Cornwall Itinerary Suggestions

We are planning six nights in Cornwall next July and here is what was provided to my on this blog:
Dartmoor - Roam this distinctive craggy landscape and take a glimpse at the Dartmoor ponies grazing in the shadow of the granite outcrops.
Exeter - Stroll through this ancient Roman city, from the magnificence of its gothic cathedral to the city’s medieval underground passages.
Boscastle - One of the last remaining unspoilt harbour villages in the British Isles, the medieval harbour and its charming fishing boats are a joy to see.
Tintagel Castle - This ruined castle full of Arthurian legend is perched on cliffs above an immense cave full of magic.
Land's End - This iconic location is lined with coastal paths and cliff trails.
St. Ives - An artists’ haven for over 100 years, with galleries on narrow streets and a beach that’s a surfers’ paradise.
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Look at the following map - the areas coloured green are the most scenic - but you would need to drive yourself to see most of them.https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.6914159,-3.9433723,9.21z/data=!5m1!1e1
These places are very attractive - find them on the map and then Google them. DARTMOUTH, SALCOMBE, POLPERRO, FOWEY, EDEN PROJECT, LOST GARDENS OF HELIGAN, TREBAH & GLENDURGAN GARDENS (near Falmouth), ST. MICHAELS MOUNT, MOUSEHOLE, PORTHCURNO (Minack Theatre - curtinto the cliffs), LAND’S END (although commercialised), ST.IVES, PADSTOW, TINTAGEL, CLOVELLY, LYNMOUTH, SELWORTHY, DUNSTER. Avoid Newquay! Truro is fairy attractive and being central, makes a good base for touring Cornwall.
Roads across Dartmoor can be ‘challenging' for foreigners. Exeter is worth a look but can be difficult to drive in and out of due to congestion. Plymouth has the quay from which The Pilgrim Fathers set sail for America but the city is not that interesting/attractive.
Regarding driving or not - zoom down on the map and then select street view for some of the places mentioned. Most have tiny narrow streets and as a result, car parks are found on the edge of towns.

Cornwall with a car is a necessity for me . I like the idea of taking the train as far as Exeter and then hiring the car , On the trips that I have made to Cornwall , I picked up the car at Heathrow and drove , but I made a number of stops along the way , thus breaking up the drive . There is a lot to see , you need to read up and make your choices accordingly . The Tin mining history and the impact on the Cornish economy was fascinating . As well , the small village of Coverack on The Lizard was a charming place . This book , by Mark Kurlansky has a fair amount of information about the fishing industry in Cornwall ., and its parallel to that in Gloucester , Massachusetts - https://www.amazon.com/Last-Fish-Tale-Atlantic-Gloucester-ebook/dp/B0017T0A30/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2041EN8VJ7NPE&keywords=the+last+fish+tale&qid=1562446637&s=gateway&sprefix=the+last+fish%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-1

I really enjoyed Tintagel, Minack Theatre, Mousehole, and St Michaels mount. St Ives is a popular destination, however I preferred the smaller, less touristy areas.
I liked both the Eden Project and the Lost Gardens of Heligan. They're close to each other, but both are quite large. I think trying to do both on the same day would just result in paying two (rather expensive) entry fees and rushing. But I when I pay to go inside a tourist attraction, I do tend to want to walk on every path, etc.
My general tip for the entire area: If you want to eat your dinner sitting down in a food establishment (as opposed to consuming fish and chips on the jetty), you had better make a reservation somewhere. I'm not sure about lunch, because for me that was just something I grabbed.
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As far as things I enjoyed, I, too, loved Lost Gardens of Heligan. Didn't do the Eden Project but we did a china clay mine tour at Wheal Martyn just outside St Austell. I'm not big on mine tours but it was more interesting than the Levant or Geevor Tin Mine we also did.

Another vote for St. Michael's Mount. I had read about it (with photos) in National Geographic as a kid. It was truly magical when I went. It is reachable by public transportation, but as the previous post mentions you are better off with a car to get around Cornwall.

