WEST CORNWALL

West Cornwall is famous for its rugged beauty and wild coastline, dotted with engine houses that belie its past as the heart of a thriving tin-mining industry. There are also many fishing communities along the coast, with quaint harbours and excellent seafood to be found.

Beloved by artists, St Ives is home to a thriving artistic scene, with galleries large and small to be found throughout the area. You can also see the astonishing St Michael’s Mount rising from a tidal island in Mounts Bay opposite Penzance; you can walk across the causeway to it, but don’t get caught by the tide!

Land’s End, meanwhile, is the most westerly point in mainland Britain, along with the extraordinary cliff-face and surprisingly accessible Minack Theatre and the fascinating Museum of Global Communications at Porthcurno.

The main towns in the area are Penzance, St Ives, Camborne and Redruth, with a number of smaller towns and villages including Portreath, Porthtowan, Carbis Bay, Sennen, Zennor, Hayle, Newlyn, and more. The main railway line comes through this entire area, terminating at Penzance, with a very picturesque branch line to St Ives.