- Penzance
- (16)
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United Kingdom
This must be one of the most beautiful, varied and satisfying of all cycle routes in Britain. Moderately challenging (at 46.5miles, taking 5-8 hours) for most to be able give it a go, the dramatic seascapes on route are as exhilarating as they are soothing for the soul. There are many opportunities for fuel stops; independent cafe’s, bars with sea views, country pubs, farms selling their wares via an honesty box, are all plentiful on route.
Begin at Penzance train station and head straight along the seafront following signs for Newlyn/Mousehole/Lands End. Climb up through the harbour town of Newlyn (with perfect views across Penzance from here). Through the next harbour town of Mousehole and into the picturesque Lamorna Cove.
Climbing out of Lamorna Cove you head inland turning left at the T junction for Lands End/Porthcurno/St Buryan. As you ride through Boskenna on the B3115 look out for the Tregiffian burial chamber and the perfectly formed Merry Maiden’s stone circle in a passing field. Then turn right, signposted St Buryan. Then turn left, signpost for Logan Rock/Porthcurno/Land’s End.
Climbing out of the valley around Crean you make for Lands End. The visit to the last stop in England is an optional detour. Alternatively, follow signs for Sennan, surfers paradise and one of the loveliest beaches in Britain with dramatic, rugged cliff tops in the backdrop.
The climb out of Sennan and towards St Just is practically a straight road where you can lock out and pick up some real speed. The sea breeze as you whizz along, as refreshing as supping a citron presse on a summer’s day on the banks of the Seine. You're heading for St Just now, passing through the town itself following the B3306 towards Pendeen and Zennor. On route you will pass the now symbolic tin miles dotting the landscape, the Geevor Tin Mine is worthy of a stop.
Pass through Pendeen, continuing on the B3306 straight onto Zennor. Turn right just before Zennor towards Newmill and Penzance. Heading inland following signs for Trythall, Tredinnick/Bodrifty/Ding. The journey has more rural feel to it now as you pass farms, derelict buildings and idyllic Cornish homesteads. The narrow country lanes invite you to slow down and take a more reflective, ponderous tone with your bike. Turn right at the signpost for Tredinnick/Bodrifty, entering moorland and rocky paths. You pass on old engine house close to the road on the right, take a grassy track here. Continue pass houses on the right and onto a well defined track, passing a mine shaft warning sign post. Continue along this track as it swings left in front of another engine house to rejoin the tarmac next to Bosiliack Farm.
Turn left at next T junction, and then head for Newbridge. Then turn right onto the A3071, following signs for St Just/Newbridge. Stay on the road for a mile or so before turning left onto a bridleway just past Jericho Farm on your right. Continue on the bridleway as it descends through farms back onto tarmac. You’ll pass the Carn Euny settlement (inhabited 500BC to 300AD) which contains the best preserved underground chamber in Britain. Admission free and generally open all year.
Turn left at bottom of road (effectively straight on).
Turn right at T junction and on towards Penzance, signposted all the way for the next 5.5 miles home. The final stretch is a chance to unwind along the harbour, St Michael’s Mount visible in the distance, and if you're lucky, the spray from the waves adding to the gentle breeze cooling and refreshing you as you look forward to that well deserved pint to celebrate what has been the most delightful bike ride in a long time.
Begin at Penzance train station, all day parking available and reasonably priced.
bit.ly/GPM5Gq
A beautiful Art Deco lido to be found across the Cornish moors, on the tail of the country. It was reopened on the 25th of May and is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Sat among its whitewashed walls it’s easy to forget which country you are in and equally hard to care. With a poolside café that looks to St. Michaels Mount and the route of the passenger ferries bound for the Scilly isles. I lay at its reopening, eating bread and cheese and imagined I was on Tracey Island.
The Promenade, Penzance, Cornwall,
www.jubileepool.co.uk/
Google map: tinyurl.com/3aj9hnb
A charming, characterful Cornish family-run pub that serves great food.
www.mexicoinn.co.uk
4 Riverside, Long Rock, Penzance, TR20 8JD 01736 710625
Google map: tinyurl.com/yjmnlgm
I enjoyed a superb six-day walking holiday from St Ives to the Lizard with Western Discoveries. The customer service was lovely, the B&Bs very friendly and everything had a great personal touch. Russ, who runs the company, even took us out to see some of the region's stone monuments.
If you want to see the beautiful coastline of West Cornwall, I would recommend using Western Discoveries.
ww.westcornwallwalks.co.uk
01736 362763
Art gallery at the top of the nicest and oldest street in town - Chapel Street. Lovely gallery space, a bit of a tardis as it reaches backwards and upwards over three floors. We turned up with walking boots and a muddy dog only to be welcomed in with open arms (the owners dog sits under her desk). A great variety of work inside by established well known artists as well as some younger recent graduates. A great stop off for anyone interested in art
top of chapel street, penzance
www.cornwallcontemporary.com
Open air theatre carved into the clifs near Penzance. Wonderful views of the sea, cliffs and returning fishing boats (especially as it gets dark) all make a spectacular backdrop to great theatre.
Go early in the day to visit Porthcurno beach - amazing.
