Cornwall and Devon

Overview

Cornwall and Devon form the long peninsula at England's southwest corner, where Britons go on beach vacations: granite headlands, coves that look Caribbean on a sunny day, fishing harbors stacked with cottages, and some of the best seafood cooking in the country.

Devon is greener and softer, with two coasts, Exeter, the resorts around Torquay, and the moors of Dartmoor and Exmoor. Cornwall is rockier and more remote, with its own Celtic language (Cornish, seen on some signs), a UNESCO-listed mining past, and a strong sense of being apart from the rest of England.

The catch is distance and crowds. Penzance is farther from London than Paris is, and in August the main roads and famous villages are jammed. Come in May, June or September for long days, open attractions and room to breathe. See planning your trip and when to go.

St Ives

St Ives is the Cornwall of postcards: granite lanes on a headland, four beaches facing different ways, and a light that drew artists from the 1920s on. It is packed in summer, so stay overnight and enjoy it after the day crowds leave.

Tate St Ives and the Hepworth

Tate St Ives, above Porthmeor Beach, shows modern art with Cornish links. It is open daily 10 a.m. to 5:20 p.m. Adult tickets are £14 (about $19), or £15.50 (about $21) with a donation, and anyone 18 or under gets in free. From November 2026 into early 2027, Tate is rehanging the collection galleries, with rooms closing in turn, so contact Tate if you want a particular work.

The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, the sculptor's studio and garden in town, needs a separate ticket and is often the highlight: bronzes among palms, her tools still on the bench. Book both on the Tate St Ives site.

Beaches

• Porthmeor: the north-facing surf beach below Tate, with surf schools and board rental. Lifeguarded in season.
• Porthminster: long, sheltered and sandy, below the railway station; the best for families and swimming on calm days.
• Porthgwidden: a tiny cove on "the Island" headland, sheltered and pretty.
• Harbour Beach: in the middle of town; guard your pasty from the herring gulls, which snatch food from hands.

The coast path west to Zennor is about 6 miles (10 km) of rough, roller-coaster cliff with no shortcuts; allow 3 to 4 hours and take the bus back.

Penzance and St Michael's Mount

Penzance, at the end of the railway, is a working town: less pretty than St Ives, cheaper, and better placed for the far west, with its 1930s Jubilee Pool seawater lido.

St Michael's Mount, the island castle across the bay, began as a medieval priory and is still home to the St Aubyn family, who run it with the National Trust. You reach it from Marazion, about 3 miles (5 km) east of Penzance.

Tides and the causeway

At low tide you walk the cobbled causeway from Marazion beach, about a third of a mile. At high tide, boats cross for £3.20 (about $4.25) per adult, £1.60 per child; the 2026 boat season ends October 31. Check tide times on the St Michael's Mount site and plan around them.

Tickets and seasons

Castle tickets for 2026 cost £18 (about $24) for adults and £9 for children 5 to 15 booked by midnight the day before, or £21 (about $28) and £10.50 on the day; under-5s go free. In summer the island is open Sunday to Friday, 9:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last entry 3:45 p.m.). The terraced subtropical garden opens on a more limited spring and summer schedule.

The castle season runs until October 30, 2026; in winter the castle is closed, though the island's harbor and village are free to visit when tide and weather allow. Gales close the island at short notice (in late October 2026 the castle shut for maintenance after Storm Austen), and closures are usually posted online by the day before.

The Minack, Land's End and the far west

The Minack Theatre

The Minack is an open-air theatre carved into the cliff at Porthcurno, about 9 miles (14 km) from Penzance, begun by Rowena Cade and her gardener in the 1930s. Its show season runs roughly from Easter to late September (check the 2027 dates), with touring theatre, musicals, family shows and concerts.

A show here is one of the great evenings in Britain. Tickets for the 2026 season went on sale in January and February, so book early for 2027. Bring layers, a rain jacket and a cushion (or rent one); seats are stone and grass, and shows go ahead in drizzle. You can also visit by day when there is no matinee; check daytime hours and prices on the Minack site, which says advance booking is essential for all visits, tours and shows. The steps are steep, and parking is limited. Below, Porthcurno beach is white shell sand and clear water.

Land's End, honestly

Land's End, mainland England's most westerly point, has fine cliffs and a commercial complex of shops and family attractions that many visitors find disappointing, plus a parking charge and a fee for the official photo at the signpost. Approach it on foot instead: take the bus to Sennen Cove, a lovely surf beach, and walk the coast path about 1 mile (1.5 km) south. Or go to Cape Cornwall near St Just, a quieter headland with no development. Mousehole (say "MOW-zul") and Lamorna Cove are small and pretty out of season.

Near St Just, the cliff-top engine houses at Botallack and the Levant Mine (National Trust) are part of the Cornish mining World Heritage Site and the scenery of Poldark; see film locations.

Padstow, Tintagel and the north coast

Padstow and food

Padstow, a harbor town on the Camel estuary, became a food destination after Rick Stein opened his Seafood Restaurant in 1975. He now runs several places, from the original $$$ to a fish and chip shop $, and Paul Ainsworth's restaurants add fine dining. Book dinner well ahead in summer.