Hmmm, lets see....I think that last paragraph of geovagriffin’s post is a quote from a previous post of mine to his forum question. I was on a Road Scholar tour of Cornwall when I visited The Lost Gardens of Heligan and Wheal Martin. I also enjoyed Chysauster Ancient Village which is Iron Age and has a fogou.

I wasn’t all that thrilled with Saint Michael’s Mount (nor Mont Saint Michel for that matter, lol) but I know many are. To me it’s one of those sights that looks better from a distance. It’s a long way out there and you might do better doing some of the villages and ports that are closer.

I loved seeing the harbor towns of Fowey, Charlestown, Mevagissey, St Mawes and Boscastle. I’ve been to Port Isaac a couple of times and even as a Doc Martin fan it’s so overcrowded that it’s uncomfortable. I’m a height chicken so could not make myself go out onto the headland at Tintagel although since you’re going back to Glastonbury perhaps you’d be interested in the King Arthur legend connection.

On the Road Scholar tour we stayed in Falmouth which I liked a lot. I’ve also done the Rick Steves Southern England tour which stayed in Penzance which I didn’t care for at all.

Avoid doing this area during school or bank holidays. It’s heaving with people.

As you may have gathered from the multitude of suggestions offered so far, 3 days would be a very short visit to Cornwall. Travel in that area is generally not very fast. Getting from one coastal village to another typically requires you to retreat inland to a main road, travel along it for a bit, then head back to the coast. I was able to see part of Cornwall via public transportation, staying in Megavissey and St. Ives (plus one night in Truro), but it was slow going and I had a lot more than 3 days. I highly recommend that you allocate more of you 2-week trip to Cornwall.

We really enjoyed going to see Lanhydrock, a National Trust estate, near Bodmin which was lovely and really interesting. We also liked the Bedruthan Steps area and the rugged coastline there. Truro has a beautiful cathedral and could be a central place to stay. We were in Cornwall to see our family roots and loved it. We stopped in Plymouth for one night on the way and the Plymouth Hoe, and Barbican area and Mayflower steps have a lot of history. Be sure to try a Cornish pasty meat pie!

Hello from Wisconsin,

I would skip Land's End. Unless you have never seen a Ferris Wheel. But nearby is St. Just, a real Cornish town. A couple pubs, grocers, butchers, etc. This is real Cornwall. And nearby is where much of the Poldark TV series is shot. Also, I would skip St. Ives. Yes, "an artists community" of some previous century. The car parks at St. Ives are designed to hold 900 and 600 cars. And in June and July and August they are likely to be filled with shoulder to shoulder tourists.

The North Inn a few miles north of St Just and near a bus stop, has rooms and serves really nice food.

Cornwall is rugged and beautiful. Penzance is worth some time. The train runs from London to Penzance.

In the area of St. Just are megalithic stone circles from 4000 years ago or so.

wayne iNWI

I agree with wayner about the touristy-ness of St. Ives. I imagine there are better options for those not interested in art and ceramics. (The town has a branch of the Tate Gallery.) I happen to enjoy both of those things and didn't regret for one minute spending 4 nights there.

We spent a few days in Cornwall a couple of years ago and enjoyed it, especially St. Michael's Mount and various towns along the coast. It does take longer to get around than most other parts of the UK, partly because it's so popular and partly because of the topography -- a series of hills and valleys running perpendicular to the length of the peninsula, so there aren't many straight lines. ;-) (Interestingly, this helps explain why the Romans never settled in Cornwall and the Anglo-Saxons didn't have the kind of grip on it that they acquired elsewhere in England. And the topography also produced many little harbors, helping both the fishing and smuggling industries back in the day.) You may want to give Cornwall, and neighboring Devon, more than just a few days.

We skipped Land's End and I've never had reason to regret that. We did visit the Eden Project, which we found disappointing, and the Lost Gardens of Heligan, which we thought overrated. We were in St. Ives early one autumn morning when not many people were around and we liked it (sadly the museum was closed). We based in Penzance, where the train line ends, but didn't find it especially appealing.

Have fun planning a great trip!

Just starting to look into Cornwall myself and found today that RS covers it well in the England guide book.