The Minack Theatre & Visitor Centre - Porthcurno - Penzance - Cornwall - TR19 6JU
www.minack.com/
Affordable, superior bay view and excellent service are reason enough to take a train from London. Walking distance from train station and car hire.
Penzance Railway Station is just southwest of it.
Pub just off the seafront. Excellent beer, usually busy but with a landlord that has time for anyone coming in, regardless of whether they are regulars or, like me, twice a year visitors on the way to or from the Scilly Isles.
Also worth a try, especially if arriving off the Scilly Isles ferry, is the Dolphin pub opposite the quay. A twice-a-year ritual for me and my friends that go with me to Scilly is the walk from the B&B in Alexandra Road to the Dolphin for a meal along the seafront and then to return to the Alexandra afterwards before returning to the B&B.
Can be beautiful, but can be bracing and hairy if the wind's blowing from the south and the tide's up. Watch the local kids dodging (not always successfully) the waves breaking over the seawall.
Alexandra Road, Penzance TR18 4LY. 01736365165
'The Cove' is a set of stunning apartments cut into the hills 200 yards from Lamorna Cove. The apartments are self-catering, although there is a great on-site restaurant (that also serves food in your room.)
Best bits were the friendly staff, the private pool with amazing views to the cove and the hot chocolate croissants delivered to your door each morning. Fairly costly but excellent value and a very desirable setting.
Lamorna Cove
www.thecovecornwall.com/
This is a wondrous, fun place to stay, filled with paintings floor to ceiling, old and new, fabulous and not quite so, most by local artists.
Each room is different. Ours was huge with a view over the rooftops of the town to the sea.
There's also a lovely walled garden and an excellent restaurant. The town itself is fun to walk around and St Michael's Mount is nearby.
A helicopter will take you to the island of Tresco for a look at the famous Abbey Garden and a good day out.
There are wonderful artists in Penzance too. We bought a painting by American artist, Kathy Todd, who now lives in Penzance. After our time there we drove further along the coast to St. Ives, another magical spot.
Chapel House, Chapel Street, Penzance
Quite simply the most evocative industrial heritage site ever. Understand the privations and hardships endured by Cornishmen mining for tin through the centuries and decide whether this kind of work was better than the no-work that Cornishmen now suffer.
Many of the guides at Geevor were miners and engineers when the mine closed, they are always knowledgeable and keen to impart that knowledge. There is a museum, and a walk through the ore separating plant. There is also a trip down an 18th century mine adit.
Utterly fascinating and an immensely important project. Oh, also very good pasties in the cafe!
For the fit, you can walk to Pendeen lighthouse which has spectacular views and is very atmospheric, especially when there's a sea fret and all the long-dead-drowned-sailors come up out of the sea!
www.geevor.com
Geevor Tin Mine is located in the village of Pendeen, 7 miles west of Penzance. The mine is easily reached from Penzance, St Ives or Lands End by car or bus. There is a 10% discount for visitors who travel to Geevor by bus.
Cornwall is the best place in England!
This is my blog of my holiday there. Enjoy!
blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=62687284&blogID=161858652
Bright, friendly vegetarian cafe. Delicious food, the best salads. Really friendly staff, good prices, toys and books for kids and local art for sale on the walls.
Above Richard's Health Food shop, Bread Street, Penzance, Cornwall. Best reached from bottom of Causewayhead. Up the hill from Penzance train station.
We are an ordinary couple and at the time were in our mid-40s. I would like to share our journey with others because most people would imagine someone undertaking such a venture to be a strapping and sporty type with much experience. However, Philip and I had never done any long-distance walking and very little camping. We love the outdoors but we had spent most of our married life bringing up a family. When our children reached late teens and early twenties we decided to do something special together.
This walk became our dream, our plan and then our reality.
Our preparation took 12 months and our walk took 88 days. It was a test of our fortitude, our relationship and our mental strength. We managed somehow to pass all these tests and we did not even get a blister!
This journal tells of our experiences and my personal view of the landscape and feelings as the journey progressed. There is also some practical and historical information included. I am an Australian and it is Britain through my eyes. I kept a daily dairy and collected information along the way. These notebooks were regularly posted off and a new one purchased.
I hope that if you read this journal, it will inspire you to do something special with your own life because when you read my story, you will know that you can do it.
Snug behind the sea defences of England's largest fishing port, this is a real locals' pub, but that doesn't mean the welcome to visitors isn't warm. Far from it. Order the catch of the day (from £6.95) for a succulent piece of cod or haddock that's moist within its crispy, beer-batter casing. It will have been landed that very morning, and just a few hundred yards away, to boot. The pub's cosy in winter, too, with a real fire and low-beamed ceilings, not to mention some classics by local artists on the walls (my personal favourite: Perry With Ling).
Tolcarne Place, Newlyn, near Penzance, Cornwall
Tel: 01736 363074
Seven simple, elegant rooms with sea views in an 18th-century house which was once a Portuguese embassy. Lots of arty stuff going on downstairs in the arts club, like jazz nights and life-drawing classes. The Frog Fish cafe in the basement serves good local seafood and organic meat.
Accommodation starting at £35pp with the full English and is a great deal.
01736 363761
www.penzanceartsclub.co.uk.
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