If you’re looking for the best days out in Cornwall, this post is here to help! My family is from Cornwall, and I have explored the length and breadth of this region many times.
There are so many places to visit in Cornwall, and it’s hard to work out how to see them all effectively. So this is where this guide comes in!
From castles to beaches to contemporary attractions, these are my favourite day trips in Cornwall. Wherever you are staying in Cornwall, you can enjoy these days out!
You will need a car to get to some of these, but others are accessible by public transport. I’ll detail that in each section.
So, if you’re interested in the top days out in Cornwall, here we go!
The Best Day Trips in Cornwall
St Michael’s Mount, Penzance and Mousehole
St Michael’s Mount is one of the top Cornwall destinations, so it’s no surprise that it is one of my favourite Cornwall day trip destinations!
It is a castle sitting on a rocky island out to sea. Both island and castle have a fascinating history – the island has been a place of pilgrimage and spirituality for centuries, and the castle was built in the medieval period and has been the site of war throughout its history.
Nowadays things are more peaceful, and you can enjoy history in the house and the beautiful terraced gardens. It is a National Trust-owned property, so you can get in for free if you are a member.
Just along the coast from St Michael’s Mount in Penzance. This is the most westerly major town in Cornwall, and while it’s not as popular as other coastal towns, there are still some interesting things to do here. Go for a dip in the Jubilee Lido or take a stroll around Penlee House Museum to learn about its history.
And don’t miss Chapel Street, which is full of interesting buildings, including the house where the mum of the Bronte sisters grew up, a house decorated in Egyptian style (for no other reason than it was fashionable!) and the Admiral Benbow Inn, which was a famous smuggler’s hideout.
Finish the day in Mousehole. This is a picturesque fishing village, but there is more than meets the eye here. In fact, there are so many things to do in Mousehole, including a walking tour to learn about its history, walking to nearby Paul to see the memorial to the last monoglot Cornish speaker, and visiting the local pub to learn about the local speciality, stargazy pie!
Public transport option: Penzance is the last stop of the London – Penzance railway line, so you can get a train here from St Erth, Hayle, Camborne, Redruth, Truro, Par, St Austell, Liskeard and other stations further down the line. Regular bus services run between Penzance and Marazion and Penzance and Mousehole.
Falmouth and St Mawes
Falmouth is potentially Cornwall’s trendiest town. A historic international town meets university hub; it’s got a unique air with lots of art, good food and incredible scenery!
Falmouth’s best attractions include Pendennis Castle which was a coastal fortress created by Henry VIII, the National Maritime Museum Cornwall, its long high street with lots of independent shops and its incredible food scene.
It’s also worth learning about the history of Falmouth while you’re here. It is a relatively modern town – it was only established in 1613 by a local pirate (really!) – but it was quickly connected to the rest of the world by the Falmouth Packet.
Because of its prime position and deep harbour, boats would leave here with news for other countries around the world, and would return with letters detailing events elsewhere. This meant that Falmouth often heard news long before London. It also caused Falmouth to become a very international town.
You can learn all about this on Falmouth Uncovered walking tours.
To end your day, take a boat across the Fal Estuary to St Mawes. This is a laid back fishing village with a few good pubs and Pendennis’ twin castle. You can walk to the castle from town, and there is some more history to learn about here.
Bude, Boscastle and Tintagel
There are plenty of things to do in Bude, Boscastle and Tintagel, and they sit close enough together that you can see them all on a day trip.
Bude is the first beach town in Cornwall after you cross the Devonshire border. It’s a fun surf town with some excellent beaches. You can also stroll down the Bude Canal, or visit the Bude Castle which now acts as the town’s museum.
Along the coast is Boscastle. This is a famous natural harbour and one of the most beautiful places on the North Cornwall coastline. Make sure that you take some time to climb up the coast path to take in the view of the cliffs!
Next up, Tintagel is a beautiful Cornish village famed for its castle. Tintagel Castle is alleged to be the place where King Arthur was born – this is a legend, but it is still a historically significant place!
It was an important Medieval castle and was owned by Richard Earl of Cornwall. Nowadays, it is mostly ruins, but you can walk around these, and there are plenty of information boards, a statue of Merlin, and some epic views of the coast.
This stretch of coastline is ideal for road tripping, but the 95 bus connects all three towns.
That being said, they are quite difficult to get to from other destinations – you can take a bus from Tintagel to Camelford where you can change to services for Wadebridge and Port Isaac, or from Bude, you can get (very long and irregular) buses to Plymouth and Exeter.
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Bodmin Moor and Jail
Bodmin Moor is an elusive place and is perfect if you want to see Cornwall away from the coast.
The moorland is nearly 200 square kilometres in size and is an AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).
There are plenty of hikes around Bodmin Moor, the most famous two being climbing up Brown Willy, which is the highest point in Cornwall, and Rough Tor which is the second-highest!
You can also drive to points of interest like Golitha Falls and stop in moorland villages like Alturnun, which is featured in Daphne Du Maurier’s novel Jamaica Inn.
Speaking of the novel, it was based on a pub with the same name, which is in the middle of Bodmin Moor. Jamaica Inn is a historical place where smugglers used to hide contraband as they travelled from the coast.
