Cornwall UK
 

Looking for feed back on driving conditions (time allotments) while driving in the far south western part of Cornwall.

hi hulal,

happy to oblige but perhaps you could help with a few more details - time of year for instance? There's a lot of difference between what you can expect in, say, May and June when UK children are at school, and July and August which are school holidays and when the numbers of British families holidaying in Cornwall are swelled [usually] by a lot of foreign visitors.

also, how experienced are you at driving on small country lanes where you may have to negotiate passing places and herds of cows or tractors using the roads?

Finally, where specifically are you going to be going from and to? in the 20 years or so I've lived in Cornwall I've driven between most places so I can probably make a reasonable stab at how long any specific journey is likely to take you.

Thanks Ann,
Mid June is our travel time in the English countryside, starting at the Cotswolds and moving south to explore the coastal areas. We always try our best to travel when the kids (of that country) are still in school. We will end our countryside journey in Eastbourne before we head up to London.

How any days are you planning for the drive from the Cotswlds down into Cornwall and to eastbourne?

7 days, staying 2 in the Cotswolds driving and sleeping one night each in the Port Ives area, Penzance, Totnes. Still have another night to arrange.

gosh, hulal, that's quite a lot of driving, but I'm pleased to see that you are travelling in June which as you say should not be over-busy.

So depending on where in the Cotswolds you're staying, it'll take you between 3 ½ to 4 hours to drive to St Ives, [which is where I assume you mean by Port Ives, sorry if I'm wrong] but only 30 mins or so from St Ives to Penzance so rather than spending one night in each, you might consider consolidating them.

Then to get back to Eastbourne, I assume your plan is to spend the night in Totnes which still leaves you with quite a long drive the next day - you might like to look at Topsham or even Sidmouth which will get you a bit closer for the next day.

For your extra night I would suggest staying on in St Ives/PZ - that will still only give you two whole days in the "far west" which you will find you fill very easily - there is loads to do and see. Happy to supply ideas if you would like them.

You are planning to cover a huge area in a very short time.

Do you mean St Ives . . . Or Port Isaac?

A series of 4 one night stands like that makes it difficult to see a lot because you are always packing and moving, checking in and checking out.

Thanks for your responses. I know there's a bit of driving. We do want to experience the western- southern part of England. We have to be in Eastbourne on the 3oth. Since we want to walk the Seven Sisters the morning of the 30th, we do want to stay in that area so that we can wake early, eat breakfast, and take a walk before noon. The only places we have secured so for are 24th and 25th in Cheltenham and 26th in Port Isaac. Any suggestions are appreciated.

ok, hulal, as I now understand it this part of your trip looks like this:

24 June Cheltenham

25 June Cheltenham

26 June Port Isaac [not St Ives as I had misunderstood]

27 June

28 June

29 June Eastbourne

to give you a chance of seeing the "far southwest", my suggestion would be to spend those 2 nights in Penzance. Though that would give you a single night in Port Isaac, [an afternoon, evening and early morning there will probably be enough,] and on the 27th you can then pootle your way to PZ via St Ives where you would be able to spend most of a day. The 28th can be spent doing a driving tour of the coast, heading west out of PZ via Newlyn to Mousehole, then to Porthcurno to see the Minack theatre, across the peninsular to Sennen, then up the north coast via Botallack to Cape Cornwall, then up to the Gurnard's Head and finally back across the peninsular to Penzance.

The next day you would of course have a very long [approx 6 hour] drive to Eastbourne [which is where I suppose the night in Totnes comes in] but unless you want a succession of one night stands, I can't see an alternative.

this way you would at least have a day and a half in the west, which though not nearly enough, is better than nothing.

hulal, we are planning a trip to Cornwall in May and I sure appreciated reading suggestions to you from annhig and Janisj. We too will be driving and planing about 10 days in the Cornwall area. We have a month in England and will start and end in London. If I can jump in to this discussion, I wonder if annhig, janisj and others would give me a scenic route down to Cornwall from York. Or are we better to take the train down? I have marked Clovelly, Tintagel, Port Isaac, St Ives, Penzance, Foloy and Chagford as areas to explore. Towns, scenery as well as the Tate St Ives and Barbara Hepworth museum are on our list. Thanks

Hi re,

Whether you drive or train down to the SW really depends on how many days you plan for the journey. Yorkshire to Cornwall could encompass a LOT of scenic 'stuff' - the Peaks, the Cotswolds, Somerset/Dorset, north or south Devon. But you would want several days. If you mainly want to get to Cornwall then take the train.

Hi re,

I would love to help you plan your trip - but may I suggest that you start your own thread?

then we can address your particular plans in more detail without confusing hulal.

annhig, I will start one today. Look forward to help from this great site.