Hiking Base: Penzance or Falmouth or?

Hi Jay, my vote is for Falmouth. It's a lovely place right on the coast, with a lot to see and do there, with lots of restaurants and good hotels, and the area is just beautiful. Falmouth has many hotels, restaurants, pubs and beautiful beaches. There is a level promenade to walk along. There are galleries, the Maritime Museum, boat trips and you can take the ferry to St Mawes. Falmouth is on a branch railway line but is easy to change in Truro, I believe (I rented a car when I was there, so I'm not sure about that, but I remember someone saying that). Falmouth also has the wonderful Pendennis Castle, Henry VIII's coastal fortress, which was really interesting.

I think it's a bit more central than Penzance, depending on where you're going to. At any rate, I found it a very good base to stay in so that I was able to access places I wanted to visit in Cornwall.

I don't know if you're able to add more on, but I would also suggest traveling to Devon, which was one of my favorite places on that trip. It was just magnificent, especially heading through the wilds of Dartmoor National Park, and it was much less crowded than Cornwall. And Dartmoor was just a wonder, with such beautiful scenery. There were rolling hills, huge granite tors, and gorgeous green valleys as far as the eye could see. Plus interesting places like St. Pancras Church in Widecombe-in-the-Moor. I first heard about this church after reading an article about Bill Bryson, who named it as one of his favorite churches. It is an old medieval church in the middle of a small village, and was a real gem.

Assuming that you want to prioritise coastal walking (and that’s the best choice in Cornwall), then I would say Penzance is the better choice. It would be very easy to organise a walk along the SW coast path from say Hayle to Porthleven over several days from a base in Penzance, taking advantage of the curve in the coast around Land’s End. You could at a push also do it based in St Ives, which is beautiful and has many more eating out opportunities but also big crowds across the Summer and especially in August.

I would also not rule out staying in Newquay or Padstow as a base either. Both will give you access to fine north coast walking. Newquay has had a bit of a reputation as a more down market resort, which I think is undeserved and these days has some excellent restaurants right up to Michelin star. Padstow is another very busy place full of high quality restaurants but perhaps a little less well connected for coastal walking.

Late August/early September coincides with the August Bank Holiday, the schools stagger back (depending on the inset days) during that first week of September.
So I would push it out just by a week or two, at least for Cornwall- if you can.
If it's like the Lake District then as soon as the schools go back then the snowbirds start arriving, so while it will quieten down it will still be fairly busy.

Newquay on the north Cornwall coast would be another very good option- excellent bus services (and by September the Mid Cornwall Metro Phase 1 should be open- so many more trains than now), and wonderful coastal walking both north and south of there.
If you want somewhere a bit quieter then Wadebridge would be another good alternative for it's bus network, plenty of pubs/restaurants, whether it has 20 I'm not sure).

I like both Penzance and Falmouth, but I think I would go with Penzance. You can walk to nice places like Marazion (where St Michael's Mount is) or Mousehole. However, I'm sure you know that the Southwest Coast Path encircles all of Devon and Cornwall so anywhere you go on the Cornish coast will have coastal hiking. Another potential option is St Austell- I haven't been yet but we are planning a trip there later this year and have been looking at some of the coasting hiking opportunities. Plus you can visit the Eden Project and the Lost Gardens of Heligan.

I've not been to Lyme Regis but both Cromer and Whitstable are great. I love the Kent coast, and the north Norfolk coast is one of my favourite places in the UK. You can easily do the North Norfolk Coastal Path which goes from Hunstanton to Cromer- it's only about 50 miles. We did it over five days back in 2020 and it was magical.

Your replies are giving me even more to think about. Thanks.

Mardee-I believe when I read your thorough trip report, you had a car when you went to Cornwall. When you speak of preferring Falmouth to Penzance because of its location, was that based on better public transportation or via automobile?

Both Stuart and Johnew52 mentioned Newquay, which I had not considered. Are there any recommendations for using public transportation to take me to a nice town and have a healthy walk back to Newquay in a day? How would you compare Newquay to Penzance and Falmouth (i.e crowds, tourist volume, things to do…)?

CAT VH: I am gaining more interest in the idea of basing in Whitstable. I like the idea of it being so much faster and easier to get to from London and it gives opportunities for day trips if the weather is suboptimal (Canterbury). From your experience, is there enough hiking and things to do in Whitstable for 5 full days/nights? Are the late August crowds in Whitstable as plentiful as they are in Cornwall? I can push my trip up earlier in August but don’t think pushing back is in the cards this time. Any additional insight there is most welcome.

