Marazion – The home of St Michael’s Mount
The ancient market town of Marazion is a great place to visit at any time of the year. Safe, sandy beaches are lapped by the clear, turquoise waters of Mount’s Bay and guarded by the island fortress of St Michael’s Mount.
Enjoy a pasty while taking in the view of the bay or treat yourself to a meal at one of Marazion’s high-quality restaurants and cafes. Marazion is also home to a fabulous selection of art galleries and unique gift shops. There is a handy convenience store and post office as well as a well-stocked chemists.
Mount’s Bay is one of the UK’s premier locations for kitesurfing and Marazion is home to very active sailing and gig racing clubs. Stand up paddleboarding lessons and hire are available from the beach in the summer months. Cycle hire is available locally from Land’s End Cycle Hire. A lovely RSPB nature reserve is situated on the western side of the town.
Nearly 400,000 people each year pass through Marazion on their way to St Michael’s Mount, one of the National Trust”s most popular properties.
Visit the official website for Marazion at www.marazion.info for more information about the town and for a guide to local events.
St Michael’s Mount
Follow the footsteps of the pilgrims across the causeway or take a ferry boat to St Michael’s Mount where you can discover a castle full of myths and legends, fabulous sub-tropical gardens and a real working island community. The castle is floodlit for a couple of hours on most Summer evenings, you can’t fail to see it! The lights, especially reflected in a calm sea, make it appear as if it is floating in the air.
The island and castle are managed by the National Trust, find out more at www.stmichaelsmount.co.uk.
Explore West Cornwall
West Cornwall is a fabulous place to visit at any time of the year. Sandy beaches, craggy cliffs, dramatic scenery can all be found within on our doorstep. The area is steeped in history, beauty and tin-mining (Poldark anyone). Read on to find out a little about some of our favourite places.
Penzance
An energetic small town that is a great place to visit at any time of the year. It has a great selection of niche and high street shops as well as pubs and restaurants for all tastes. Penzance is the departure point for the ferry boat to the Scilly Isles. Look for out for the Golowan festival at the end of June, Penzance Literary Festival in early July and the Montol winter feast in December.
Newlyn
Newlyn is one of the UK’s few remaining fishing ports – in fact, by value of catch landed, it is the largest in the country! Newlyn Harbour is also the point where sea level is measured in the UK. Newly caught fresh fish is available from the fishmongers in Newlyn, perfect for cooking on our barbeque.
Porthgwarra
Porthgwarra gets an honourable mention as one of the main filming locations for the popular BBC Poldark television production. A pleasant little cove with a cafe.
St Ives
Just seven miles to the north is the busy town of St Ives. Hundreds of artists have been drawn to St Ives over the years and it remains the centre of artistic culture in west Cornwall (although Penzance runs it a very close second!) with the newly-expanded Tate Gallery, Barbara Hepworth Museum and many other privately-owned galleries. St Ives also has three beaches and a thriving surfing community.
Mousehole
The quaint village of Mousehole huddles around its tiny harbour. Famous for Christmas lights and Starry-Gazey Pie, it has also been immortalised in the children’s book ‘The Mousehole Cat’.
Lamorna and Porthcurno
Lamorna Cove is one of the many sheltered inlets on the southern shores of the Land’s End peninsula and is a lovely spot to spend a peaceful hour or to take a trek east or west along the South West Coast Path. At Porthcurno (closer to Land’s End), you will find the Telegraph Museum (Porthcurno is a very important place for the UK’s communications with the rest of the world) and the Minack Theatre in the cliffs above the cove. Porthcurno beach is lovely being largely made from crushed sea shells rather than sand!
Geevor Mine
Geevor Mine at Pendeen is the largest preseved tin mining site in the country. You can explore the surface processing plants as well as take a shallow trip underground to see ancient mine workings.
Land’s End
Famous the world over, Land’s End may not be the most beautiful tourist site in west Cornwall but it’s certainly one of the busiest! The most westerly point in the UK, Land’s End is an essential place to go, even if it is just to say that you have been there! It’s the start and finish point for Land’s End-John O’Groats challenges and thousands of people pass through it on their way by foot, bike, tractor, car, skateboard, you name it! It’s a short but very pleasant walk north from Land’s End to Sennen Cove.
