Cornwall, with its quaint hamlets, hidden coves, stunning coastal scenery, and cobbled lanes wouldn’t be out of place in a fairy-tale. One of our favourite road-trips in England, this drive along the Cornish coastline, has repeatedly been adjudged one of the most scenic drives in the world.
First the essential stuff. Cornwall has a variety of lodging options, but try booking a typical English cottage if you are travelling in a group. It heightens the experience of travelling to the countryside. Next, rent a car for your road trip. Make sure you compare prices on a price comparison portal as they can vary from company to company. Now that car hire comparison and lodging is out of the way, here’s a sneak peak at the itinerary –
Distance: 700 miles
Stops: London→ Polperro → Falmouth → Cadgwith → Lizard Peninsula → Penzance →Land’s end → St. Ives → London
What to expect: White-washed villages, coastal walks, sea-side towns, cobbled lanes, Cornish pasties, and English tea-houses
The drive from London will take you through endless canola fields (in summer), orchards, and stunning stretches of green countryside.
On reaching Cornwall, spend your days savouring the following areas:
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Polperro
One of the most picturesque villages in the area, Polperro is an absolute feast for the senses. Think storybook stairways, tiny houses, wild flowers, and Cornish confectionary.
Make sure you try the crumbly English scones with clotted cream and jam at Bean and Scone, a local tea-house.
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Falmouth
Walk around this town absorbing its fascinating maritime history. Its beaches offer a number of water-sports. If you’re a history buff, make sure you visit the Pendennis Castle.
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Cadgwith
Park your car at the Cadgwith car park and take the walking path to the village. Cadgwith is a magical fishing village with a small harbour and dozens of thatched huts. Wander through its meandering alleys – you will pass by sailors, shops selling fresh sea-food, and a number of local inns.
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Lizard Peninsula
This well-known peninsula is dotted with beaches and is the perfect base to explore Cornwall’s coastal scenery. Spend a day looking for hidden coves, relaxing by turquoise waters, and feasting on battered fish and chips.
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Penzance
Penzance is famous for its Celtic Cross but we are partial to the Minack Theatre, an open-air theater built on a cliff overlooking the sea. A reasonable entry fee, £4 (as of September 2013), gives one access to the theater.
If you’re visiting between May and September, book tickets to catch a performance at Minack Theatre. The dramatic backdrop ensures an experience like no other.
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Land’s End
Land’s End, the western-most point of mainland England, offers amazing views of the Atlantic Ocean. Park your car and walk around as you absorb the sight of twinkling waters stretching to infinity.
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St. Ives
If all that walking has left you hungry or you’re missing urbanity, head to Cornwall’s most popular seaside town for some traditional Cornish pasties. There is no dearth of restaurants, ice-cream parlours, and pubs in St. Ives. Beware, it can get very crowded during the summer.
Cornwall is the perfect English retreat complete with local food, meandering alleys, thatched huts, stunning scenery, and countless walks in the countryside. We’re in love!
Have you ever been to Cornwall? Is it on your bucket list? 🙂
If you’re mulling about what to pack for Cornwall, here’s an outfit post for you 🙂
If you, like us, love road trips, you must have a look at all the road trips we have done till date !
Beautiful!
Thanks 🙂 We love it too
Such gorgeous photos! I adore Cornwall, I’d love to live in Padstow at some point in my life.
Sara it would be amazing to live in Padstow – such gorgeous scenery at one’s doorstep 🙂
This is just too beautiful…Adding it Cornwall to my bucket list!
Zof it is gorgeous, even with the unpredictable English weather 🙂
Looks like a nice route! Have you ever done a euro trip?
Hi Ben,
Yes, we have driven quite a lot across Europe, not in one single trip though (if that’s what you were hinting at) 🙂
Driving in Europe is the best way to explore the place, except for when we are in busy cities like Paris or Berlin
Cornwall is just amazing place but i would prefer Padstow… Its just great 🙂
Hey Vito,
Padstow is high on our list of places to visit in England 🙂
Hi, I stumbled on to your blog while doing some research for my family’s half-term holiday to Cornwall. Great photos and tips on where to go. Many thanks!
Thanks a ton Jason. Glad you found it helpful 🙂 Just drop us a line if you have any questions
Hi Hi the road trip looks awesome, how many days did you spend, do u hv a more detailed itinerary with driving times?
Hey Karen – we spent 5 days in Cornwall. It takes about 6-8 hours to get to Cornwall from London. Once you’re there all these places are a short drive away 🙂
Looks and sounds amazing. We’re thinking of going to London this summer but I am the worst at staying in one place and love road trips so this is pretty perfect. I have two questions if I may ask. How many days does this iternity approximately take? And how much did you spent on this trip?
Hey Amy – you can spend as long as you want in Cornwall but you’ll need at least 5 days if you’re driving down from London to Cornwall 🙂
Hi guys
This looks awesome . Looks like another road trip ( like Spain ) which I am going to copy ! 🙂
Am guessing this took at least 5-6 days ? Any chance you could send me a more detailed version .. I know I am being lazy 🙂 but hey .. You guys are spoiling us 🙂
Hey Amar 🙂
Happy to help – can you just email us with what more details you want and we can guide you accordingly.
Cheers
Hi Vid, can you please send me your iternary as I am going to Cornwall to London for 5 days in Aug, I am driving with Wife and Three Year Old Girl.
You can email me on amit.singhania@baml.com and amitsinghania08@hotmail.com
Hi Amit – We followed the itinerary detailed in the first photo. This is it: London→ Polperro → Falmouth → Cadgwith → Lizard Peninsula → Penzance →Land’s end → St. Ives → London
Hi Guys,
Thank you for this lovely post – planning on totally replicating your itin – Any recommendations for places to stay? We’re 4 adults.