The Camel Trail, a flat, car-free former railway, runs about 18 miles (29 km) from Padstow to Bodmin; rent bikes in Padstow and ride the 5.5 miles (9 km) to Wadebridge and back. A foot ferry crosses to upscale Rock, with dunes and the church where the poet John Betjeman is buried. Port Isaac, up the coast, is the Doc Martin village; park at the top and walk down.

Tintagel

Tintagel Castle (English Heritage) is a 13th-century ruin on a headland and island tied to the Arthur legend, and earlier an important early medieval settlement. A footbridge, opened in 2019, crosses to the island and its bronze Gallos sculpture. It opens 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in autumn and winter (last entry 3 p.m.), longer in summer, but not every day: from November 2, 2026, it is open Wednesday to Sunday in November and mostly Friday to Sunday from December to mid-February (daily December 27–January 1, closed December 24–26); check the English Heritage page. Booking online by midnight the day before is cheaper, and timed tickets are valid all day.

Expect a steep walk down, many steps and wind; allow 2 to 3 hours. Boscastle, 3 miles (5 km) up the coast, is a tiny harbor and a good lunch stop. Farther south, Newquay is Britain's surf capital (Fistral Beach), with Cornwall's airport, and Watergate Bay next door is a 2-mile (3 km) beach with a good surf school.

The Eden Project and the great gardens

Cornwall's mild climate lets subtropical plants grow outdoors, and the county has some of Britain's best gardens. Spring (March to May) is peak season for camellias, magnolias and rhododendrons.

Fowey, Falmouth and the south coast

The south coast is gentler than the north. Fowey (say "Foy"), a steep harbor town linked to the novelist Daphne du Maurier, is a good base for Eden and Heligan; small ferries cross to Polruan and Bodinnick for the classic 4-mile (6 km) Hall Walk loop.

Falmouth, a lively port and university town on a huge natural harbor, has the National Maritime Museum Cornwall, Henry VIII's Pendennis Castle (English Heritage), a ferry to St Mawes, and a branch railway from Truro. The Lizard peninsula to the south has Kynance Cove, with serpentine rock and white sand, and mainland Britain's most southerly point.

Looe and Polperro, farther east, are fishing villages best seen early or late in the day.

The South West Coast Path

The South West Coast Path is England's longest National Trail, 630 miles (about 1,014 km) from Minehead in Somerset around Devon and Cornwall to Poole Harbour in Dorset. The suggested full itinerary takes 52 days; most visitors walk sections of 3 to 10 miles and return by bus. Good day sections include St Ives to Zennor, Sennen Cove to Porthcurno, Kynance Cove around the Lizard, Polruan to Polperro, and the cliffs between Tintagel and Boscastle. The South West Coast Path Association lists routes and current diversions, since landslips close sections from time to time.

Dartmoor and Exmoor

Dartmoor

Dartmoor National Park, in central Devon, is high open moor of heather, bog and granite outcrops called tors, with free-roaming ponies, Bronze Age stone rows and medieval clapper bridges. Easy introductions include Haytor and Hound Tor (short climbs from roadside parking, with huge views), the clapper bridge at Postbridge, and the stunted, mossy oaks of Wistman's Wood. Villages such as Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Chagford and Lustleigh have good pubs.

Dartmoor is the one place in England where backpack camping on open moorland is permitted in designated areas, a right the UK Supreme Court confirmed in 2025 after a landowner challenged it. Follow the national park's rules and its camping map.

Exmoor

Exmoor, on the Devon and Somerset border, is gentler than Dartmoor, with wooded valleys running down to England's highest sea cliffs, red deer, ponies and an International Dark Sky Reserve. Lynton and Lynmouth are twin villages linked by a Victorian water-powered cliff railway; check whether it is running before you plan around it. The stone clapper bridge at Tarr Steps and the walk through the Valley of Rocks are classic outings, and Dunster, on the Somerset side, has a castle and a medieval main street.

Exeter, Torquay and Clovelly

Exeter

Exeter, about 2 hours from London Paddington, is the gateway, with an airport and car rental offices. The cathedral has the longest continuous medieval Gothic vault in the world, and the city has Roman walls, medieval underground passages you can tour, the free Royal Albert Memorial Museum and a pleasant quayside. South of Exeter, the train runs along the sea wall at Dawlish, right beside the waves; sit on the left heading west.

Torquay and the English Riviera

Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, around Tor Bay, are called the English Riviera for their palm trees and mild climate. Torquay, a traditional and slightly faded seaside resort, is Agatha Christie's birthplace; Brixham is a working fishing port with excellent fish. The Dartmouth Steam Railway runs from Paignton to Kingswear, where a ferry crosses to Dartmouth, a beautiful naval town on the River Dart. Boats go upriver to Greenway (National Trust), Christie's holiday home.

