North Cornwall
North Cornwall is in Cornwall. It includes much of the Cornish coast along the Celtic Sea and some top surfing areas.
Towns and villages
- 1 Bodmin — home to Restormel Castle, notable for being almost completely cylindrical
- 2 Bude — fishing village and holiday resort on the north coast of Cornwall
- 3 Launceston — home of the 11th-century Launceston Castle, and the Launceston narrow-gauge heritage steam railway
- 4 Newquay — former fishing village, now surf capital of the UK and home to Cornwall's principal airport
- 5 Padstow — fishing village and holiday resort on Cornwall's north coast
- 6 Perranporth — a seaside resort town backed by extensive sand dunes which reach nearly a mile inland
- 7 St Columb Major — one of only two places where you can watch Cornish hurling, a medieval game once common throughout Cornwall
- 8 Wadebridge — it has a 12-arch bridge, built in 468, and has hosted the Cornwall Folk Festival since 1962
- 9 Boscastle — scenic fishing village with the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic
- 10 Port Isaac — seaside village, often used as a filming location
- 11 Redruth — world capital of tin mining
- 12 Rock — a popular base for holidaymakers, and a well-established centre for water sports
- 13 St Agnes — part of the Cornwall Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site
- 14 Tintagel — legendary birthplace of King Arthur and seat of the Kings of Cornwall
Other destinations
- 1 Tamar Valley — an area of outstanding natural beauty on the border with Devon
- 2 Bodmin Moor — a bleak moor to the east of Bodmin made famous by Daphne du Maurier's book Jamaica Inn
Understand
The north coast on the Celtic Sea, part of the Atlantic Ocean, is more exposed than the south coast, and therefore has a wilder nature. The High Cliff, between Boscastle and St Gennys, is the highest sheer-drop cliff in Cornwall at 223 metres (732 ft).
Beaches, which form an important part of the tourist industry, include Bude, Polzeath, Watergate Bay, Perranporth, Porthtowan, Fistral Beach, Newquay, St Agnes, St Ives, and on the south coast Gyllyngvase beach in Falmouth and the large beach at Praa Sands further to the south-west.
Get in
By train
Regular trains run on the main line from London Paddington (8 daily all the way through Cornwall to Penzance, 5 hr 30 min), Bristol, Birmingham etc. to Penzance. There is also an overnight sleeper train which runs Su-F nights from London Paddington and Penzance.
By car
Cornwall can be accessed by road via the A30 which runs from the end of the M5 at Exeter, all the way through the heart of Devon and Cornwall down to Land's End. It is a grade-separated expressway as far as Carland Cross near Truro (the expressway is expected to be open as far as Camborne (between Redruth and Hayle) by March 2024). You can also get to Cornwall via the A38, crossing the River Tamar at Plymouth via the Tamar Bridge, which levies a toll on eastbound vehicles. On summer Saturdays and during bank holiday weekends roads to Cornwall are usually busy.
By plane
1 Cornwall Airport (NQY IATA) in Newquay is the main airport for the county, with year-round flights only from Aberdeen, Alicante, Dublin, London Gatwick, and Manchester. During the summer season, more flights arrive from a wider range of UK and EU airports.
Get around
By bus
Thanks to Transport for Cornwall, all bus tickets are interchangeable across the different companies. The Cornwall All Day ticket allows unlimited travel for a calendar day. As of 2023, fares are £5 for adults and £4 for under-19s. Payment is by cash or contactless. The two main bus companies are:
- Go Cornwall Bus covers all parts of Cornwall and connects with Plymouth (in Devon).
- Kernow (part of First Bus) covers western and central Cornwall.
Buses only serve designated stops when in towns; otherwise, you can flag them down anywhere that's safe for them to stop.
By train
CrossCountry Trains and Great Western Railway operate regular train services between the main centres of population, the latter company also serving a number of other towns on branch lines. For train times and fares visit National Rail Enquiries. The Cornwall Ranger ticket allows unlimited train travel in Cornwall and Plymouth for a calendar day. As of 2023, this costs £14 for adults and £7 for under-16s.
See
Within the 208 m2 of the Bodmin Moor, is King Arthur's Hall, a megalithic monument and Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall at 417 m (1,368 ft). Dozmary Pool is a small beautiful lake where, according to legend, King Arthur was entrusted with the sword Excalibur. There is also a reputed Beast of the Moor, a large wild-cat that haunts and stalks at night, but is similar in fantasy to the Loch Ness Monster, in that no one can prove it exists, though sightings, theories and track-marks abound.
Tintagel Castle is the legendary birthplace of King Arthur and seat of the kings of Cornwall. Earl Richard of Cornwall and King of the Romans built the present medieval castle at the site. Ongoing excavations are revealing a Cornish royal seat of the period 400 to 700 AD.
Pencarrow House and Gardens is a large house near Wadebridge built in 1760 with extensive gardens.
Prideaux Place is a large house near Padstow.
National Trust properties
Lanhydrock near Bodmin is a magnificent late Victorian country house with garden and wooded estate.
Trerice - Kestle Mill, near Newquay, is an Elizabethan manor house with fine interiors and delightful garden.
East Pool Mine, Pool near Redruth, has an impressive Cornish beam engine and industrial heritage at the heart of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site.
Tintagel's Old Post Office: one of the Trust's most delightful medieval buildings, enhanced by a cottage garden.
Hawker's Hut is the smallest National Trust property in the country. It's in Morwenstow, north of Bude.
The Hurlers (Cornish: Hr Carwynnen) is a group of three stone circles similar to but smaller than Stonehenge. The site is half-a-mile (0.8 km) west of the village of Minions on the eastern flank of Bodmin Moor, and approximately four miles (6 km) north of Liskeard. Each stellar alignment was given with tabulated declinations at a date in the range of 2100 to 1500 BC!
Do
Cornwall, in particular Newquay, is the UK's surfing capital, with equipment hire and surf schools present on many of the county's beaches, and events like the UK championships or Boardmasters festival.
The South West Coast Path runs along the coastline of Britain's south-west peninsula. The Cornish section is supposed to be the most scenic (unless you talk to someone in Devon, in which case the Devon part is most scenic). It is particularly scenic around Penwith and the Lizard. The trail takes walkers to busy towns, remote cliffs, beaches, heaths, farms and fishing villages. Walking along it is a great way to experience the region in all its variety. (Walking the entire path takes several weeks, walking on a choice part of it is easier.)
The Camel Trail is an 18-mile (29 km) off-road cycle-track that follows the scenic estuary of the river Camel from Padstow to Wenford Bridge via Wadebridge and Bodmin.
The Cornish Film Festival is held annually each November around Newquay.
The Royal Cornwall Show is an agricultural show at the beginning of June each year. It is one of Cornwall's major tourist attractions.
Camel Creek Adventure Park, Tredinnick, Wadebridge offers great family days out at Cornwall's top theme park.
Festivals
Mummer's Day, or "Darkie Day" as it is sometimes known, is an ancient Cornish midwinter celebration that occurs every year on Boxing Day and New Year's Day in Padstow. Now considered somewhat "un-PC" as people will paint themselves black.
'Obby 'Oss is held annually on May Day (1 May), mainly in Padstow, with large marching bands and traditional music. It attracts large crowds, so show up early.
St Piran's Day (Cornish: Gool Peran) is the national day of Cornwall, held on 5 March every year. There is large parties widespread across the whole of Cornwall, with people dressing in the black, white and silver national colours.