I generally just use Airbnb – but would love any and all advice.
Thanks much!
Gautam
Hi Gautam,
We made Falmouth our base and it was perfect for day trips to all the nice places. We booked a B&B on AirBnB too.
Cheers
Beautiful photography. You made some great stops along the way through Cornwall and captured it perfectly!
Thanks Neil! It’s a beautiful part of England 🙂
We’re arriving in Southampton on May 8, 2016 and fly back to the U.S. on May 15, 2016. If anyone has any suggestions as to what to do in Cornwall, I’d appreciate it.
Thank you,
Bob Ezzard
Drive around, enjoy the sun (if the weather is favourable) and binge on cream tea and Cornish pasties 🙂
Thank you Sid. Do you recommend any hotels or B&B’s in Cornwall
Hey Robert – we had a mixed experience at the B&B we picked in Cornwall. Consequently we can’t recommend a hotel/B&B in the area. Having said that, I’d suggest picking a family-run B&B or typical English cottage for your stay in Cornwall 🙂
Thank you Savi. I’ll do that.
Hi there
Love your itinerary. We have 6 days one we arrive in Cornwall . Where do you suggest we base ourselves . We were thinking St ives and Megavissey. Any advice.
X Carol
Hey Carol,
St. Ives would be lovely 🙂
Hi Savi Cornwall is beautiful. Been there last May. Would like to make a road trip in mid December 2016. Do you think Winter is a good time to visit. Thanks.
Hey Alice – the weather can be pretty unpredictable in winter. But if you get sunny days winter can be gorgeous (though v.cold) in Cornwall 🙂
Hi! Love your website and thank you for the great insight on your travels! I am planning to visit Cornwall via train from London – but do you suggest we get a car while we are there? My concern is that I don’t know how to drive manual unfortunately. And how difficult is it to get around without a car? I appreciate any information you have! Thank you!
Hey Lisa – it’s not terribly hard to get around without a car in Cornwall but your exploration will be limited to the village you’re staying in if you don’t have a car. Rent an automatic?
Hi Vid!
Your Cornwall trip is awesome! Was your Cornwall trip during summer? How many days?
We will be exploring South west England around mid April for 7 days.
Is spring a good time to visit Cornwall? I guess there will be no canola field, green countryside to see in spring?
Did you make any stop between London & Polperro or between St Ives and London?
Hey Rebecca,
We went over the Easter break and it was quite cold at times 🙂 That said, Spring is definitely a great time to visit Cornwall. I’m pretty sure there will be a green countryside although the Canola fields will be hard to find 🙂
We did stop in Bath for a few hours! Perfect place to break the journey for lunch or a cuppa!
Hi! We only have 3 full days, and two nights ,starting in Bristol and ending in Maidenhead. Want to experience some of this beauty. Any recommendations for this time frame? Thanks ! Leslie
Hey Leslie,
Starting in Bristol and ending in Maidenhead with just 2 nights in hand, heading to Cornwall is not a good idea 😉 You could spend the a night or two in Bath and explore that area!
Hello,
I’m from Canada and planning a trip to Cornwall in the autumn. Which towns do you recommend I stay at along the way?
Thank you!
Hey Andrea – if you’re driving from London to Cornwall then you needn’t halt along the way at all – you’ll reach Cornwall in a few hours 🙂
Hello guys,
Loved reading this blog and beautiful pictures. I am travelling to London from HK during Christmas and New Years. Was planning to rent a car and drive around from 1 – 4 January. Any input from you guys will be greatly appreciated 🙂 I am guessing it would be too cold to visit Cornwall at this time.
Cheers.
Hey Arjun UK’s weather is super unpredictable that time of year. It’ll definitely be super cold in Cornwall and everywhere else but cities like Edinburgh and York make for a great lil city break with all the Christmas markets etc
Muje India se London road trip Jana he royal Enfield
Great idea Harish 🙂
Hi Savi,
We are looking into visiting England in the spring (4 gal pals!). We were thinking of spending a few days in London, possibly a few days in the Cotswolds & then some time in the Cornwall area. We like the idea of renting a property as we like to immerse ourselves in the community rather than staying in a hotel. Is there any spot/town/village you would recommend staying in based on your experience?
Thanks so much,
Lynn
Hey Lynn,
St. Ives will be a great place to stay and rent an AirBnB 🙂 You can use this link: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/c/viditt?currency=USD to get some discount too 🙂
Thanks for the tips! We just came across this as we were researching where we may go on a roadtrip from London – same starting position as you guys 🙂 Could you let us know please how long everything took and where you stayed overnight vs visited just for a day? Any tips? We are also planning to take our dog with us but I think most if not all places are dog friendly!
Thanks!
N
Hey Nes,
We amde our base in Falmouth and then covered all these places as day trips. Easily accessed and not much driving. We stayed in an AirBnB in Falmouth. You can use this link to book if you’re a first time user you get a decent discount: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/c/viditt
Yes, most places are dog friendly.
Hope you have a great trip 🙂
Trying to plan an itinerary! Feeling like a kid in a candy shop. We are leaving US for London night of 6/26. Kids (they’re in their 20’s!) want Harry Potter World first; yuck! Then hoped to drive to Cornwall. Have to be back in Moreton in Marsh for wedding July 4. Leaving for US from London July 6. Itinerary thoughts?? We’re getting so late for booking. Yikes!
Love it all – you can easily include all those things on your road trip. But do book accommodation asap as June is a very busy month in UK and most hotels and B&Bs get sold out early 🙂
My husband’s family is from Cornwall and we are taking this trip in June to see his roots. FaceTime his dad (86) who’s parents emigrated from there. We’ve done a similar trip to my roots in Ireland for ten days and we are so excited about