Thanks.

Mardee-I believe when I read your thorough trip report, you had a car when you went to Cornwall. When you speak of preferring Falmouth to Penzance because of its location, was that based on better public transportation or via automobile?

Jay, yes, I did mention that I had a car, but I'm not sure about the public transportation, so that definitely should be something for you to consider. Falmouth is a bit bigger than Penzance, and I really liked it a lot, but again I'm not sure how public transportation would play into it. The others here, like Cat and the locals, would be able to give you a better idea. Also, I know acraven spent some time in Cornwall using public transportation, although I think it's been a few years, but she might have some advice for you (hopefully she'll pop in).

I do remember Stuart telling me that there is a good bus that travels between Penzance and the outdoor theatre and other places. It was supposed to get you around along the very tip of that coast, although I can't remember what the name of it was. So I'm probably not a whole lot of help here. 😊

Jay - there are buses that run from Newquay up to Padstow which run mostly along the coast (they divert inland to serve some villages). You could use the service to walk between the two over 2/3 days depending on how far or fast you want to walk. Likewise there is a bus south from Newquay down the coast as far as St Agnes - again you could piece together 2/3 days walking south. You could do a similar plan around the Land’s End peninsula from a base at Penzance or St Ives as I mentioned above. I think all these suggestions work better if you want to walk the coastal path over several days compared to Falmouth where linking up walking with public transport along the coast will be more difficult.

On staying in Newquay, as I said it did have a reputation several years ago as a party town for young folk but I think that is much overblown these days. I can recommend 3 very fine restaurants I’ve eaten in over the last couple of years for example.

Edited to add a link to the website of the South West Coast Path Association - https://www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk/walk-coast-path/south-west-coast-path-national-trail/
All you need to plan some day trips along the coastal path.

I also didn’t address your question about the busyness of Newquay, Penzance and Falmouth. Newquay will be busier than Penzance, which is as much a working town as a holiday resort. I don’t know Falmouth as well but guess it’s probably on a par with Newquay in August. All of them less busy than both St Ives and Padstow.

Newquay is really a mixed bag. It’s a surf town so it has that aspect. It’s also the most trad seaside tourist resort in Cornwall. This is where you’ll find the amusement arcades. The town is surrounded by caravan parks sleeping thousands of tourists in peak season, and the town has plenty to appeal to these visitors as well. There is also more upmarket side now. The Headland Hotel at Fistral Beach is a marvellous traditional Victorian seaside hotel. Well worth popping in.

You can get the new Bus Timetable Book for Cornwall here (as from 3 weeks ago)- https://www.transportforcornwall.co.uk/services

The network has been redrawn, since Mardee was there, so any knowledge of the network, even last year is now dated. Anyone who used the buses in Cornwall before Covid is now just ancient history, as the network was totally updated and heavily expanded after Covid (in truth over expanded).
We have now lost all the open top routes (there used to be a great Open Top Route from Newquay to Padstow (which hugged the coast)- in that case the normal service route remains). Also the Lands End Coaster (for Minack and Porthcurno) open topper has gone- replaced with a normal bus the 1A.
Payment methods include by contactless (cash also available) which has a daily and weekly cap.

On the trains you can now pay by contactless (but also need a smartcard)- that can be linked to a National Railcard unlike in London- https://www.gwr.com/your-tickets/smart-tickets/payg/cornwall
It allegedly caps out to the Cornwall Day Ranger price- as below.
Although there is also a Cornwall Day Ranger for £17, and a 3 day in 7 Devon and Cornwall Rover for £67, 8 in 15 £107.50 (all fares before usual Railcard discounts)- Devon extends to Tiverton on the way to Bristol so that is excellent Value- and can be combined with a normal London to Tiverton Parkway ticket.
There is also the Ride Cornwall ticket- all buses and trains in Cornwall for £21 a day- but no railcard discount. Because of that, if you have a railcard, the ranger or rover and the bus daily/weekly caps are better value- or they are for me.

