Places to visit
Whatever the weather, Cornwall has attractions and activities for everyone. We can only offer you a taste of what is available.
The Eden Project
The Eden Project has captured the world’s imagination. Two giant biomes house two wildly-different environments (Humid Tropics and Warm Temperate) that exist thousands of miles from their natural homes.
The Eden Project is one of the UK’s top tourist attractions and, due to its very nature, is a place you will want to return to year after year to watch it develop. Visit web site.
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum in Falmouth is a gateway to the maritime world, offering unique and interactive displays of boats and their place in people’s lives.
Cornwall and the arts
The Tate Gallery at St Ives primarily presents modern British art in a spectacular coastal setting. There are also many eclectic galleries throughout west Cornwall, ensuring easy access to visual art.
Carved from the cliffs near Porthcurno, the outdoor Minack Theatre stands as a permanent tribute to Rowena Cade, whose inspiration has left a legacy for all to enjoy. A theatre experience that cannot be missed.
The Hall for Cornwall in Truro is the county’s permier venue for the performing arts and reopens Autumn 2021 after a major refurbishment.
Out and about…
It was only in Victorian times that Penzance became the major town in west Cornwall – previously, Marazion held this mantle. Penzance boasts many fine old buildings, dating from the 17th to 18th century. Of note, the Egyptian House in Chapel Street is of an extraordinary design. Chapel Street boasts a fine array of antique shops. Art Deco fans will relish the recently refurbished outdoor Jubilee Bathing Pool and the architecture of the nearby Yacht Inn.
St Ives is one of Cornwall’s oldest holiday resorts that is as well known for its artistic community as for its pristine golden beaches, popular with families and surfers. In the cobbled alleyways you will find numerous galleries and interesting shops.
The city of Truro is the administrative centre and the main shopping venue in Cornwall. Truro’s neo-Gothic cathedral was built between 1880 and 1910 with its central tower rising to 76 metres (250 feet). Truro’s many fine Georgian houses and terraces are a reminder of local copper- and tin-mining wealth and these subjects are explored in the attractive Royal Cornwall Museum, which also includes some fine landscape paintings by artists of the Newlyn School of Art.
Nearer to home, the market town of Helston is the home of the famous Furry Dance celebrations. While you are there, take time out to visit the Helston Folk Museum.
Isles of Scilly
Warmed by the Gulf Stream, buffeted by the Atlantic, relying on sea and air links with the mainland, the unique Isles of Scilly are a world apart. Populated by a friendly community of just over 2000 islanders, sub-tropical Scilly has a tranquillity and a quality of life long lost to less isolated places.
Exotic plants and wild flowers, ancient cairns and crumbling castles, sparkling white sands by an azure sea – all just 28 miles from Land’s End.
Take a boat trip to the Isles of Scilly by the Scillonian III or fly from Land’s End aerodrome or Newquay Airport.
Land’s End area
By value of fish landed, Newlyn is the UK’s largest fishing port with 150 working boats. The Newlyn Art Gallery showcases the very best of national and international contemporary art, as well as work by some of the best artists currently working in the region.
Surviving the onslaught of modern tourism, Mousehole is an unspoilt fishing village famous for its Christmas illuminations and, of course, the Mousehole Cat. Above the village, is the Mousehole Wild Bird Hospital.
Concealed in the cliffs above the golden sandy beach at Porthcurno is the PK Porthcurno: Museum of Global Communications showing how the world has become a smaller place thanks to communications. A fascinating insight into international telegraph communications and a reminder that Porthcurno continues to be the major communications connection between the UK and North America.
Finally, Land’s End itself is a place of legend, mystery and stunning natural beauty. And just further along the coast near St Just is Cape Cornwall, the only cape in England.
Around the Lizard
The Lizard peninsula leads to Britain’s most southerly point. Playing a key role in the history of global communication, it was from the Lizard that Marconi first received wireless signals from North America. Also, Telstar beamed the first international television pictures into Goonhilly Earth Station.
The National Trust has recently renovated the experimental wireless station used by Marconi at Poldhu Cove.
You can also visit the Cornish Seal Sanctuary at Gweek.
Gardens to visit
Cornwall has a splendid array of gardens to visit including:
- The Lost Gardens of Heligan
- Trebah near Falmouth
- Trelissick near Truro (NT)
- Trengwainton near Penzance (NT)
So much to see, so much to do, you will want to return to Cornwall again and again.