Trip to Cornwall with senior - logistics assistance please?
 

I recently received wonderful feedback on two topics: 1) visiting Scotland and Cornwall in the same trip, and 2) finding more accessible sights/accommodation in Cornwall. The accessibility issue still applies, but now Mom and I are thinking of skipping Scotland and having a slower, more relaxed visit to Cornwall.

We're planning to travel in early May 2016, and will probably have 15 nights, so 14 days on the ground. We'd like to start our trip with a visit to Highclere Castle (I already have a handle on pre-booking tickets, getting to Newbury, where to stay, etc), and have considered ending the trip in Windsor for 2 nights to relax for a day and easily get back to Heathrow, although I'm open to suggestions. That would leave us with 11 nights.

My first question is, should we drive to/from Cornwall, or take the train and hire a car there? My main concern is Mom's comfort. She's been having back issues that make walking uphill or long distances uncomfortable, but sitting and walking for short distances seem to be okay. She also requires assistance with luggage, and I'm not sure how that would work getting on/off trains.

Secondly, we're trying to decide between renting a cottage for a week in west Cornwall (which would require us to book earlier rather than later!), or split our time between a couple of bases and stay in B&B's. We really want some relaxing, unstructured time on this trip, but for us that means flexibility in choosing what we want to do each day - not just sitting around. We're both interested in visiting gardens, villages with character, castles & grand houses (e.g. Pendennis and Lanhydrock,), and easy coastal walks for mom.

to deal with your concerns about train travel, I am pleased to be able to say that it is possible to book free "assistance" which means that you and your mum can have help with luggage, getting on and off, and [if necessary] getting between platforms, exiting a station, etc. when you book the ticket, you need to ask for assistance, or you can arrange it later. My mum does this all the time when she comes to visit us, and it's not let us down yet.

That said, if you mum finds it difficult to sit for long periods, the train might not be for her, as although it is possible to walk up and down the train, if it's full and/or there is a lot of luggage, it can be difficult to do so. Google maps says that it's a 3 hours 40 mins drive from Newbury to Truro taking the A303/A30 and there are lots of potential places to stop either on or near the route, so you could easily pootle along for most of the day and still get here in good time.

Secondly, I would strongly recommend my 2 favourite cornish bases, Falmouth and Penzance. From Falmouth, as well as the town itself [the main centre of which is pretty flat] you will have the chance to explore the lovely Roseland, about 6 gardens in easy reach, the Maritime museum, endless excellent restaurants, and very nice walking along the promenade or through the streets.

From Penzance, you can explore the far west, see the Lizard and Cape Cornwall, reach the north coast, and stroll though the town's pretty streets and gardens.

My own preference on these types of hols is for B&Bs - there are other people to talk to, the owners are usually great sources of information, and there is no problem with coming and going as you please.

please come back if you've got other questions or there's anything else I can help you with. I don't know any of the B&Bs in either place personally, but I can certainly help you with the locations of places you might be interested in.

Hi Ann - You actually gave me some great advice on accessible villages/sights on my last thread, so I'm thrilled to hear from you! I look forward to picking your brain more about ideas for our trip.

Your point about sitting for a long time gave me pause, because I actually have back problems that make sitting for long periods uncomfortable (mom does better sitting, I do better walking :-). I endure long flights only because I'm highly motivated to get places! With that in mind, driving and "pootling" might just be the best option for both of us.

I agree with your points about B&B's. I also feel that they'd give us more flexibility with dates than if we were to book a cottage, although there is great appeal in the idea of cottages as well. I had found several B&B's in Penzance that look very appealing - all of which were on Regent Terrace or nearby. I'll have to investigate options in Falmouth a bit more, but I'm very interested in your mention of being able to visit the Roseland from there. I've read a great deal about the Penwith Peninsula and its sights, but the Roseland seems a little less "hyped" and therefore intriguing.