Kents Cavern in Torquay is a show cave with traces of early humans, and the Jurassic Coast begins at Exmouth and runs east into Dorset.

Clovelly

Clovelly, on Devon's north coast, is a privately owned village of whitewashed cottages on one steep cobbled street that drops about 400 feet (120 m) to a tiny harbor. No cars go down. You pay an entry fee at the visitor center at the top (check the current price on the village website), and a Land Rover service usually runs up the back road for anyone who cannot face the climb.

Getting there and getting around

By train

Great Western Railway (GWR) runs the main line from London Paddington to Exeter St Davids (about 2 hr to 2 hr 15 min), Plymouth (about 3 hr 15 min), Truro and Penzance (about 5 to 5½ hr). Branch lines run to St Ives, Falmouth, Newquay and Looe, and the Tarka Line runs from Exeter to Barnstaple in north Devon. See getting around for ticket types and railcards.

The Night Riviera sleeper

The Night Riviera, one of Britain's two remaining sleeper trains, runs six nights a week (not Saturdays) between Paddington and Penzance, leaving late in the evening and arriving around breakfast, roughly 7 to 8 hours. Single and twin cabins need a reservation on top of your ticket and include a light breakfast; reclining seats cost nothing extra. Cabins can sell out on summer weekends, so book early on the GWR site. It saves a hotel night and a day of travel.

Driving and the lanes

A car gives you freedom for gardens, moors and coves, though driving is the most stressful part of a Cornwall trip for Americans. From London, take the M4 and M5 to Exeter, then the A30; or the slower, prettier A303 past Stonehenge. Summer Saturdays, when vacation rentals change over, bring the worst traffic.

Many lanes are a single car wide between high hedges (really stone walls under plants). When you meet another car, whoever is closer to a passing place backs up to it, so be ready to reverse 100 yards. Rent the smallest car that fits your luggage, and an automatic unless you drive stick every day. See driving in the UK.

Parking

Most car parks are pay-and-display, by card machine or app (JustPark, PayByPhone and RingGo are common), and wardens are active. National Trust car parks, which serve many beaches and headlands, are free for members, so on a week-long road trip a National Trust membership can pay for itself in parking alone.

Buses

Buses cover the Cornish coast better than you might expect, including open-top summer services around Land's End and St Ives, and you can pay by contactless card on board. Some routes run only a few times a day, and less in winter.

Beach safety and RNLI flags

Atlantic beaches here have strong rip currents, big surf and large tides. The RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution), a charity, runs lifeguard patrols on the main beaches, mostly from May to September. Always choose a lifeguarded beach, and learn the flags:

1. If you are caught in a rip current, do not try to swim straight back against it. Float on your back to catch your breath, as the RNLI's "Float to Live" advice says.
2. Raise a hand and shout for help, or swim parallel to the shore once you can.
3. If you see someone in trouble, do not go in after them. Call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
4. Check tide times before walking around a headland or exploring caves; people get cut off every summer.

See safety for wider advice on emergencies and outdoor risks.

Where to stay

Pick one or two bases: St Ives or Penzance for the west, Fowey or Falmouth for the south coast, Padstow for the north, and Exeter, Dartmouth or Dartmoor for Devon. Peak summer rates can run a tier higher than shown, with minimum stays of up to a week in July and August; see where to stay.

Itineraries

Five days in west Cornwall, without a car

1. Day 1

   Sleeper and St Michael's Mount

   Night Riviera to Penzance, bus to Marazion, cross at low tide and tour the castle.

2. Day 2

   The Minack and Porthcurno

   Bus to Porthcurno for the Minack by day or an evening show, and a swim if it is calm.

3. Day 3

   Land's End on foot

   Bus to Sennen Cove and walk to Land's End and back. Dinner in Mousehole.

4. Day 4

   St Ives

   Train via St Erth. Tate, the Hepworth garden, the beaches, and a night in town.

5. Day 5

   Zennor and home

   Coast path to Zennor, a pub lunch, then a daytime train to London.

Ten days in Devon and Cornwall, by car

1. Days 1–2

   Exeter and Dartmoor

   Train to Exeter, pick up a car, see the cathedral, then a day of Haytor, Hound Tor and Widecombe. Stay on the moor.

2. Day 3

   Dartmouth

   Boat upriver to Greenway and walk to Dartmouth Castle.

3. Days 4–5

   Fowey, Eden and Heligan

   Base in Fowey for the Eden Project, Heligan and the Hall Walk ferries.

4. Day 6

   Falmouth and the Lizard

   Pendennis Castle, then Kynance Cove and Lizard Point.

5. Days 7–8

   Penzance and the far west

   St Michael's Mount timed to the tide, the Minack, and Sennen Cove to Land's End on foot.

6. Days 9–10

   St Ives, Padstow and Tintagel

   St Ives in the morning, Padstow for dinner, Tintagel and Boscastle on the way back to Exeter.

To combine this region with Bath or the Cotswolds, see Bath and the southwest, Oxford and the Cotswolds and all regions, or ask our trip-planning service.