MaggieOB

My husband and I are planning to visit Cornwall and Devon in mid to late October 2010 (probably a little later than ideal but that is when we can go.) We are trying to figure how many days/nights we should plan on. Our starting plan is fly Boston to Heathrow on a flight arriving about 8 PM and spend that night at a hotel at Heathrow. Pick up rental car in the AM and head out. Perhaps spend that night in Wells (we have been to Bath). Then we're thinking sort of circular route gong along the north coast, a few nights in St Ives, perhaps a night in Mousehole and continue along the southern coast spending our last night about an hour or two away from Heathrow where we will have a 3PM flight home.

Including our first and last nights we are thinking a total of ten nights---so we would have eight nights traveling about Devon and Cornwall. Enough time? Our time is flexible so we can add a few more nights if it would be better. We are big fans of coasts, love smaller towns and villages, want to enjoy some of the great walks, good food and a bottle of wine are definite requirements. Do you think we need hotel reservations at that itme of year or could we just meander and see what appeals to us? Any and all thoughts and recommendations--including favorite towns and hotels/B and Bs--gratefully accepted.

sam86

Mousehole - 1 night is fine, it's a tiny but beautiful place.

The walks around Land's End are amazing. You can walk over the cliffs to Sennen Cove. It might be a bit too chilly for the beach, but it is simply gorgeous anyway.

Penzance is lovely - lots to see around it. I spent 4 days based in Penzance and just took the local bus (1 pound day ticket) everywhere -Land's End, Mousehole, St Ives.

Don't miss Minack Theatre and St Michael's Mount.

If you have time, take the ferry from Penzance to the Isles of Scilly. That can be a day trip or you can stay on one of the islands.

I love Cornwall, and I am sure you will have a fabulous trip!

annhig

hi Maggie,

great idea - especially the timing when most of the emmets will have gone home, and we locals, and a few discerning travellers like you will have the place to ourselves. however, there is a slight snag with your timing in that the last week of October is half term holiday for most kids in the UK, so for that week [and the weekends at each end of it] you should probably reserve your accommodation in advance.

as to the amount of time to allow, you might want to think about add a few more nights so as to make the most of your trip - so far, you have a night at Heathrow [a good idea to get in night's sleep before picking up the car, another in Wells [a beautiful and undervisited place, so a very good choice], say 3 nights in St. Ives [not really enough], 1 in Mousehole, and end with 1 near Heathrow, so that's already 7, and you haven't stayed in Devon yet!

if you can spare say 4 more days, so you get a fortnight, then you could do this:
Day 1 - Heathrow
Day 2 - Wells
Day 3,4,5,6, Sst. Ives [do Mousehole and Penzance from here, they aren't far]
Day 7,8,9 - Falmouth [not far away but completely different and great for boat trips] or Fowey [not as central but very beautiful]
Day 10,11,12 - Devon - Salcombe perhaps?
Day 13 - SAlisbury
Day 14 - Windsor [close to Heathrow]
Day 15 - home.

MaggieOB

Thank you so much---this is just the sort of advice I'm seeking. Particularly the information about the school break weekend. And the itinerary and walk suggestions are great. Love the idea of maybe fitting in the Isles of Scilly. And, of course, we want to make sure we have adequate time for Devon--looks like we'll add a few days. I'm going to do a little more homework today and will come back, I'm sure, with a few follow-up questions. BTW, what is an "emmet"???? Thanks so much.

annhig

emmet is the cornish for ant, but also for what devonians called grockles - tourists! we love you all really, [except possibly on a saturday in August when we're trying to get somewhere] though someone a few years ago did post spoof directions to a fictional beach called porth emmet!

if you are keen to go to the isles of scilly [and they are lovely any time of year] but don't want to do more than a day trip, rather than taking the boat, you could get the helicopter, which like the boat goes from Penzance but only takes 30 mins or so, rather than 4 hours.

http://www.islesofscillyhelicopter.com/

for a day trip, i would suggest not going to the main island, st. mary's, but to Tresco, where the main attraction is/are the sub-tropical gardens. there is a nice pub nearby, and lovely beaches, or if you're feeling energetic and rich you can walk up to the north of the island and have lunch at the Island hotel [take your credit card!]. we've done that with vistors a few times now and they have all been blown away by the sight of the green islands against the blue of the sea and sky as you fly in, the peace of the traffic free islands, and the views of cornwall as you fly back to the mainland.

BTW, there's no way that a few days could do justice to Devon [it's a huge county] but they would be better than nothing. and you can always come back!

sam86

I agree with annhig about Tresco. It is absolutely beautiful. I had just a few hours there, so just walked around and ended up at the quay at the south of the island which was empty at the time. It was just amazing - one of the best experiences form my trip.

Scotia

I am thinking of visiting Cornwall and Devon next May so I was interested in the above itinerary suggestions. What I would also like to include is a visit to Rye, Brighton, along the south coast before reaching Devon and Cornwall.
How many days should I add to the above itinerary for this journey?
I will not be renting a car, so what would be the best mode of transportation?
Any interesting towns or villages I should include or not include?
We will be coming from London. Your suggestions are most appreciated.

sam86

Scotia, how long will you have? Off hand, I'd say travel by train from London to Rye, Rye to Brighton, then Brighton, then Devon and so forth.

kleeblatt

For some ideas about Devon, check out my trip report.

