Cornwall is England’s western-most county, and its rugged beauty has made it one of the country’s leading tourist destinations. The idea of getting around by public transport may be attractive to the “green” visitor, but is it practical?
The railways offer a gentle introduction to the green hills of the westcountry. Each weekday 12 services leave London’s Paddington station for Penzance in the far west, a daytime journey of a little over five hours, while the overnight sleeper service leaves London at 23.45 and arrives in Penzance at 8 am.
After leaving Plymouth and entering Cornwall passengers are rewarded with some spectacular scenery, from Brunel’s bridge high above the Tamar estuary all the way to the majestic sweep of Mount’s Bay as the train pulls into Penzance station.
Cornwall’s Branch Railway Lines
Five branch railway lines have somehow escaped the attention of the bean counters and are worth exploring as much for their scenic rides as for their destinations: from Plymouth up the Tamar Valley and across some fine viaducts to Gunnislake; from the main line at St Erth across the isthmus to the old artists’ colony of St Ives with its Tate gallery; from Truro down to Falmouth, home of the National Maritime Museum; and from the china clay country of Par northwest to the capital of British surfing in Newquay.
The Looe Valley line is one of the most picturesque railways in the country. It opened in 1860 to serve the granite and copper mines of Bodmin Moor, and in 1901 the line was extended by a steep, almost circular section that approaches the main line at Liskeard. The single track follows the valley of the East Looe River, passing four tiny intermediate stations before terminating beside the pretty tidal estuary of Looe.
The Lappa Valley Railway near Newquay and the Bodmin and Wenford line provide special services during the summer holiday season.
Local Bus Services in Cornwall
Twenty-seven companies offer bus services within the county. National Express runs long-distance services as alternatives to the trains. First Devon and Cornwall, Truronian, and Western Greyhound have the largest local networks. They offer countywide daily rover tickets as well as services to major attractions like the Eden Project near St Austell.
Local community buses serve small towns like Polruan and St Mawes on the picturesque Fowey and Fal estuaries respectively, south coast fishing villages like Polperro and Mevagissey, and St Agnes and Boscastle on the north coast.
Cornwall’s Cycle Routes
But the trains and buses are not the only ways of avoiding car travel. Visitors can take flights into Newquay airport from any of 14 UK cities and a further eight in Ireland, Spain, Germany, France and Switzerland; and, as well as the ferry service from Penzance, there are onward flights to the Scilly Islands from Newquay, Penzance and Land’s End.
Near the other end of the scale of greenness is the expanding network of cycle trails. So far there are nine interlinked routes, each served by cycle hire companies in towns such as Bodmin and Penzance. The network already stretches for a combined distance of 200 miles, from Bude in the north and east all the way to Land’s End.
More trails are partially complete in mid-2008, including the South Cornwall Trail which will eventually link Mount Edgcumbe Park that overlooks the magnificent Plymouth Sound in the east with the fishing port of Looe and the old county town of Bodmin.
The Camel Trail is probably the best known and most popular cycle route. It follows the line of an abandoned railway from Bodmin through Wadebridge and on to the old fishing port of Padstow.
For even slower travel, opportunities for walking are everywhere, from the footpath that winds its way around every mile of the intricate, dramatic coastline to the Saints Way that crosses the county from the north to the south coast and the network of routes across Bodmin Moor.
Planning the Trip
As a practical matter, big savings can be made by buying train tickets up to three months in advance; getting any applicable travel discount cards; taking advantage of rover tickets like First Great Western’s Ride Cornwall, which gives unlimited travel for a day on all train and most bus services within Cornwall; and by buying a PlusBus ticket together with the train ticket, which gives unlimited bus travel within any of eight Cornish towns.
If the range of opportunities looks intimidating, or you can’t see how to get from the main towns to less-well served villages, websites like Traveline can help plan routes between any two places in the UK, using combinations of whatever means of public transport are available.
This kind of planning can be part of the adventure. Leaving the car at home not only helps the environment, it can also add new experiences that will enhance the trip.
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