3 days in Cornwall
- anna
- Dec 6, 2019
- 4 min read
A few suggestions for a long weekend in Cornwall, one of the best parts of England.
A real gem in the south-west of Great Britain, Cornwall is impressively different from most of UK, with its charming beaches and cliffs, Mediterranean vegetation and a very relaxed atmosphere.
A few suggestions if you are looking to spend a few days in this beautiful place.
Stonehenge (on the way) and Falmouth
Cornwall is quite a long trip from London (around 6 hours by car, depending on traffic) so, worth having a stop on the way there by the well-known Stonehenge, as we did. All in all, I think it is worth the stop (especially if the alternative is stopping at a gas station to get a sandwich 😊).
The historic site is made of a ring a huge standing stone constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC – it is pretty impressive to look at it and thinking about how these people at that time were able to raise such massive stone. According to archaeologist, the site could have had an original function of burial ground and then was also started to be used for astrological and religious ceremonies.
After this stop and a quick lunch break, we continued our route to Cornwall, heading towards Falmouth, where our Airbnb was. Especially if you are more than 2 (we were with my parents), I strongly suggest to rent an Airbnb instead of booking an hotel, as in summer Cornwall can be petty expensive, being a popular holiday destination in UK.
Falmouth is a very nice village overlooking the seaside and the Airbnb we rented was a nice and well decorated terraced house with sea views – beautiful. There is not that much in Falmouth itself, apart from a steep road with different shops selling local souvenirs and vintage clothes, a few pubs and restaurants, but the place is very cozy and relaxing.
After a short visit at the town, given it was already pretty late, we went for dinner in a place called The Cove, a seafood restaurant overlooking Maenporth Beach, which is very suggestive during sunset.
The food was also pretty good – we got different seafood starters (a sushi, scallops, tiger prawns) and a main each – I got a plaice cooked in a sort of vegetable broth with herbs which I liked (Francesco and my mum were not super impressed however).
St Michael's Mount and Marazion, Minack Theatre and St Ives
After a quick, but hard run in the hilly Falmouth, we spent this day to visit the North-western part of Cornwall, starting from St Michael's Mount, in Marazion.
This place is really stunning and a second Bretagne, being a tidal island (which means it can become an island if there is high tide, whilst you can access it on foot in case of low tide).
The island was originally hosting just a monastery from the 8th to 11th century, which was donated by Edward the Confessor to the Benedictine order of Mont-Saint-Michel (hence the name). Other buildings were constructed over the years starting from the 12th century.
After various occupations, the island and castle were sold in 1659 to Colonel John St Aubyn, whose family still own the island and castle. Beyond the visit to the island and castle, it was quite funny to notice that on our way back to Marazion from the island the tide rose, so we had to walk partly into the water!
After a quick lunch (a delicious home made roasted pepper soup) in a cosy café overlooking St. Michael’s Mount and a short visit to Marazion village, we headed towards another landmark – the Minack Theatre, an open-air theatre built in the rocks of Purchurno.
This breadth-taking place was built by Rowena Cade, who after World War I build a house behind the current site of the theatre for just 100£! The theatre is still used during spring and summary for exhibitions.
Last stop of the day was then upper north in St Ives. This is a small and cozy village, with a nice small harbor where you can walk and have a beer at the sun – I really suggest it for a visit if you have time.
After a beer in sunny St Ives, it was time to go back to Falmouth where we had our dinner booked, this this in a more traditional restaurant (The Shack) focused on shellfish, crabs and lobster.
I went for the crab, which was delicious, even though a lot of work to eat all the meat!
Lizard Point and Land’s End
The last day (morning in reality) was dedicated to another morning run in Falmouth and then to the visit of the most southern part of England – Lizard Point.
The landscape here is very suggestive, with steep cliffs and clear waters. If you have more time than us, it is worth embarking in a longer hiking following then coast to fully enjoy the landscape.
Final stop before heading back to London was Land’s End, which is instead is the most westerly point of mainland Cornwall and England, also in this case worth the visit from a landscape point of view!
I really enjoyed spending some time in Cornwall and could probably suggest to spend there at least 3 full days given time needed to reach it from London. Also, If I had more time I could have liked to visit Tintagel – associated to King Arthur and also, Looe and Polperro in the South … will keep them for the next visit!
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