Here's a question for you, Ann, or anyone else who knows Cornwall... Mom has read a lot of Rosamund Pilcher, and I'd love to find places that are reminiscent of the scenes in her books (without having read many myself). We also both enjoyed the movie "Ladies in Lavender". Do you have suggestions for places to visit that would satisfy that image of Cornwall for Mom?

it's funny, BB, nearly all our german guests are fascinated by the fair Rosamund's portrayal of Cornwall, but hardly anyone else. this article will help to explain why:

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/20...rists-cornwall

As the article says, one of the classic place to visit is Prideaux place in Padstow but there are many more - we have seen them filming in Helston, and they were actually outside our offices in Truro last year, as we are situated in the middle of a perfect georgian terrace. St Michael's mount is also a very striking image that crops up often in films and on TV.

this might give you some ideas:

http://www.visitbritainshop.com/worl...e-pilcher.html

and here's a company that rents out cottages doing its best for Pilcher-based tourism:

http://www.creeksidecottages.co.uk/c...amunde-pilcher

and should you want a [hopefully] definitive list of all the film locations used in Cornwall for Ms Pilcher and others, here you are:

http://www.visiting-cornwall.co.uk/tv_locations.html

I'm sure that you will find Ladies of Lavender there somewhere!

BTW, you're right about the Roseland - there are some parts that are quite popular - St Mawes for example, but other parts are quite like the land that time forgot. over Easter we found a village [we had lunch in the pub, actually] which we'd never visited before and it was quite lively, and very quiet, despite it being a very warm and sunny Easter Monday. We had been to Trewithen, which is a beautiful, and very flat, garden - perfect for you and your mum I should think.

There is also the lovely ST Just in Roseland church, which has a delightful garden.

Wonderful links, Ann - thank you! Mom will love looking at this. And the church - oh my. That is exactly the kind of place we both adore! In the meantime, I've been looking at the Visit Falmouth website. So far, I've identified the San Remo Guest House as being near the beach, with ground floor rooms and plenty of parking. Do you know it?

The little granite church of St Just in Roseland and its surrounding churchyard are charming - and the signpost at the turning to the church will raise a smile if it is still in place (it's is a while since I was last in the area). It says "To Church and Bar". The Bar is question is a headland that juts out into the estuary of the River Fal. The spring flowers in the churchyard are wonderful, particularly the primroses - given the mild Cornish climate they'll be well over by May.

Oh, well, too bad the flowers will be over... but it still sounds lovely. Mom would get a kick out of the "Church and Bar". We have a "Dam Road" here that she enjoys talking about :-).

If we were to take the train out to Cornwall, would going first class be more comfortable? I was thinking it may not be as crowded, therefore letting us walk around a bit?

First Class would certainly be a better choice- i have rarely if ever found it full, though my mum did last Christmas. in May you should be fine, and it would make a very comfortable way of travelling to Cornwall.

for hire a car, Truro is i think the best option - Hertz is right at the station and there may be others there too.

I looked up the San Remo - i didn't recognise the name but I know where it is - just above the Gilly beach and cafe, which is very nice if quite popular! there should be nice views and I too saw that they have a ground floor twin room which might suit you and your mum.

http://www.sanremofalmouth.co.uk

from there you can walk along the promenade to the lovely Gyllingdune gardens which has a Victorian bandstand, very good cafe and theatre. a bit further afield [and in your case needing a car] is Pendennis castle and round the other side of the peninsular [and the dock yards which keep a constant stream of ships coming in and out] is the shopping and major restaurant area - about a 5 minute drive, and flat when you get there.

There are others, but obviously I've never stayed in any of them. There are also some hotels along the same road - as you will be travelling not exactly off season but not in the high season, it might be worth looking at what they can offer too.

It sounds as though Falmouth could really work well as a base. Thanks so much for your feedback, Ann. I'll look at other nearby hotels as well. The San Remo was literally one of the first I saw and looked as though it ticked all the boxes, so at least I know we have one viable option! It did look to me as though we could walk right to the beach and take a nice walk along the water, which would be perfect.

As I mentioned earlier, I've seen several B&B's in Penzance that are also near the promenade and have parking. I'll also look at the first class train/car hire options. I know of at least Enterprise in Penzance; perhaps there are others near the train station there or Falmouth.

