Out & About Guide

Food & Drink

Walks & Nature

Culture & Heritage

The Eden Project, St Austell

The world-renowned Eden Project near St Austell is about connecting plants, people and the environment; it's a living demonstration of regeneration, housed under a series of spectacular geodesic domes hidden in a reclaimed china clay pit.

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Lanhydrock House, Bodmin

One of the most fascinating and complete Victorian houses in the country, Lanhydrock is full of period atmosphere. Don't miss the servants quarters for a real 'Upstairs Downstairs' experience. The garden has a stunning collection of magnolias, rhododendrons and camellias, and 364 acres of park and woodland sweeping down to the River Fowey.

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Newlyn Art Gallery, Newlyn

Newlyn played an important role in the development of 20th-century art, and for nearly 120 years the gallery has brought the best contemporary works to the South West. The focus here is on painting and drawing. In Penzance, the Exchange Gallery occupies a former telephone exchange and this striking building is home to major contemporary art space with an impressive industrial feel.

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Porthcurno Telegraph Museum, Porthcurno

It might seem a rather unlikely hub for high-tech global communications, but in 1870 engineers laid thousands of miles of undersea cables from this remote sandy beach. Porthcurno, home to the world’s largest telegraph cable station, became vital to Britain’s communications across the Empire and beyond. It moved underground during World War II, and you can explore the ‘secret tunnels’ that now house an award-winning museum.

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St Michael's Mount, Marazion

Still home to the St Aubyn family as well as a small community, this island with its medieval church, castle and sub-tropical gardens is an iconic image of Cornwall. If the weather is favourable, you can get there via a short boat trip, or, at low tide, walk across the causeway.

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Minack Open Air Theatre, Porthcurno

Cornwall’s world-famous open-air theatre, constructed above a gully with a rocky granite outcrop jutting into the sea, was carved from the cliffs by Rowena Cade. Work began in the 1930s and continues today. The amazing and dramatic setting makes this a fabulous place to watch drama, musicals and opera. The season runs from May to September. There are sub-tropical gardens, too, with many unusual succulent plants thriving on the open cliffs.

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Trerice, Newquay

Trerice is a delightful, small, secluded Elizabethan Manor House built in 1571, with fine fireplaces, ceilings, furniture and clocks. Famed for its barrel roofed Great Chamber, it also has lovely flowering gardens and an old Cornish apple orchard, as well as an experimental Tudor garden.

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Charlestown Harbour, St Austell

If you enjoy history, head over to Charlestown (five-minute drive from St Austell) and visit the Shipwreck Treasure Museum, a historical museum housing over 8,000 artefacts from over 150 different shipwrecks. The village and deep harbour (with lock gates) was also one of the filming locations for the most recent BBC adaptation of Poldark.

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Cotehele House, Calstock

A stunning granite and slate house dating from 1485 and built for the Edgcumbe family, who left the house in the 16th century leaving Cotehele virtually untouched, apart from some building work in 1627 and in the 19th century. Inside, there are tapestries, period furniture and armour, and outside there is a beautiful garden on different levels, including a formal Italian-style garden, terraces, a Cornish Valley garden, and lovely views across the Tamar Valley.

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Chysauster Ancient Village, near Penzance

Originally occupied almost 2,000 years ago, this Iron Age village is one of the finest examples in the country. The stone-walled houses, known as 'courtyard houses', are found only on the Land's End peninsula and the Isles of Scilly. You can explore the ruins and ponder the purpose of the enigmatic 'fogou' underground passage. The village has fantastic views across the countryside and out to sea, and is a real haven for wildlife.

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Wheal Coates Tin Mine, St Agnes

Standing dramatically on the cliff top overlooking Chapel Porth and the coast stretching away to St Ives Bay is the Towanroath engine house once belonging to the Wheal Coates mine. It’s one of Cornwall’s instantly recognisable landmarks and has become an iconic image.

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Tregiffian Burial Chamber, St Buryan

A Neolithic or early Bronze Age chambered tomb, known as an entrance grave because of the entrance passage which is lined with stone slabs. This leads into the central chamber, where flints, bones and ashes were found here when it was excavated in the 19th century.

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Levant Mine & Beam Engine, Pendeen

A unique opportunity to see a steam-powered Cornish beam engine in action in its original site, perched dramatically on the cliff edge. Walk the coast path to view the the impressive mine ruins on the cliff at Botallack (see photo).

