Traveling to Cornwall

Do you realize that neither Bath nor Stonehenge is anywhere near Cornwall? Both Bath and Salisbury (where you'd get the bus to Stonehenge) are about a 5-hour train ride from Newquay.

Why are you flying into Newquay in the first place? That's really not the obvious airport to choose, especially when you're not specifically going to Cornwall.

I never said I wasn't going to tour Cornwall, have 5 days to spend in that area and would like to see that whole south west area of England, which includes Bath and Stonehenge. It worked out perfectly actually, a good friend leaves a half hour from airport and of course will be able to offer suggestions but thought I would travelers picks as well. Its only a few hour drive to each place and if we stay over a night or two will easily be able to cover that area in 5 days.

What you decide to see will depend on your interests - my hubby & I are Doc Martin fans and loved our visit to Port Isaac. We also spent 1/2 day a bit further north in Tintagel. Or you might choose to go the other direction from Newquay. We DID drive from that area as far as Wells, stopping to see Glastonbury Abbey; so Salisbury Cathedral or Bath or Stonehenge are all possible. But Cornwall was so much more beautiful than I expected that we wish we had spent more time there. I would almost hate for you to spend 2 or more of your 5 days in getting to the Bath area and back, when you have such spectacular scenery right where you are.

like the previous post we visited port isaac ( stayed at Padstow - luckily they were filming in port isaac that day - yes!!) and tintagel, fantastic scenery. and we could have spent more time looking around in the general area, we then continued up to Bath.

we had been warned about the narrow roads and taking longer to get between places than expected. I wanted to 'ignore' the advice, but I now understand what they meant. While we enjoyed Bath ( not overwhelmed though) its a fair way from Cornwall, when there maybe other interesting places to visit in the general south west coast area ( between cornwall and stonehenge etc) given you only have 5 days?

Thank you so much, that's the kind of feedback I was hoping for. Will probably wind up spending most of our time in Cornwall. First head up to Tintagel, big King Arthur legend fan, then to Stonehenge and then meander back to Cornwall and spend the rest of our time there. I'm from Exeter NH, thought it would be fun to stop in Exeter, England as well! Anyone ever been there? any sights worth seeing ? Looks like there is castle?

Exeter's Castle is not worth bothering with. However, the city is worth a look and has a medieval cathedral. (Salisbury cathedral - about 5 miles south of Stonehenge is well worth seeing). The quayside in Exeter is a pleasant area with restaurants and is about a 12 minute walk from the cathedral. Getting in and out of Exeter by car and be difficult due to congestion. Exeter St.David's rail station is about a 15 minute walk up a hill from the central area. Exeter Central station is nearer the middle.

PS. Stonehenge is about 3 hours driving time from central Cornwall. I suggest you check your distances & timings here:>http://www.theaa.com/route-planner/index.jsp#fromNode=0%7CTruro%7C%7C-5.051041%7C50.263195%7CtoNode=0%7CStonehenge%7C%7C-1.826215%7C51.178882

Yes, thanks we are going to break up trip by staying ilminster, have points at a best western there and then head out early to see stone henge, avebury and then a stay in wells, visit glastonbury and then head back to bodmin. As long as we leave early in the am, think we should have enough time to accomplish that? Then we are off to southern cornwall. Porthcurno area, any suggestions where to stay there?

We are doing a driving tour of the area from Caernarfon to St. Michaels's Mound and have notice how many prehistoric and Roman sites are in Wales and the Cornwall area. Any other tips on places to visit to understand or be awed by the generations that preceded us will be appreciated. While we put Cornwall on our list because we, too, are Doc Martin fans, it was really TIntagel and St. Michaels Mound that sealed the deal. We will travel from a town south of Bath to the village of Lynton and then on to Port Isaac. As we head from St. Michael's Mound to Salisbury, we will spend nights in Fallmouth and Dorchester. We've booked the B&Bs but all of our reservations could be modified. Again, we'd love to get some ideas from people who have been to the area so we make the best use of our time.

PS. Has anyone gone kayaking out of Port Quinn near Port Isaac in the summer? Thoughts?