BBt - you could certainly go all the way through to PZ and hire a car there, and return it in Truro. i'm not aware of any car hire places in Falmouth, and the stations are pretty small. also, you have to change at Truro onto a very small branch line so you might as well get off or on in Truro and sort out your car hire at the station there.

there are a few other B&Bs'guest houses along the "front' at Falmouth; there's the Anacapri for example, but there didn't seem to be much ground floor accommodation.

several of the B&Bs are a little way from the beach which means walking up a hill to get to them, whereas the hotels have the best positions along the front overlooking the beach.

Great - thanks Ann. I'll have a look at the hotels. This is the kind of information that is hard to get without local knowledge, so I really appreciate it.

no problems, BB. let me know if/when there's anything else i can help you with.

Just an update to what I've found since yesterday, and if anyone has comments, I'd welcome them...

I've plugged in dummy rail journeys and car rentals between Newbury and Penzance/Falmouth. There is an Enterprise in both Penzance and in Penryn, near Falmouth, so I used their website. It appears that an 11 day car rental is less expensive than a train/car combo (especially if booking 1st class), and cost is a consideration, so it seems all things considered driving might be best.

However, driving out to Cornwall would cut into our time in Cornwall, obviously. I'm weighing the benefits of a slow trip out with a stop on the way in either direction; vs. just getting to Cornwall and having more time there. Mom seems to like whatever I suggest, so it's sort of up to me :-). If we do drive out, our itinerary could look like this:

Newbury - 2 nights
Someplace in between - 1-2 nights
Falmouth - 4 nights
Penzance - 4 nights
Someplace in between j- 1-2 nights
Windsor? - 2 nights (or other suggestions for a good place to drop the car and relax for a day before flying home?

We don't have "must see's" in between Newbury and Penzance, although many places look appealing. We probably wouldn't want to get too far off the main roads just to avoid extending the drive too much. Any suggestions? Take a northern route one way and southern the other?? I'm open to ideas!

I'm aiming for 15 nights total, although it could possibly be stretched to 16...

if you want a base for a couple of days in each direction, I would suggest Wells going down, and Dunster coming back [or indeed vice versa]. Both are lovely places to stay and would make great bases for a day's touring.

Wells [which is lovely in itself] would enable you to see Glastonbury, Lytes Carey, or Tyntesfield;

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/tyntesfield/

Dunster gives you access to North Devon - Exmoor, Lynton and Lynmouth.

BTW, I meant to say that Dunster has a terrific castle, and the town itself has featured in at least one episode of Poirot, where it stood in for a Cornish town, strangely enough. [it is very quaint].

Thanks Ann - I'll take a look at those options. And of course I'll run it all by Mom and see what sounds best to her. I do like the idea of seeing new places on the way to/from Cornwall. I wish we had more time!

I always wish I had more time!

another option might be to do the car in one direction and get the train back - you would spend a couple of nights in Wells, then 2 in North Devon, then drop down to Falmouth via Lanhydrock, which I seem to remember was on your "to do" list.

then drive to Penzance and at the end of your trip return the car and get the train to Windsor. There are however a minimum of 2 changes - at Reading and Slough.

I think you've just laid out the perfect plan, Ann! I may do some tweaking - still need to check out Wells and Dunster, although they sound lovely - but your route sounds really good.

With what you said earlier about getting assistance on trains, I'm not as worried about the changes at Reading/Slough, so returning by train is a real possibility. Thanks! I'm going to do some more research...

glad to help. BB.

The train journey is very scenic, particularly the parts between Plymouth and Exeter - it takes you over Brunel's iconic Tamar Bridge, and right along the coast at Dawlish, where you can see right out over the estuary. That's the bit that got washed away last year but they fixed it much more quickly than any of us were expecting. I'm sure that you and your mum would enjoy it, and if you started at Penzance, you would have plenty of time to settle into your seats and get comfortable.

If you can afford it, first class is lovely and if pick you the right train you can have silver service lunch on the way - it's not cheap but it's still quite an experience and would be a terrific end to your trip.

The train journey sounds lovely. Definitely a bit pricier for first class, but sounds as though it would be worth springing for it. I still need to give that some consideration.

I'm using the AA website for travel times and routes, and while the Wells/Dunster looks lovely, it looks like a bit too much of a drive (minimum 3.5 hours) to fit in Lanhydrock. Lanhydrock isn't a must-do - it just looks like someplace we'd enjoy.

