Will have three nights, two full days in Cornwall. Would like to see Lands End, St Ives, Penzance, St Micheal's Mont and Mousehole. I will travel using public transport and plan on staying in Penzance. What is the best way to group these sights?
Thanks in advance.
Penzance is the hub for transport for all points west. There are local buses which run to all these locations from Penzance. The bus station, train station and tourist information are all located beside each other in the town centre. You can also take the train to St Ives. Mousehole and St Micheals Mount are both easily walkable in under 2 hours on the coastal path.
A bus loops around the coast. You could get a day pass, get off and back on at Mousehole, then continue to Lands End and off and on again, then on and off again in St Ives and back to Penzance. The next day you could walk along the beach to St Micheals Mount. Tourist info will be able to give you the various bus timetables and well as the timing of the tides at St Micheals Mount.
Thank you for your helpful reply.
I would suggest that you drop Lands End, as you are likely to be very disappointed with the tacky theme park that it has become. There are many, more beautiful places in Cornwall where your time would be better spent.
Don't stay in Penzance, stay in St Ives. Slightly less accessible by train (you have to change), but a lot nicer place.
Penzance is a slightly tacky town at the end of the world.
Apart from places on the rail lines, public transport in Cornwall is limited (one bus per 2-3 hours), so you need to do your research for each day's trip. When in St Ives, take a boat trip out to spot dolphins or seals.
For St Michael's mount, you need to check the tides, so you don't get stranded on the island.
Thanks, will definitely stay in Penzance as it has better rail connections.
What about the Eden Project? Is this a must see? I'm debating if I should add an extra day to go here. What is best, do this as a day trip from Penzance, or stay in St Austell for the last night. I will travel from Cornwall to London on the overnight sleeper train, so instead of getting on at Penzance I can board in St Austell instead.
I just came back from spending four days in Penzance. My suggestion is to do a Western Discoveries tour (Rick mentions it in his England guide) one morning and then the afternoon at St. Micheal's. The tour will take you to many different areas on the Peninsula that are not accessible by bus. We saw the a prehistoric village, Merry Maiden Stone Circle, St. Just (where they sell the best Pasties), abandoned tin mines, as well as learn the history of Cornwall. I have heard others say that Land's End is not worth it. Mousehole is very small and the tour drives you thru it as well as Newlyn. I loved staying in Penzance. It is beautiful, not that crowded and the people are very friendly. We stayed at the Beachfield Hotel.
Anytime I see someone post about Cornwall, I feel compelled to jump in and save you from going to Land's End. The others are right. Pass on it. It is commercially driven and not worth your time at all.
I agree that Mousehole, St Michaels and Penzance can be done in one day. But spend the afternoon in Mousehole. I stayed there for a week, and it being a small town, people tend to open their shops whenever they feel like it, so nothing is likely to be open in the morning.
Here's the guy Rick mentioned:
Thanks for the additional replies and the link.
