Tour Itinerary
Day 1
London to Cornwall
Boarding your train and following the route of the Great Western Railway, through the English countryside, along the coast of the English Channel to Plymouth, from where you cross the Tamar into the Duchy of Cornwall.
Once in Cornwall you head to the north coast and Tintagel the reputed site of King Arthur’s Camelot. Also where some of the best pasties in Cornwall are to be found. Then on to Boscastle, a natural harbour and inlet in the rocky coast of North Cornwall. Your first Cornish base is in the little fishing village of Port Isaac, made famous as the location of the TV series Doc Martin.
Days 2 – 6
Exploring Cornwall
Cornwall is one of the Celtic Fringes of Europe, a land of Stone circles, menhirs, quoits, fogous and all manner of weird and ancient things. There are some lovely little coves, which were once the haunt of Cornish smugglers, a fairy-tale-like castle, perched high on an island off the shore by Penzance, the quaint old town of St. Ives with its world famous galleries, cream teas, pasties and enough things to keep you occupied for a month to squeeze into a few days.
From Port Isaac we will then relocate to West Penwith. This is the far west region of Cornwall. It is part of the Duchy in which history and the past is never very far away. It abounds with the legacy of an ancient land and an ancient language, evident in place names such as Nanjizal, Crows-an-Wra, Gribba Point and Gwennap Head.
This is not a tour with a hard set itinerary, so that you can fit in some unforeseen delight which may only become apparent as time progresses. We will visit the places which you want to see without a strict schedule, so that we can vary things according to what ever takes your fancy and what ever the weather dictates.
However here are a few suggestions of what you may like to see and do:
Cornwall is famous for its gardens, such as Trelissick and Heligan with the rhododendrons and azalea in full bloom in the spring and herbaceous borders showing a profusion of colour throughout the summer.
You will have the opportunity to visit the Eden Project, where you will find the world’s largest greenhouse. Inside the artificial biomes are plants that are collected from all around the world.
Maybe take in a show at the Minack Theatre. A spectacular arena hewn from the cliffs high above the sea.
You could get up close to wildlife, handling owls at the owl sanctuary on Goss Moor.
Truro. The Cornish capital, with its magnificent cathedral rising from a tangle of narrow streets and alleyways. This allows the option of a trip to Falmouth by boat along the River Fal. In Falmouth you will find the National Maritime Museum and a wide variety of shops to browse around.
You will also be close to Land’s End. This is an especially good place for a good sunset.
There is a whole list of archaeological sites to choose from. A seldom visited iron age village, with he remains of ancient round houses. Stone circles, which you could pass by if you did not know where to look. An atmospheric Celtic chapel, deep in the woods, side by side with a pagan wishing well, draped with offering from grateful visitors and mysterious Fogous. Underground chambers, whose mysterious function can only be guessed at.
For the more energetic, there is the opportunity to walk the South West Coastal Path. This is a long distance footpath which goes right around the Cornwall peninsula and beyond. It gives splendid access to the spectacular cliff top scenery and to some of the more remote parts of the coast, not accessible by road.
We will not list everything that there is to see in Cornwall here. Before you set off on any Homemade Holidays adventure, you will receive a Travel Information Pack, which will give you all manner of information to enhance your visit and help you along the way.
Day 7
Cornwall to London
Boarding the train and heading back ‘up country’ as the Cornish call the rest of Britain, to be in place for your flight home on the following day or to continue your adventure in another part of the U.K. before heading back home to irritate friends and relations with ‘when we were in Cornwall’ stories.