Whitstable is a lovely place- one of my favourites on the Kent coast. I've only gone as a day trip from London, but as a base there should be plenty to keep you occupied as you can easily visit Canterbury, Margate, Broadstairs, Ramsgate, Deal/Sandwich, etc. There's also a coastal path (the Saxon Shore Way: https://explorekent.org/activities/saxon-shore-way/ ). You can do nice walks to places like Herne Bay and the bus connections are good so you can e.g. take a bus out and walk back. If you want something very nice you can book yourself lunch or dinner at The Sportsman, an excellent gastropub which is a healthy walk from Whitstable along the coast. If you do decide to go you need to book ASAP as they book up far in advance. It's one of the few Michelin star restaurants you can bring a dog and it's not super expensive.

If you're looking for accommodation in Whitstable, you might consider the fishermen's huts on the beach. In terms of crowds, it does get busy in summer, but I don't think it's quite as bad as Cornwall. But on a hot summer weekend that would normally be my first choice to get out of London.

Jay, I’ve not been to either of your proposed bases (yet), but this summer my husband and I are taking our first trip to Wales, and plan to do lots of hiking. Our newer Rick Steves Great Britain guidebook has chapters on Wales, but we’re also looking at other books, including Lonely Planet. Besides national parks, there are notable hikes along the coast in Pembrokeshire. Whether any town has enough pubs/restaurants to meet your needs, I can’t say, but it appears that Wales offers tons and tons of hikes, and many places with a fair amount of pubs and restaurants. Bonus - this is where you can get Welsh cakes!

Hope things are OK in the Twin Cities. Enjoy your hiking and après-hiking. Cheers!

Thanks all. I will dig in with more research and may bring this post to life again in a few weeks if I have additional questions. Thx.

You need to go to Mermaid Alley in Penzance for food. It was so good we went back two days in a row. Reservations recommended if going for dinner. The owner is lovely and the food fantastic.

Falmouth is on a branch railway line but is easy to change in Truro, I
believe (I rented a car when I was there, so I'm not sure about that,
but I remember someone saying that).

True - it's easy enough when you know it :-)

The branch tracks are around a corner just before the bridge over the "normal" tracks.

We picked Falmouth for our end of July/early August 2026 stay. We're there for 5 days and I've heard that the traffic/crowding is real. Others said that Falmouth, because of its size, could absorb some of the crowds where as the smaller towns could feel overrun. We'll be hiking out in each direction from Falmouth, with a day trip by bus/train to the north Cornwall coast for a day. We're staying at the Camelot Guest House.

I am still on the fence between Falmouth or Penzance. I have studied the SW coastal path and seems hiking will be good from both Penzance and Falmouth. However, I am now leaning to flying open jaw into Dublin and back home via London. Having a night in Dublin on arrival to get over jet lag and fly direct to Newquay the following day is starting to make sense to me (plus flights are a bit cheaper compared to London round trip). I am curious with the timing of the new rail lines that are getting close to opening. If I get there in late August, how much faster will train travel be expected from Newquay to Falmouth or Penzance for example?

how much faster will train travel be expected from Newquay to Falmouth or Penzance for example?

They aren't exactly new lines (although the Newquay line has extra tracks and an extra platform at Newquay). What is changing is that trains on the main line and to Newquay are more frequent, also coming off the Newquay branch and on to the Falmouth branch the changes at Par and Truro respectively will be eliminated, with through running between the branches. Thus that will speed journeys up by default (and provide more capacity to Newquay and on the main line), but when moving the trains will be no faster. We still don't have exact dates, especially the division between the two phases of the opening.

I am distinctly unconvinced as to how well Falmouth soaks up the crowds from my own experiences in Cornwall. Actually in central Falmouth (parts of which are pedestrianised) it can feel pretty busy. Falmouth is really a town of two halves to me- the historic centre including the pier for all the boat trips, and the beaches.

I don't disagree with the notion that Falmouth is a good base (empirically I think it's on average probably quantifiably cheaper than Penzance) but think it's six of one and half a dozen of the other vis-a-vis Penzance.

To be honest, if coastal walking in the Penzance area I wonder if Newlyn or (especially) St Just are not better bases.

Likewise for Falmouth if I want to lose the denser crowds my experience is that St Mawes is possibly a "better" alternative- a good bus service to Truro and easy access to all the Fal river ferries.
The other option for Falmouth (which I can't get enough of) is Flushing- the water bus across the bay to Falmouth and the OTS red minibuses around the Carrick Roads (estuary) to Falmouth and Truro.
In late August/early September I'm not at all sure that it makes a huge bundle of difference.