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Where in Cornwall is best?

sharonov

10+ Posts
I've been talking about going to Cornwall for so many years that I am boring myself, but now we really want to do it. We definitely don't want to drive, since at 75 we're simply more likely to cause an accident while driving on the left--also, many rental places consider us too old! So, considering that and also the fact that too much uphill is uncomfortable for us, what would be recommended as a beautiful, quaint, scenic town to stay? Port Isaac, the Doc Martin town, is too hilly. Any other suggestions??
 
I would recommend St Ives. It is a larger town, on the sea, with beautiful beaches. It can get crowded but it has great shops and restaurants. Lots of art galleries and a major art museum. Good food shops too. There are a lot of vacation rentals in the town.

The train goes into St Ives and you could use it to see a few other places. There is a bus, summer only I think, that goes from St Ives around Penrith peninsula.

It is on a hill but the central part is flat.
 
Thanks, Pauline, I'll definitely put St. Ives on the top of my list! We'll be going in mid-September, so hopefully the worst of the crowds will have dissipated. Hopefully the busses will still be running.
 
Sharon,
There is an arts festival in St. Ives in September which brings in a lot of people. My friend and I stayed in St. Ives during this time, and while it was crowded, we enjoyed the festival. Lots of local artists open their studios and there are various performances in the evenings. The buses were still running the same schedule as summer then, though I don't know the current plans.

I'd also recommend looking at the Fodors forums cornwall posts. There is a woman who posts as AnnHig who lives in the area & gives great information & recommendations.

Search for Cornwall and AnnHig
 
Sharonov, I've been thinking about your post. We've spent some amount of time in coastal Cornwall the last two years, working on plans for a new tour we're launching in April. Last year (late September into October) we did a 100 mile walk around the western tip, from St. Ives to Falmouth, and then made a side trip for a few days to the Isles of Scilly. We did take a few rest days. (We met up with Pauline and Steve several days.)

The coast is rugged and spectacular! But there are definitely hills. The villages tend to cluster around harbors and then rise up on the hills that surround the harbor. I've been trying to think about where you could base that wouldn't involve many hills. St. Ives is beautiful (we stayed two nights in 2016 and again in 2017), but both years our B&B accommodations were uphill from the harbor where most of the shops/restaurants are located. The Tate Modern museum is uphill, and so is the train station. (It's possible to take taxis if the hills are too much.) So I think it depends on how much of a hill would be a problem for you.
The St. Ives train station is at the end of a separate line... maybe a 20 minute ride to the station where you catch the main line that goes from London to Penzance. So it's possible to use the trains. However, when you take the train to Penzance, it will be an uphill walk to visit much of the town.

We did see buses along the coast during our walk in late September/early October. I'm not sure when they stop running. But you'd have to plan your itinerary carefully around the bus schedules.

You might also consider Mousehole (a very picturesque village where we've stayed several times) or Marazion (where Pauline and Steve stayed... small but flat and right by St. Michaels Mount-- which also involves an uphill climb. We stayed in Marazion two nights each in 2016 and 2017. I was also thinking about Falmouth for you, which we loved, on the Fal River. It's a bigger place and more flat, but I'm not sure about transportation and you'd have some amount of travel to see other parts of Cornwall.

If you really want to see Cornwall, I was thinking you might want to book a private driver for several days. It will be expensive but you'll be able to see much more than relying on public transportation which isn't always flexible or efficient.

Kathy
 
The St. Ives train station is at the end of a separate line... maybe a 20 minute ride to the station where you catch the main line that goes from London to Penzance.

Is that the same train that goes to Carbis Bay? Does it go from there to Penzance? I hoped it went more into Cornwall, but I’ve never taken it beyond st Ives to Carbis.
 
There's a little train line that runs between St. Erth and St. Ives. There's only one track so the same train runs back and forth during the day. From end to end it's maybe 15 minutes. There are a few stops including Lelant Saltings (where there's a park and ride) and Carbis Bay. We've done a walk on the Southwest Coast path from St. Ives to Lelant Saltings twice, about four miles, and then taken the train back to St. Ives. It's a very scenic ride along the coast... sit on the right side going toward St. Ives for the views.. and of course a scenic walk too.

St. Erth is a stop on the main train line through Cornwall that goes west to Penzance, the end of the line. If you get off the train on the main line at St. Erth, you have to cross over the tracks on stairs (no elevator) to the other track that goes to St. Ives. It was a bit tough with luggage.

There are a couple of other small train lines like this in Cornwall where you can transfer off main line to go north or south. (For example, Par to Newquay or Truro to Falmouth.) But you'd always have to change at St. Erth.

Kathy
 
I found some information about the "Atlantic Coaster" bus service in Cornwall. Here's the summer 2017 schedule. This schedule seemed to run from late May to end of September last year. I know we saw a few buses when we were doing our walk last year (late September/October), but we also met several walkers who were having to wait a while for a bus. So maybe some combination of trains, buses, and taxis would make a vacation without a car possible... especially if you are flexible and patient.
 
Kathy, I really appreciate the time you've taken in answering my query! Thanks so much. The Atlantic Coaster and little train ride sound very charming.

I'd like to add a note on our degree of feebleness. We are still pretty active, and are able to do some degree of hilly walking. Last year we spent 3 weeks on the Amalfi Coast, and stayed in the town of Amalfi for a week. Our rental was up a pretty substantial hill (across from the Paper Museum if you're familiar with Amalfi), but it was not terribly steep. Even though we bitched and groaned near the top--along with the other people who happened to be walking at the same time--we managed just fine. The kind of hills I'd find difficult are the ones I've see on Doc Martin and the ones in San Francisco. Having to climb a long, steep hill to do anything is not my idea of a good time.

So, it's looking like St. Ives, with its flat center and access to public transport, will be our best option.
 
I do like St. Ives, and it's good to know that you can do some hill walking. If you stay near the harbor, you'll have to walk uphill to the train and bus station... this will give you good exercise! And at least you can walk down to get back home. I think it would be something to ask about as you look at rentals. Maybe you can find something in the middle of the hill or perhaps on the side of the village nearest the train/bus station if you think you'll use public transportation regularly. There seem to be lots of rental cottages in St. Ives.

That said, I visited Port Isaac, and the the geography of St. Ives isn't too different... though it's a lot busier with many more options for places to stay, eating, and shopping. And St. Ives is also well located day tripping around the Penwith Peninsula. And I've been to Amalfi (once walked down from Ravello to Amalfi)... this area isn't nearly so steep!
 

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