A Visit to Cornwall, England

If you have the time when visiting England I would highly recommend a trip to Cornwall. This lovely part of the country is known for its fishing villages, its magnificent coastal scenery, and its ties to the Celtic people. Taking a train from Paddington Station in London you will be in Penzance in about 5 hours. Along the way relax and enjoy both the green countryside and the blue seaside as the train weaves back and forth between these two.  When you arrive in Penzance, which is a good size town with numerous B & B properties to choose from, settle yourself in for at least 3 or 4 nights to explore this area. Penzance was larger than I expected, and quite hilly making the buildings stand out even more beside the water.

On our first morning we walked to the bus depot and bought a one-day pass to explore this part of Cornwall. First we got the bus to St. Ives and walked through the town there and along the seafront.

The road into St. Ives is quite steep and there isn’t a lot of parking in the town area, so if you have a vehicle keep this in mind. We wandered through town and watched some Cornish pasties being made…

…then we got the bus to Lands End. When we arrived the weather was quite misty and wet, but by the time we left the sun had come out and we did get a couple of pictures with the blue sky.

From here we got a bus to Mousehole. What a quaint seaside town! So picturesque. 

There are some little shops and a pretty harbour area.

The bus ride through the countryside is quite an adventure with some areas of the road being single lane and cars having to back up to let the bus get by. For dinner check out the Admiral Benbow Pub and Restaurant in Penzance. The inside is filled with artifacts from shipwrecks found off the coast of this area of England.

The next morning you can walk to Marazion, a town about 2 1/2 miles away.

The town is known for the castle/monastery of St. Michael’s Mount which is situated on an island just offshore.

This site was a monastery from the 8th to the 11th centuries and is a smaller version of Mont Saint-Michel off the coast of Normandy, France. You can take a boat over to the island if the tide is high, which is what we did to get there.

Once on the island you can explore the castle with its many rooms, the garden areas with different varieties of flowers and bushes, the gift shop, and then grab a bite to eat at the café. We waited for the tide to go out and then we walked back along the stone causeway to town. It really is a unique place to see and should be included on any visit to this part of England.

You can get a bus back from Marazion back to Penzance, or walk back like we did.

If you have another day booked in Penzance then do some more exploring of the countryside and villages. We had wanted to get to Tintagel, but we will have to do that another time. No matter where you decide to go in this part of England, you won’t be disappointed!