Penzance - ideas of things to do......3 days to kill

[whole diary]

[Mookiemoo]

ETA in Penzance is midday on the saturday of the bank holiday weekend

Leaving around 5pm on the Monday

Me and my mate have a girls weekend.....

Plan for saturday is sorted - St Ives, The beach, a couple of good books, and apparently a bottle of vodka!

Now since I wish to live through the experience, that will not be repeated three days in a row,

Was thinking on Monday of going down to lands end - abotu 50 minutes by bus frompenzance and note leaving until fiveish should give us plenty of time to get back to penzance.

But What about saturday afternoon?  Don't really want to hit the bars - and boats are out since mate hates boats.

Is there anything not too far from penzance - given we'll have been on a train for five hours venturing further is not ideal) - or even anywhere of interest near any of the stations the train stops at/can connect to en route.  We won't have a lot of luggage  so thats possible. 

We could get off, go do, then get a later train to our destination.

Personally i'd be happy with wandering the cliffs but her idea of a good time is shopping on oxford street in six inch heels!  I'm taking her out of her element.

Ideas would be appreciated

[bobm]

As far as the bus trip to Lands End goes when I did that I got off at Sennan Cove on the way back. It's worth a look with the right weather. You won't want much more than about an hour/hour and a half at Lands End.

As for the journey down you could stop off in Exeter, Plymouth or Truro. Shops not quite Oxford Street but there are other things to see. The Hoe and Gin Factory tour are two of my favourites in Plymouth.

Also my two favourite bits of railway. The Dawlish Sea Wall (sit on the left hand side for that) and the Royal Albert Bridge into Cornwall. If you sit on the right hand side on the way home you can see it ahead before the train turns sharply to cross it.

[Phil]

Fly to the Scillies. Simply HAS to be experienced to be believed. A little bit of paradise just a stone's throw from the British coast.

[bobm]

Always been tempted to do that Phil. What sort of price is it?  Always thought it might be a bit expensive for a day trip.  I know the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) all in packages for up to four days are quite pricey.

[Mookiemoo]

45.00 each way fro lands end airport strip

including taxes - just looked it up

[bobm]

Oh right thanks. Thought it went from the heliport near the station.

[brompton rail]

Just quizzed the helicopter website for next Tuesday (as an example) and ^99 seems to be the return fare. Always was expensive, even when BA^» (British Airways - about) ran it. Biplane from St Just seems best bet!

[LiskeardRich]

if you opt for going out saturday night, Sound nightclub in penzance is the best of the bunch.
if you fancy a meal, there is a meadery right by the train station which I have always found to be brilliant value for money if a meadery meal is to your taste, large portions, good prices,
visit marazion, approx 1 mile back from penzance, views towards st micheals mount, nice beach little village shops,
st michaels mount is worth a visit, if your friend is not for boats, at low tide there is a causeway to walk across to the mount,

[Mookiemoo]

if you opt for going out saturday night, Sound nightclub in penzance is the best of the bunch.
if you fancy a meal, there is a meadery right by the train station which I have always found to be brilliant value for money if a meadery meal is to your taste, large portions, good prices,
visit marazion, approx 1 mile back from penzance, views towards st micheals mount, nice beach little village shops,
st michaels mount is worth a visit, if your friend is not for boats, at low tide there is a causeway to walk across to the mount,

She;ll do a short boat trip if she can see the end - like the london river boat things - but she wont do boat trips as such

[JayMac]

If you're going to St Ives then you must pop in to The Sloop Inn. A great pub.

http://www.sloop-inn.co.uk/

Word of warning though, it's often full of German tourists because it featured (along with St Ives and the rest of Cornwall generally) in a strangely popular series of German TV movies based on Rosamund Pilcher novels.

Last time I was in St Ives, off season, I couldn't quite work out why there were so many German tourists around. It was only when I got home and went a -Googling that I discovered why.

Also The Sloop Inn featured in the movie "Raise The Titanic!" A film that cost a fortune to make and was a major box office flop. The producer, Lew Grade, after losing a small fortune bankrolling the film, said, "Raise the Titanic? It would've been cheaper to lower the Atlantic."

Oh, and the train ride from St Erth to St Ives is pretty picturesque. Sit on the right hand side.

[devonian]

Save yourself from the disappointment of Land's End - it's become a tacky tourist trap. Sennen Cove is much better. Trengwainton gardens at Madron just outside Penzance are well worth a visit.

[Phil]

Can't remember the price difference now but there's also the cheaper option of sailing to and from the Scillies from Penzance on the Scillonian. That's do-able in a day as well.

[winterbourne]

Sounds a nice weekend you have planned. As a Cornishman I may be biased, but I think you have chosen wisely.

I would consider the idea of Branwells Meadery right outside the station. If you like good portions of food in an informal atmosphere (not to mention the alcohol absortion qualities for later) this will be for you.

I'm from Hayle and this is a nice place to visit two stations away (or bus ride). There's Bird Paradise to visit plus lots of nice pubs like the Cornish Arms and Salt Bar underneath the viaduct.

Sty Ives is a must as well. Sunday would be a good day to visit. Stunning beaches, galleries and walks. And plenty of ice-cream bars & restaurants too. 

Heading West from Penzance is also a treat as already mentioned, and I prefer Sennen to Lands End. The North coast is wonderful, but a little out of reach maybe. But Perranporth, St Agnes & Newquay are good (Newquay oput of season is best).

Enjoy anyway, have a great stay. Craig

[Mookiemoo]

Well my mate is so excited over the tamar bridge - she's a geographer and gets really really irritated when people call suspension bridges suspension when they aren't.

i.e. the Tamar is NOT a suspension bridge.

Iron bridge is, clifton is etc - they are suspended from either side with no base support.  anything with a post into the ground - a la the tamar and others - are NOT suspension bridges but language has adapted to call them that!

she's a bit anal over this and has instilled it into me!

[LiskeardRich]

Winterbourne, what are your thoughts on the salt bar, were also in hayle now, and we've yet to pop over to the salt bar keep putting it off.