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

MaggieOB

Schuler,
Thanks so much for the link---what a great trip report. It's pretty clear that our original plan of ten nights in total will simply not be enough!
Thanks
Maggie

annhig

hi Scotia,

i can see why you might have come up with that idea, if you were looking at a map. Hwever, there is a LOT of england beween Rye/ Brighton and Devon/cornwall - enough for a trip by itself, and there is no really direct route between these two areas.

unless you have unlimited time, I would suggest picking one or the other, as Rye/Brighton are really out of your way if you are heading west. if you REALLY want to combine the two areas, then rather than try to make your way across country, the best route would be from Brighton to get the train back to Redhill, then take the train to Reading and pick up the main line service west [Exeter/Penzance] from there.

feel free to come back to me with any more queries.

regards, ann

Scotia

I plan to spend at least two weeks in England but no more than three. Thank you, Ann, for your suggestions. I do have a map of England in front of me and maybe it will be too much travelling for one visit. If I omit Rye and Brighton, and take the train from London, what would be the best destination to see Devon and Cornwall?

Scotia

I forgot to mention that I have saved Schuler's trip report on Devon in my 'Favourites' for future reference. Very well done.

sam86

Scotia, I'll tell you of my experience in Cornwall. I stayed in Penzance. They have a local bus service which goes all over the western peninsula in a circle - Mousehole, Land's End, St Ives, and then loops back to Penzance. It's the 300 bus I think. It costs just 1 pound a day and on that 1 pound ticket you can travel as much as you like for the day. I thought it was just fantastic, though it does obviously limit you to the bus schedule. I still found it fabulous.

You could also stay in St Ives, or in smaller places like Mousehole, and take the same bus.

Scotia

Thank you, sam86. The bus sounds like a wonderful idea. How long did you stay in Penzance?

sam86

I just stayed 4 days, this past June, so I would leave at 9am and get back 8 or 9pm, covering 2 or three sites a day. But I could easily have spent a whole day at Land's End, St Ives, etc. Try and see a performance at Minack Theatre. And the beaches are amazing! Stunningly beautiful and you can swim or surf or just sun bathe if the weather is nice, which fingers crossed for you, it will be in May.

annhig

If I omit Rye and Brighton, and take the train from London, what would be the best destination to see Devon and Cornwall?

Hi Scotia - you can't see the whole of Devon and Cornwall from just one place! Depending on whether you want a car [not by the sound of it] and how long you stay in London before you set off west, you could consider 2-3 bases.

in Cornwall the best ones with public transport links and plenty to do are, IMHO, Penzance [see what Sam says above] and Falmouth, though Truro would also work ,though it's less picturesque. Others may be able to suggest places with good bus links in Devon, but Dartmouth springs first to my mind.

I like Penzance because you can get to the rest of Penwith [and the scillies] and Falmouth because of all the boat trips you can do from there, as well as buses. and they are both very vibrant towns with museums/galleries, nice restaurants, shops, etc, etc. and a lot of well-priced accommodation.

if you had 2 weeks, you could spend a week in both, and never be bored!

annhig

PS - i wouldn't try swimming in May without a wet-suit, unless you're very hardy or covered in lard like a channel swimmer. the sun may be warm but the water ain't!

julia_t

I bow to ann's superior local knowledge, but if you stay on the Devon/Cornwall border close to Tavistock, you are fairly centrally located, and it is possible to see a fair bit - though obviously not all - of both Devon and Cornwall.

I did this one summer, staying on a 'holiday park' at Honicombe, not far from Tavistock and close to Cotehele and its gardens.

We visited Dartmoor, Plymouth, Talland Bay, Salcombe and Thurlestone on the south Devon coast. We also drove north and spent a couple of days visiting Boscastle, Tintagel and Bude. We've also been to the Eden Project, but that was when we were staying in Boscastle. From Boscastle we've been within easy reach of (and visited) Polzeath, Rock, Port Isaac, Bodmin, Launceston, Newquay (urrgh!)and other bits of the north coast. I'm trying to think where else we've been other than many tiny beaches like Crackington Haven etc. Oh, I've been to Lanhydrock House which I loved, I dumped my boys at a nearby golf course for the day and had a wonderful day on my own!

In previous years we've also stayed in Thurlestone and from there have travelled right down the Cornish peninsula, but I have to say it is quite a long and tedious drive, though in October there should be way less traffic even if it is halfterm week.

However I can't say I know Cornwall apart from the top bit of the north coast.

We've also stayed on the north Devon coast around Croyde and Woolacombe. It is great walking country, but generally I think there's less to see and do there.

annhig

Hi julia,

I agree with everything you've said, but they don't want to drive. the ideas you have listed are, I think, a lot easier with a car.

PZ and Falmouth have the great advantages that there is plenty that is accessible by bus/boat.