If we took a more direct route between Newbury and Falmouth (the A303/A30), I'd considered stopping in Chagford for a couple of nights and pootling around Dartmoor for a day. We obviously wouldn't be looking to hike, but would there be things for us to see without getting off the main roads? I've read the driving in Dartmoor can be a bit challenging.

You could stay on the train to Paddington and then you'd only need to change at Slough. Longer but easier. For info on eating on the train see: http://www.seat61.com/Cornwall-sleep...don_&_Cornwall

I'm seriously considering taking the night train going west, but of course I'd miss most of the scenery.

BB - i've never had a problem driving on Dartmoor [unless it's foggy, when it can be tricky] so long as you take it steadily and don't mind waiting for other traffic to pass at frequent intervals which I'm sure you would have no problem with. you'll have o do that in Cornwall anyway so you might as well get in some practice!

Chagford is very pretty and lovely for a night or two; another place you might consider on the edge of the moor is Tavistock, which is bigger and so offers more for walking around in the evening/shopping/restaurants etc. It also has a terrific covered market which is well worth exploring. there are plenty of places to go and look at on the moor

<< while the Wells/Dunster looks lovely, it looks like a bit too much of a drive (minimum 3.5 hours) to fit in Lanhydrock. Lanhydrock isn't a must-do - it just looks like someplace we'd enjoy.>>

what I meant was that instead of stopping in one place on the way down, and another on the way back, if you decided to take the train back, you could stop for 2 nights in Wells first, and then 2 nights in Dunster second, dropping into Lanhydrock on your way to Falmouth.

Newbury to Wells is about 2 ½ hours, and Wells to Dunster only 90 mins, with Dunster to Falmouth about 3 hours. Lanhydrock is about 2 hours into the journey so it would make an excellent lunch stop. [and if you told them that your mum has limited mobility, I'm sure that they would let you drive down to the entrance rather than having to park at the top of the long drive]. it's only an hour from Chagford if you decided to stay there.

I'm seriously considering taking the night train going west, but of course I'd miss most of the scenery.>>

indeed you would, thursdaysd. have you seen any of Michael Portillo's great train journeys? I'm sure that there's a programme about the stretch I mentioned to BB, and the influence of Isambard Kingdom Brunel who engineered the line to the west.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xgqxy/episodes/guide

[series 1 has got the Devon and Cornwall bits; i can't believe that he hasn't done Exeter to Plymouth but I couldn't find it]

Hmmm - yes, I see all of that now (just having a look at the AA route planner again). If we stopped at Chagford, we'd probably spend only two nights and therefore have two more for Cornwall; if we stop at Wells and Dunster, it's just that much more opportunity to see other beautiful places! Decisions, decisions...

Of course, we have several months before we can even book most places, I would think, so plenty of time to think about it. I did find a lovely looking place in Chagford that has is right off the A30 and has a twin-bedded ground floor room with pretty views: http://www.easton.co.uk/.

I'm sure I can find just as nice in Wells and Dunster! Time to run this all by Mom again.

annhig - I tried to look at the Portillo episodes the other day but I get "Sorry, this episode is not currently available " messages. Can you view them? Because if so I may try setting my VPN to a UK address and seeing if that works.

I am a big train fan, so I would like to take the sleeper (which is also a very good deal if booked early) but of course I would get the scenery on the way back - I was hoping you'd take a look at the thread I just started on the Scilly Isles.

Thursdays - I just took a look at that link, and the Pullman service looks amazing. When is your trip? I'd love to hear about whatever you end up doing!

BBgt - I leave for Europe July 14, but the Cornwall leg won't be until early September. Thanks for asking. There will almost certainly be a TR here, or you can sign up for updates to my blog at http://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com

Great - I'll check it out. It's always fun to hear of others' experiences. I need to be better at doing TR's myself. I certainly owe it to AnnHig and other Fodor's contributors who have helped me out!

Sorry, thursdaysd, i didn't check that they would actually play! Duh! I got the same message as well.

However, I did find this, which give part of the line we're discussing, I think:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...group=p01277qd

It plays ok for me [I checked this time]. I hope that both you and BB can see it.

I'll go and look at your Scillies thread straight away!