Things to do in the local area

There is much to do in West Cornwall, from scenic flights from lands end aerodrome, learning sports such as Yoga and Surfing to great days out in the Art Galleries and Museums.

Beaches

Below is a list of some of the more well known beaches in the area but many beautiful secluded and sheltered coves can be reached by walking along the coast path, you may also have the chance to glimpse the regions marine life that boasts, dolphins, seals and basking sharks as its regular visitors!

Porth Nanven Cove is the small beach at the end of the Cot valley and has some very unusual egg shaped boulders and rock pools to explore.

Sennen beach has a beautiful white sand beach which is rated as a Blue Flag beach ideal for surfing and swimming. The beach has a lifeguard hut manned in the summer months. There is also a surf school and surf shop and a beach hire shop for surfboards and wetsuits etc.

Gwynver beach is the next bay along from Sennen and can be reached by walking along the beach from Sennen at low tide or the coastal path. You can also drive to a small car park at the top of the hill above and walk down the steep path to the beach.
Gwynver also has a life guard hut and dogs are allowed access to the beach all year round.

Porthcurno is within easy reach. It has lifeguards and is on the south coast so is usually quite sheltered and ideal for swimming.
The Minnack Theatre is nestled into the cliffs above the beach.

Gwithian beach has over three miles of golden sand stretching from Godrevy light house to Carbis Bay just outside St. Ives.

St. Ives itself has some excellent beaches for surfing and swimming with plenty of restaurants and cafes to choose from.

Site seeing

There are many, many places to go in West Cornwall on a sunny day or a rainy day below is a list of just a handful of the places to visit.

St. Michaels Mount is a small island reached at low tide by foot from Marazion near Penzance with a cluster of cottages surrounding a castle on the summit.

Mousehole is a pretty fishing harbour with narrow streets and lots of charm.

Lamorna Cove is a lovely wooded valley running down to the sea and worth a visit.

Land's End has a small theme park and spectacular views out to the Long Ship's light house.

St. Ives has the Tate Gallery and the Barbara Hepworth museum to visit.

Isles of Scilly day trips by helicopter from Penzance or by plane from Lands End Aerodrome.

National Maritime Museum, Falmouth

Flambards, Helston a great place for kids and adults with a fun park, animals and lots more.

Paradise Park, Hayle this place has parrots penguins otters, red pandas, otters etc

Gweek Seal Sanctury, Gweek near Helson.

Cornwalls industrial past

There are remnants of the areas mining past all around the Land's End peninsula. This can be seen in the vast number of engine houses scattered around the coast and the inland moors. These can be spotted by their telltale chimneys. You can also see entrances to old mine works and shafts down at the cove and all along the coastal path.

Tregeseal Valley near St Just has some good examples of restored chimneys as does Botallack also near St Just, with it's dramatically placed engine houses clinging to the cliff edge.

Geevor tin mine, on the Coast road between St Ives and Penzance and has excellent tours taking you through the process of extracting and processing the tin. There is also a guided tour through one of the old mine shafts.

Ancient Cornwall

There are an enormous amount of ancient standing stones, stone circles and quoits in the area. This part of Cornwall has more ancient sites per square mile than any where else in England.

Some of the more well known sites include "The Merry Maidens" circle with the nearby "Pipers" huge standing stones. "Tregeseal" stone circle is near St Just. "Zennor Quoit" is not outside of St Ives and is only one of many ancient burial tombs in the area with their enormous cap stones resting on large stone walls. These are what has been left after time has eroded away the earth that would of once covered them. Two other excellent examples are "lanyon Quiot" and "Chun Quiot" with its peculiar mushroom shaped capstone. The "Men-An-Tol" is found on the near by moors with its strange holed stone believed to be used for fertility rituals.

"Carn Euny" ancient settlement near Sancreed, has the remains of ancient dwellings including an underground passage and chamber.

There are vast amounts of other sites including hill forts ,stone circles, Fogues (underground passages),burial chambers, standing stones and ancient celtic crosses waiting to be discovered.

Walks

There are miles of footpaths crisscrossing the area and of course beautiful stretches of coastal paths which take in beautiful coves and fishing villages such as Lamorna and Mousehole.

Cornish gardens

Cornwall is renowned for its amazing gardens and the vast array of sub tropical plants that thrive in the milder climate. There are some stunning gardens within reach including Trengwainton, Trevarno and Trewidden with their huge tree ferns, beautiful camellias and palms. There are many other gardens slightly further a field such as Trebah and also the lost gardens of Heligan and the Eden project.

The Minack theatre

The Minack is an open air amphitheatre built into the cliffs above Porthcurno beach. Performances are held here during the summer months and you can watch plays with the sea as a backdrop with sea birds swooping and diving into the water. The theatre can also be visited during the day to wander round and see the impressive way it has been perched on the cliffs. It is advisable to book well in advance as it does tend to sell out quite quickly.

Restaurants

There are all sorts of great restaurants in the area ranging from small cafes to fine dining.
The Abbey 01736 330680, The Lime Tree 01736 332555 and The Bay 01736 366890 in Penzance are all excellent as is the Porthminster Beach Café 01736 795352 and the Blue Fish 01736 794294 in St. Ives.

For something a little less formal Coco's, Chapel Street 01736 350222 and Mackerel Sky in Penzance are both lovely.

For the children a Cornish Meadery can be a fun night out with there medieval style banqueting hall and the local mead wine to try.Trewellard Meadery, Trewellard, Pendeen 01736 788345

The Beach Restaurant, Sennen Cove, is a beautiful building made of wood and glass and nestled into the cliff side, as the name suggests it is located directly on the beach - great Sunsets and surf spotting from here and lovely for a romantic meal. Great for dinner, lunch and even breakfast! 01736 871191

Pubs

Nearby there is a good selection of pubs for eating or just drinking:
The Star, St Just does good snacks and is a friendly local 01736 788767
The Queens Arms, Bottalack 01736 788318 does very good meals.
The Tinner's Arms, Zennor 01736 796927
The Old Success Inn, Sennen 01736 871232

Activities

Walking
Surfing, surf lessons can be taken at Sennen Cove 01736 871458
Swimming
Bird Watching
Climbing
Fishing - Stithian Lake permits from 01209 860301/West Cornwall Angling 01736 362363
Sea Fishing - Available in many of the harbours. 01736 368565
Golf - Cape Cornwall Golf Club, a beautiful course set with the beautiful back drop of Cape Cornwall and the sea beyond 01736 788611
Trekking, Lands End Riding Center 01736 871989/ Mulfra Trekking Centre 01736 361601
Scenic Flights, Lands End Aerodrome 01736 788771

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