Cornwall and Costwolds

Which airport is your arrival point in the UK? If Gatwick you might consider flying from there to Newquay.

Hi, Judy, earlier this year (late March through April) I spent 9 nights in Cornwall and Devon (5 in Falmouth, Cornwall and 4 in Plymouth, Devon). You can always find more to do but 7-9 nights gives you a good amount of time, in my opinion.

I took the train from London to Plymouth, then rented a car there for the remainder of the trip. The train was long-ish but I like trains and don't particularly care for flying, especially since you can spend a lot of time just waiting at the airport.

I enjoyed staying in Falmouth and managed to get to most of the places you named (I did not go to Newquay or Tintagel). I stayed at the Royal Duchy Hotel in Falmouth, which I loved! Here is my review of it: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england-reviews/review-of-royal-duchy-hotel-in-falmouth-cornwall It was relatively easy to get to most places, considering the single track roads scattered throughout Cornwall and Devon. You probably will not have all the rain I had, which will make it easier.

Mousehole (pronounced Mow-zull) and Truro were two of my favorite places. I especially loved Mousehole, which was so picturesque and highly walkable. St. Ives was lovely but very crowded. I enjoyed Penzance but did not feel the need to visit Lands End. I really liked Truro, especially the cathedral but it was a really nice town and I enjoyed visiting it.

If you can swing it, Devon is really wonderful. In fact, I enjoyed it more than Cornwall, especially Dartmoor National Park, and visiting Coleton Fishacre was one of the highlights of my trip.

But wherever you go, I'm sure you will love that wonderful peninsula!

We don't know which airport yet but we did look at flights to Newquay and Penzance and will probably do that. Thanks.
Also thanks to Mardee for the info about Truro and Devon. We had not looked at Devon, so will probably add that too.

You can't fly to Penzance from anywhere. Penzance itself only has a Heliport, and Lands End has a tiny airstrip- both only serve the offshore Isles of Scilly.

Given your range of intended day trip destinations Falmouth rather than Penzance would be the better place to stay IMO. But to throw somewhere else into the ring St Mawes (across the bay from Falmouth) would be another great option, I think. To my mind one base (whichever you choose) will do you just fine.

Day trip mileages are very similar, and it's a rather nice village. You can still reach Falmouth on the regular foot ferry.

From whichever, now the A30 roadworks are finished, Tintagel is an easy trip- good roads all the way to Camelford, then country roads the last 6 miles.

Newquay I would suggest doing the main fast road one way, and the coastal road through St Agnes, Perranporth and Holywell Bay the other.

If you come by train you could rent a car at Truro (literally on the station platform) or Penzance (50 yards across the station parking lot).

On the Lands End day I suggest taking the coastal road from Penzance through Mousehole, Lamorna Cove, past the Minack Open Air Theatre and Porthcurno (Beach and PK Porthcurno)- the Museum marking where the world's first undersea telegraph cable came ashore, connecting Britain to it's Empire. That route is a lot slower (and more challenging driving) than the A30, but far more scenic. Then the B3306 to St Ives right round the Peninsula to via St Just and Zennor, not forgetting to call into Sennen Cove (a short diversion between LE and St Just).
Scenically Lands End is great, you just have to see beyond what I see as unfortunate tackiness. But that is me.

Holywell Bay is a great place at sunset, and I really like Mousehole by night. It's a very atmospheric place to me then.

Not yet confirmed, but Newquay Airport is expecting to have a passenger fee of £10 added- to cover a general budget shortfall for the local Council, who own the airport. £10 to arrive and £10 to depart.

Between Newlyn and Mousehole it is worth a few moments to stop at the Penlee Memorial Garden- to mark the loss of the lifeboat the Solomon Browne of Penlee on 19 December 1981- the last time (to date) the RNLI lost an entire lifeboat crew in a rescue. A solemn moment- https://rnli.org/about-us/our-history/timeline/1981-penlee-lifeboat-disaster

Thanks to isn31c
That drive around the peninsula looks great! This is going to be a fun trip!

Hi Judy-

My husband and I did something similar as part of a 3.5 week trip to England in late Sept./early Oct. We stayed 5 nights in Cornwall, and our itinerary/logistics worked very well. Having 7 nights would have made it even better!

We flew from Seattle to London, arriving around 10 am, then took the Heathrow Express to Paddington. From there, we trained to Truro, where we picked up a rental car. We used Europcar because they were the only company to offer evening hours, should we need it. In the end, we got there well ahead of the 6 pm closing, but it was a huge piece of mind knowing that if our flight or train were delayed, we'd still be able to pick up the car.

We based ourselves in St Agnes (25 minute drive from Truro) and absolutely loved it. I can share our daily itinerary if you're interested. I would add that driving in Cornwall is not like driving anywhere else in England and takes some getting used to. Be prepared for some white knuckle driving- all part of the adventure, though, and drivers, for the most part, are very considerate. From St. Agnes, we drove to Bath for 3 nights, and then on to Yorkshire for another 8. We dropped the car in Leeds and trained to London for another 5 nights. We loved Cornwall so much that we plan to return next fall, and we will be staying in St Agnes again.

Happy planning!

Sara - thanks so much for this. I would love your Cornwall itinerary. i am beginning to really think about 7-9 nights in Cornwall before we go on the the Cotswolds. I will look at St Agnes.

My wife’s family are all from St Agnes and Mother in Law is still there. It has everything you need but also sadly a lot of second homes.

Judy- I will PM you our daily itinerary. We opted for one base, given that we had just 5 nights. But with 7-9, I would consider two. We used Airbnb in St Agnes (probably the best we have ever stayed in) and throughout England.

Judy - if you are planning a week or more in Cornwall you might want to consider renting a self catering cottage. There are thousands in Cornwall that are rented out by the week in the Summer season, usually starting at the weekend. They may also these days be advertised as AirBnB but you can deal directly with owners or with specialist companies who manage a range of private properties.