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Godolphin House, Helston

With its historically important 16th-century garden and the remains of the family mine, as well as beautiful scenery with views across St Ives Bay and St Michael’s Mount, Godolphin has plenty to offer. The house itself is not always open, but it’s well worth a look if you’re there on the right day. It was one of the most fashionable houses in 17th century Cornwall and has a fantastically romantic atmosphere.

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Tintagel Castle

The romantic castle ruins have been divided by the erosion of the sea and make a dramatic sight. Whatever the secrets of this fascinating place and its associations with Merlin the magician and King Arthur, it remains one of the most spectacular spots in Britain. Glorious cliff walks too.

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Launceston Castle

Dominating the old market town is the ruin of the 12th- and 13th-century castle. Built in the early years of the Norman Conquest, the castle soon became a symbol of the status and authority of the Earls of Cornwall and the centre from which they administered their great estates. Great views over the town and surrounding countryside.

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Truro

The three splendid spires of Truro Cathedral, built of granite and Bath stone in the 19th cenutry, dominate the town of narrow streets and Georgian buildings. During the Middle Ages, Truro influenced the country's growing tin industry. Don't miss the excellent Royal Cornwall Museum which details the history of the county through interesting and well laid out displays.

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Prehistoric Sites

West Cornwall is full of standing stones, chamber tombs, ancient settlements and stone circles. Mên-an-Tol, with its mysterious ‘holed stone’ for example, is close to Boskednan stone circle, also known as Nine Maidens, and Lanyon Quoit, a table-like dolmen. Mulfra Quoit enjoys spectacular views from its elevated position and Chûn Quoit, near Morvah, is one of the best preserved in the county.

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St Kew

This delightful little village stands in an idyllic streamside setting. It comprises a 15th-century stone-built inn, and elegant Georgian vicarage, a cluster of houses and a must-visit 15th-century church - it contains some of the finest medieval glass in Cornwall.

Tate St Ives

Part of the national group of galleries, the striking Tate St Ives building exhibits work by modern British artists. There’s no permanent collection, instead a regularly changing exhibition programme that changes three times a year. Excellent shop and cafe with beach views. The Tate also manages another property in St Ives, the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden (see entry).

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St Enodoc's Church, Polzeath

Curiously set in sand dunes behind Daymer Bay on St Enodoc Golf Course, this fascinating 12th-century chapel can only be reached by footpaths and is well worth visiting. It has an interesting history - at one point was nearly buried in the sand before being dug out properly and restored to its former glory in 1863. Poet Sir John Betjeman is buried in the churchyard

Cadgwith, The Lizard

The Lizard coast is dotted with unspoilt little fishing villages in secluded coves and pretty Cadgwith is squeezed into a narrow valley with cottages built of local serpentine stone clustering around the beach, crowded by crab and lobster boats. Walk south along the coast path to find the Devil's Frying Pan, a hole 200ft deep where a cave collapsed.

Barbara Hepworth Museum & Sculpture Garden, St Ives

The sculptor Barbara Hepworth lived and worked in Trewyn studios – now the Barbara Hepworth Museum – from 1949 until her death in 1975. Following her wish to establish her home and studio as a museum of her work, Trewyn Studio and much of the artist’s work remaining there was given to the nation and placed in the care of the Tate Gallery in 1980. The garden is an absolute jewel, with a stunning sculpture round every corner.

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Cornish Art Gallery

Local artist Andrew Giddens lives and works from his studio and gallery in Perranuthnoe. Visit the Cornish Art Gallery and be moved by a the way he captures Cornish light around the Cornish coast. Whilst there, be sure to visit the neighbouring The Cowhouse Gallery and Linen and Clay Homestore for more local Cornish artworks, before a stroll along the beach and refreshment in Perranuthnoe's two stand out cafes.

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Last updated: 19/02/21

Photo credit: Unsplash

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Culture & Heritage

The Eden Project, St Austell

Lanhydrock House, Bodmin

Newlyn Art Gallery, Newlyn

Porthcurno Telegraph Museum, Porthcurno

St Michael's Mount, Marazion

Minack Open Air Theatre, Porthcurno

Trerice, Newquay

Charlestown Harbour, St Austell

Cotehele House, Calstock

Chysauster Ancient Village, near Penzance

Wheal Coates Tin Mine, St Agnes

Tregiffian Burial Chamber, St Buryan

Levant Mine & Beam Engine, Pendeen

Godolphin House, Helston

Tintagel Castle

Launceston Castle

Truro

Prehistoric Sites

St Kew

Tate St Ives

St Enodoc's Church, Polzeath

Cadgwith, The Lizard

Barbara Hepworth Museum & Sculpture Garden, St Ives

Cornish Art Gallery