Rail stations

This tour can be accessed easily by train. Start the tour via Penzance rail station; end of tour St Ives or Penzance. There are direct trains from London Paddington to Penzance (5.5 hrs; to return from St Ives change trains at St Erth or Penzance). There is also an overnight sleeper train service (not Saturday nights) between London Paddington and Penzance with a choice between a comfortable seat and a berth (bed) in a two-berth cabin between London Paddington and Penzance. The sleeper berths must be pre-booked.

From Penzance rail station it is a short bus or taxi ride to the first night’s stop at Mousehole. At the end of the tour there is a frequent bus service (less frequent on Sundays) from St Ives to Penzance rail station, as well as a rail link from St Ives to the main line stations at St Erth and Penzance.

Our factsheet FSW for this tour includes shows sample train fares.

Airports

The main international airports for southern England are near London: Heathrow (LHR) and Gatwick (LGW). These airports have shuttle rail and/or bus links to the main line railway at Reading station. All trains from London Paddington to Cornwall stop at Reading about 30 minutes after leaving London.

There are also regional airports with some international services at Bristol and Exeter. There are direct trains to Penzance from Bristol Temple Meads and Exeter St David’s rail stations.

Cornwall now has its own airport at Newquay, with flights from London Gatwick and other UK airports. The most convenient way to reach the start of this tour at Mousehole from Newquay airport is by taxi, which should be booked in advance when you know your flight arrival time.

Tour code W7:
7 nights tour, ES or private facilities most nights: £940. Single room*: £1410. STS**: £65.

Tour code W7E:
7 nights tour, ES or private facilities every night: £990. Single room*: £1485. STS**: £65.

Please read these notes below on pricing:

• Single room* This price applies for 1 room when 1 or 3 or 5 persons book together.
• STS** = solo traveller supplement (applicable when booking is for one person only)
• Extra nights: Up to £120 per person per extra night.  Single rooms will cost more.  

Prices quoted are per person on basis of two people in double rooms (one large bed) or twin rooms (two beds). Included in the price are bed and breakfast each night, with baggage transfers, maps and route directions. ‘ES’ (en suite) facilities means that there is a private bathroom with shower or tub and toilet within the main door of your room. ‘Private facilities’ means that the private bathroom may be outside the main door of your room. When the booking is made for a party of 3 or 5 customers, a single room supplement is payable. When the booking is made for a single traveller, a solo traveller supplement is payable. Note: normally a maximum of 1 single room per booking.

Most visitors to West Cornwall see little except Lands End itself which is regrettable as the whole of the granite coastline on either side of Land’s End, between Mousehole and St Ives, offers magnificent landscapes and seascapes, including perhaps the finest coastal scenery in England. In spring the cliff-top path is bordered with masses of wild flowers, notably the cushions of pink sea-thrift.

Almost every mile provides some new contrast or point of interest: the remains of former tin mines perched on the sea cliffs around Botallack; the open-air theatre overlooking the beach at Porthcurno; ancient dolmens (stone-age burial chambers), stone circles, standing stones, iron age hill forts and other prehistoric remains; and and of course the unceasing swell of Atlantic waves breaking on offshore reefs or crashing at the foot of the cliffs.

Tucked away near the western extremity of England at Cape Cornwall is the little town of St Just-in-Penwith, formerly a centre of the tin-mining industry, now a picturesque backwater with a real old-fashioned Cornish pub, dark wood panelling and all. The St Just district is now part of the Cornish Mining UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. See http://www.cornish-mining.org.uk/

The narrow, winding streets and picturesque fishing harbour of St Ives have long attracted painters and sculptors such as Augustus John and Barbara Hepworth; and the town now has its own permanent branch of London’s world famous Tate Gallery.

The famous open-air theatre on the cliffs at Porthcurno has performances from Monday to Friday evenings from late May until September.

A second night at Zennor allows time for a rest, or to walk to the fascinating iron age village of Chysauster. The celebrated monastic island of St Michael’s Mount, reached by a tidal causeway from Marazion, is accessible in a day from either Mousehole or St Ives.

Daphne du Maurier’s Vanishing Cornwall is available in paperback while her famous short story The Birds is set on the north coast at a location somewhat resembling Zennor. Journey to the Stones by Ian Cooke is an inspiring text on the archaeological monuments of the Lands End peninsula, several of which we visit on this tour. A delightful book for young children is The Mousehole Cat by Antonia Barber; our tour starts by Mousehole’s claw-like harbour wall.