Two weeks in Cornwall

Both Looe and St Ives are bustling little seaside villages- more artisty than beaches. great places to see and use as a base. However Cornwall and Devon are best seen by car. Lands End and Tintagel (the ruins not the village) are absolute Must-sees. From Penzance we like the little village of Mousehole, wonderful little harbor and restaurant- easy bus ride. Cornwall is one of those areas where you want to just browse around in your car, stopping where something interests you. Atmosphere to the n'th degree. On the north Coast the small village of Clovelly is worth seing for its situation in a gulley

Hi Swan,
We have visited Cornwall three times. It's tied with Yorkshire/Northumbria for our favourite part of England......I think you need a car to explore all the little villages, lanes, stony beaches, and neolithic sites. Some not to miss spots: Zennor, Men-en-Tol, Merry Maidens Stone Circle, Lost Gardens of Heligan, ruined Tintagel Castle, lots more.....We have always included neighboring Devon in our explorations. We found two small hotels which were right on the sea cliffs, served meals, and were not ridiculously expensive: Housel Bay-south side-on the Lizard, and The Headlands Hotel, north side, right by Port Gaverne, very close to Tintagel. Due to its long skinny geographic shape, one central location for lodging doesn't work very well, especially if you want to be near the sea---and that's what Cornwall is about, although the moors are also lovely on an overcast day....Daphne DeMaurier books (Jamaica Inn, Frenchman's Creek) are good background reading if you like to get a sense of place.

Hi Swan, happy New Year. I do trains, not buses. But have a look at what the County has put together. Cornish bus information can be found at http://www.cornwallpublictransport.info/bus_timetables.asp happy digging.....

You'll want to catch an evening performance at the Minack, no matter what it takes to pull it off.

You'll want that car. Cornwall is the kind of place that rewards being able to stop any time you see something interesting. You can't do that on a bus or a train. With two weeks, it's unlikely you'll have every day planned to the last minute. Just get a good map and get out and explore. You'll be glad you did.

Thanks for some very good tips.

My heart belongs to Mevagissey and The Buckingham House B&B

I agree Clovelly is beautiful, it's on the north coast of Devon.
On the south coast of Cornwall....Polperro is a beautiful fishing village.

Swan, Please add to your list The Lost Gardens of Heligen and if you have time, Dartmoor prison.

I think Port Issac would be best done as a Day trip, from another base... The roads are very very narrow and scary to drive through.. (originally from Britain you'd think we would be used to them) Hubby was in UK in October to see his mother and took her for a few days to Devon/Cornwall ~ As he's also a Doc Martin Fan he went to Port Issac !! lol.. Actually you could always stay at The Docs surgery !! DH came home with a picture of himself on the steps of the surgery, which is actually in real life rented out as a holiday home. Most of the inside filming is done off location in a Barn Studio...

I fell in love with Keynance Cove.

Swan, If you visit Port Isaac, be sure to post a report when you get back. I'm also a big fan of Doc Martin and that's on my list of places to see. I've already visited the village where Heartbeat was filmed (I was upset that they cancelled that show last year). I've done a bit of research on travel there, and based on my findings so far I have to agree with the others that car would probably be best for getting to Port Isaac. If it's anything like the Heartbeat village, there will probably be a few tacky tourist traps associated with Doc Martin in the village. Happy travels!

My hubby who was there in Oct says ...Here's what you need to know.. If you want a pituresque fishing village to stay in as a base try Padstow.. It's a fishing village bigger than Port Issac, a little more to do in the evenings, easily driveable to Port Issac.. Don't take you car down into Port Issac.. park up the top and walk down the hill. Hubby drove down and almost regretted it, streets are so narrow and crowded you can barely turn your car. Doc Martins Cottage is a holiday rental, http://www.holidaycottageincornwall.co.uk/docmartin.asp Some of the main sites like his cottage is easy to locate, hubby say's he was a little disappointed, apart from the obvious .. The inlet and cottage and to a certain extent the school a lot was difficult to place and may have been filmed elsewhere.. There is a clifftop walk that goes past the cottage, on the show it looks like the road carries on past his cottage but it actually comes to a dead end with a path branching off to the right with a cliff walk.... Newquay has nice beaches but tends to be very busy in the summer and a lot of British yobs hang there but a good base.
Husband stayed a night in Bude at .. .. He said he went to the tourist info in Bude and there were also a couple of B & B's that looked great but he couldn't get hold of them.. He ended up staying at The Fairway Guest house.. He says the breakfast was excellent... In Newquay he stayed at The Quies, he had a really nice room there...

Sorry, I posted the wrong link to Doc Martin's house.. Here is the correct one.. http://www.docmartinhouse.co.uk/

Thanks for the tips, everyone. I'm sure I will enjoy Cornwall.

I think that you will enjoy Cornwall in May. We travel each year at that time and had a very nice visit to Cornwall. We would love to return and walk the cliffs. It may be a good idea to take the train or bus to reach Cornwall but once you've arrived I think you really want a car to explore. Your B&B or hotel may be able to arrange it for you. Doc Martin may have been filmed in various places but Cornwall, expecially at the southern reaches, really does appear as it is shown in the film. You will likely find tripadvisor.com helpful at selecting a good lodging. Enjoy!

In 2007 I stayed in Penzance in a lovely B&B, though the room was tiny.
Good bus and train connections in Penzance. I highly recommend taking the train & bus to the Eden Project - a superb new experiment on being eco friendly.

i have been to cornwall, you will need a car to get around. There are so many towns to visit all very pretty and interesting.

@Labanna..this post is a year old.