Cornwall

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The biomes that house the Eden Project, near St. Austell, Mid-Cornwall.
The biomes that house the Eden Project, near St. Austell, Mid-Cornwall.
For other places with the same name, see Cornwall (disambiguation).

Cornwall (Cornish: Kernow or Cernow) [1] is a county in the extreme south west of the UK and includes the Isles of Scilly. Lying westwards beyond the River Tamar border with its nearest county neighbour Devon, Cornwall is one of the more isolated parts of the United Kingdom but is one of the most popular with travellers and holiday-makers. Its relatively warm climate, long coastline, amazing scenery, and diverse Celtic heritage (combined with tales of smuggling and pirates!) go only part of the way to explaining its appeal. Cornwall is increasingly becoming a popular destination for those interested in cultural tourism due to its long association with visual and written arts.

[edit] Cities, towns and villages

Map of Cornwall
Map of Cornwall

[edit] Cities

  • Truro - Cornwall's county town and only city

[edit] Towns

[edit] Villages

[edit] Other Destinations

[edit] Understand

The modern English name is derived from the tribal name Cornovii and the Anglo-Saxon word wealas (meaning "foreigners"). Cornovii may mean "horn [peninsula] people". Wealas is also the origin of the name Wales. Cornwall is called Kernow in the Cornish language. Although a county of England, there is a vocal nationalist movement which seeks to establish Cornwall as a separate 'Home Nation', on the same level as England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

[edit] Get in

[edit] By train

Regular trains run on the main line from London Paddington (12 daily to Plymouth, 3 hours, 8 daily all the way through Cornwall to Penzance, 5 hours) Bristol, Birmingham etc. to Plymouth, Truro and Penzance. There are also a few branch lines, the most useful linking St Ives to the main line at St Erth and from Newquay to Par. There is also an overnight sleeper train which runs Sun-Fri nights to/from London Paddington and Penzance.

[edit] By car

Cornwall can be accessed by road via the A30 which starts at the end of the M5 at Exeter. Cornwall can also be accessed from the A38, crossing the Tamar River at Plymouth via the Tamar Bridge. From London it's a 5-6 hour drive. On Saturdays in July & August and Easter bank holiday weekend roads can be busy, although a new 7-mile stretch of dual-carriageway at Goss Moor near Bodmin has helped to alleviate many of the long tail backs.

[edit] By air

Newquay airport is the main airport for Cornwall which has the following services:

  • Air Southwest - Bristol, Cork, Dublin, Glasgow-International, Grenoble (winter only), Leeds/Bradford, London-Gatwick, Manchester, Newcastle
  • British Airways - London-Gatwick
  • bmibaby - Manchester
  • Flybe - Belfast-City, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Isle of Man (seasonal)
  • Isles of Scilly Skybus - St. Mary's (Isles of Scilly), Cardiff, St. Brieuc
  • Lufthansa - Düsseldorf
  • Ryanair - London-Stansted, Alicante, Girona

[edit] By coach

Cornwall is served well by National Express coach services from London Victoria coach station (9 hours, 3 daily) and other parts of the UK (Edinburgh - Glasgow - Penzance, 18 hours, 1 daily).

[edit] Get around

Several bus companies operate in Cornwall including Western Greyhound, Truronian and First Bus.

Virgin Trains and First Great Western operate regular train services between the main centres of population, the latter company also serving a number of outlying towns via branch lines. For train times and fares visit National Rail Enquiries.

[edit] Talk

The inhabitants of Cornwall speak English - often with a slight Cornish accent. That said, Cornwall is home to one of the bastions of Celtic language in the British Isles - the Cornish language is closely related to Welsh and Breton, less so to Irish and Scots Gaelic. It survived as a living tongue until 1777 and the death of Dolly Pentreath, the last person thought to have spoken only Cornish (although this is disputed). The publication of Henry Jenner's "Handbook of the Cornish Language" in 1904 caused a resurgence of interest in the Cornish language, and efforts are being made to revive it. There are currently estimated to be some 3,500 Cornish speakers, 300-350 of whom are fluent. It has recently been officially recognised by the UK government as a minority language. Some areas of Cornwall have bi-lingual road signs in both English and Cornish.

