orchard full of cornish varieties, though the Lost Gardens of Heligan are also well worth a summer visit.

i try to get to each of them once a year at different times so i don't get bored! most of them are National Trust so it's not too expensive if you're a member.

I would not advise St Ives if you want to go out by train - it's only a branch line and I've fallen foul of restricted times a couple of times.

Generally Cornwall has pretty good public transport. I've had a couple of holidays where I stayed inland and moved around by bus/train. Just pick anywhere with good links!

annhig, thanks for the personal take on the gardens. I'm a member of Royal Oak - same benefits as NT membership and I try to make the most of it.

nona1, please don't discourage those who use the train from staying in St. Ives. It's a unique place and perfectly doable by train as it was for me.

joannay

St Ives has always been a poisoned rose for us. It has some of the most stunning light of anywhere in the UK but....

it also suffers from mass tourism that at times, whilst isn't as down-market as say Newquay, can be a little annoying. (sorry not wanting to sound like a snob but had a few too many unwanted sights in St Ives.

Yes, certainly St. Ives has suffered for it's beauty. I was there in May, it wasn't yet overrun by high season visitors and I was able to enjoy it.

I may have mentioned that next trip I'll stay in Penzance, larger and able to absorb the visitors. But I'm not sorry for a moment that I stayed those days in St. Ives and as I was out on the edge it was quiet. Also, as I'd gotten there by train my local transport was by foot and footpaths are always less crowded than roads with the added advantage of not having to park. And if you're staying in a place the crowds tend to thin in the late afternoon and return it to the ambiance one has been looking for.

bookmarking

Bookmarking. Everyone else from the Midlands seems to go to Cornwall on holiday -- I guess I should as well!

St. Ives in May [apart from bank holidays] heaven.

St Ives in summer school hols - hell.

it is easy to get there by bus if you are staying in Penzance, I think, or by train - you have to change from the mainline trains at St. Erth.

Newquay [apart from the fabulous Headland hotel where the film "the Witches" was filmed] - hell all year.

Everyone else from the Midlands seems to go to Cornwall on holiday -- I guess I should as well!>>

indy-dad - and lots of them stay. THere are loads of midlanders living in in Cornwall [and Devon] because they used to come here on holiday and when they retire, or get made redundant, they move here.

like us!

Wow, you've really given us some great advice and plenty to think about. Thanks to everyone who responded.

TTT
for my faves

On 20th August on the M5 motorway it felt as though all those Midlanders were trying to return home at the same time :))

annhig - as a kiddie we only visited Cornwall the week before Whitsuntide, the prices were cheaper and no crowds,

There was one the time we visited Whitsuntide before they expanded the A30 and we were walking faster than the cars :( So many hippies arond - am I aging my self ? :) It took over 12 hours from Yorkshire to St Ives. Most of the problem in Cornwall

We camped so many times with our 3 little ones on Hayle Towans - my Dad's ashes are there .

i want to get on the King Harry Ferry and see BIG ships and go to Mevagissey (sp)

Homesick? yup :(

i want to get on the King Harry Ferry and see BIG ships and go to Mevagissey (sp)≥≥

nothing wrong with your spelling, alya - did you know there is a new KHF? only the third one since it started. i love the journey across Carrick roads on the ferry - it must be one of the shortest ferry journeys in the world.

now the A30 has been expanded the queues are not as bad as when we first moved down here, but Saturdays in the school summer hols can still be grim on the M5 around and south of Bristol as I found to me cost last summer when i somehow managed to find myself stuck on it several times. would you believe that I'd forgotten it was Saturday?

but the WORST day ever was the day after the eclipse in 1999 - remember that? friends we had to stay ignored our advice and spent 7 hours in the traffic before they gave up and went and found somewhere to spend the night on Dartmoor. I think it took them well over 24 hours to get home.

best advice - travel on a Sunday if you are coming to Cornwall or Devon in the summer.

The eclipse? Yes I remember, we stayed on Hayle Towans the week before and saw the traffic coming into Cornwall as we left for home. YIkes!

With my parents (travelling from Yorkshire) we always set off at 2am Saturday morning and hit Gordano just in time for breakfast. When we lived in Hampshire we generally used the back roads because we lived just off of the A30 and we found that it wasn't any quicker using the M4, M5 and if we hit traffic it was easy to find a pub and wait for the traffic to die down.

Gotta love pubs with beer gardens and playgrounds :)

I was there for the eclipse too! Something I'll always remember.

bookmarking :)