[edit][add listing] See

St. Michael's Mount lies offshore close to Penzance.
St. Michael's Mount lies offshore close to Penzance.

Although only a small county, Cornwall boasts a large number of attractions for the traveller, many lying outside of cities and towns amidst the Cornish landscape:

  • Bodmin Moor [2]
  • The Eden Project, [3]. Open Every day all year except Christmas Eve & Christmas day. 9AM 6PM (Last entry 4:30PM)). Near St Austell - a fabulous collection of flora from all over the planet housed in two 'space age' transparent domes. edit

  • The Lost Gardens of Heligan [5] - 80 acres of stunning landscaped scenery with a huge complex of walled flower and vegetable gardens
  • Tintagel Castle- birth place of the famous King Arthur
  • Minack Theatre - a outdoor theatre built, by hand, into the side of cliff over looking the ocean; located in the town of Porthcurno, the theatre includes a museum and offers tours when there are no performances
  • The Tate St Ives - one of the four Tate Galleries in the UK - Modern Art
  • The National Maritime Museum Falmouth - home of the National Maritime Museum's small boat collection and other exhibits.
  • Penlee House - home of the famous Nelwyn School of Art
  • Pencarrow House and Gardens - A large house near Wadebridge built in 1760 with extensive gardens (see Pencarrow.co.uk for details)

[edit] National Trust Properties

  • Godrevy [8] - Gwithian, Near Hayle - A stunning mix of long sandy beaches, high cliffs, and smugglers coves.

[edit] National Trust Gardens

Kynance Cove offers great views towards the Lizard.
Kynance Cove offers great views towards the Lizard.

[edit][add listing] Do

  • The South West Coast Path - Which runs along the coastline of Britain’s south-west peninsula. The Cornish section is supposed to be the most scenic, particularly around Penwith and the Lizard. The trail takes walkers to busy towns, remote cliffs, beaches, heaths, farms and fishing villages. Walking along it is a great way to experience the region in all its variety. For more information on the coastal path view the Wikipedia article.
  • The Camel trail - The camel trail is a disused railway line which has been dismantled to make a walk and cycle path. The trail runs from Padstow along the side of the camel estuary to Wadebridge then onto Bodmin and Wendford bridge.

[edit][add listing] Eat

Cornwall has a number of regional specialities:

  • Cornish Pasties - of course, semi-circular pockets of soft pastry, usually filled with meat and potatoes
  • Cornish Ice Cream - distinctly yellowish in colour, and rich in flavour, on account of high buttermilk content
  • Cream Tea - scones with clotted cream and jam washed down by a pot of tea
  • Saffron Cake - fruit loaf flavoured with saffron
  • Heavy or Hevva Cake - lardy cake made with fruit
  • Seafood - Cornwall has a long tradition of seafood - specialities include 'Star Gazey' pie (a mixed fish, potato and egg dish with fish heads 'escaping' from the pastry)
  • Confectionery - in particular locally produced Fudge and Rock Candy.

Vegetarian food is easy to find in Cornwall - even in tiny towns with just one pub there is frequently a meatless option.

[edit][add listing] Drink

Cornwall has three main breweries which are available to drink in most pubs in Cornwall:

Cornwall is also well known for its production of mead wine (Honey Wine). Because of it climate Cornwall also has a number of vineyards.

  • Camel valley vineyard - Guided tours are available see CamelValley.com for details.

[edit][add listing] Sleep

Cornwall boast a large range of tourist accommodation, ranging from 5 star luxury hotels to B&Bs, guest houses and hostels. There is also a large number of serviced holiday cottages that can be rented from anything from a long weekend to upwards of a month.

There are Tourist Information Centres (TICs) in most major towns. Theses are normally run by the local council and can check latest availability on the day to save having to phone round a number of B&Bs and guest houses. Note that they are unbiased and won't express an opinion on accommodations, more than giving its tourist board rating and facilities.

[edit] Stay safe

Visitors to Cornwall should at all times be aware of the unpredictable and dangerous nature of some of the tides and currents around the Cornish coast and seek advice from local lifeguards etc before swimming or surfing. It should also be noted that there is a small chance of getting great white or tiger sharks off the south coast, but dont let this worry you, they are very very rarely seen, and there have been no known attacks.

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