It nowadays houses the smuggling museum and the Daphne Du Maurier museum, and it has a cosy pub – it’s well worth checking out while you’re in the area!
Bodmin town isn’t an enormously popular tourist destination, but it’s worth visiting for the gaol. The gaol has recently been renovated and nowadays is an immersive experience that portrays life in a Victorian prison using 3D cinema. You can do a guided tour of the gaol or visit independently.
Bodmin town is connected to Truro by bus, which is then on the National Rail line that spans west to Penzance and east to London. From Bodmin, you can take a bus to Jamaica Inn and do some hikes around the pub. However, it is difficult to fully explore the moors without your own vehicle.
Land’s End and around
Land’s End is a bucket list place to visit in Cornwall. It is the most westerly point of the UK and has many ‘first and last’ attractions such as the first and last house, the first and last postbox and the first and last inn!
The scenery is stunning at Land’s End as well. Think dramatic craggy cliffs and brilliantly blue water stretching off into the horizon, making you feel like you are standing on the edge of the world.
If you are visiting with children, there are plenty of kid-focused attractions, including Arthur’s Quest, which is an escape room style adventure, a 4D cinema experience and an attraction focused on Wallace and Gromit. This part of Land’s End can be quite commercial, but it does make it a fantastic family-friendly attraction!
There are lots of other places to visit around Land’s End, too, making it a well-rounded day out. For example, the surf beach of Sennen Cove is a short distance away (you can even walk here from Land’s End on the South West Coast Path). Further on is Cape Cornwall and Pendeen, which has the Geevor Tin Mine.
In the other direction, find paradise beaches like Nanjizal, Porthgwarra and the popular Porthcurno Beach. Porthcurno is also home to the Minack Theatre, which was built by Rowena Cade in the 1930s and the interesting Telegraph Museum.
Although this part of Cornwall can be very isolated, the Land’s End Coaster leaves from St Ives and Penzance and connects all the attractions mentioned – you can buy a hop on hop off ticket for a whole day. Of course, this part of Cornwall is great for road tripping too!
The Eden Project and Lost Gardens of Heligan
The Eden Project and Lost Gardens of Heligan make an excellent Cornish day out. These are two ever-popular attractions that interest people, young and old.
The Eden Project, located near Par, consists of two large biomes. One replicates a rainforest and the other a Mediterranean climate. You can walk through both biomes and enjoy the epic jungle scenery in one, and the Mediterranean plants in another!
The concept of the project is to educate tourists about these different climates in an immersive way and start a conversation about what we can do from the UK to preserve environments around the world.
The Lost Gardens of Heligan is another garden-focused attraction, but they are very different. These gardens used to be part of the vast Heligan estate owned by the Tremayne family.
After World War One, the gardens became overgrown and inaccessible – effectively ‘lost’. Then they were rediscovered in the 1990s – and the attraction was opened!
Nowadays, the gardens combine Cornish and exotic plants as well as lots of sculptures. You could spend all day getting lost in this beautiful place!
The Eden Project and Lost Gardens of Heligan are a half-hour drive from each other. Both are connected by bus from St Austell, but this journey could take up to two hours! However, St Austell is connected to the main Cornwall train line, so it is quite easy to get to from other places in Cornwall.
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The Lizard Peninsula
The Lizard Peninsula juts out of the south coast of Cornwall and ends in Lizard Point, which is the furthest south point in mainland UK.
It is an area that is famous for its dramatic coastline and jagged cliffs, as well as beautiful beaches like Kynance Cove – which is one of the most popular beaches in Cornwall, and Poldhu Cove, which is a popular spot for swimming.
It’s worth visiting Lizard Point, which is a lot less touristy than Land’s End but just as dramatic.
Also, don’t miss charming villages like Cadgwith, where the pub has Cornish language singers on a Friday night, and Coverack, with a historic harbour.
You can also venture inland to Roskilly’s Ice Cream Farm and St Keverne, which is where the first Cornish Rebellion began.
The Lizard is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places in Cornwall and, with the exception of Kynance Cove, it is nowhere near as touristy as other places in the region!
If you are doing a day trip here, you will probably need a car, although there is a limited bus service from Helston which runs to a few villages on the Lizard. Helston is connected to Falmouth, Truro and Penzance by bus.
Redruth and Camborne
Redruth and Camborne were the heart of historic Cornish mining. Tin mining was the primary industry in Cornwall for centuries, and in these two very local towns, you can learn all about it.
The King Edward Tin Mine Museum is the oldest full working mine site in Cornwall and is located in Camborne. You can see a Cornish mining mill and other tools that were used to mine, as well as read lots of information boards about how fundamental this industry was to Cornwall.
It’s also worth visiting the Cornish Diaspora Gardens. After the demise of tin mining, Cornish miners moved to destinations all over the world where their expertise was valued. For example, a group of ex Cornish miners moved to Pachuca in Mexico, where they mined silver, and many others relocated to Australia during the gold rush.
The Cornish Diaspora Gardens feature plants from all the countries that Cornish people ended up in, representing Cornwall’s ties to other places around the world.
Carn Brea is also worth visiting if you’re hungry – this is an old Cornish castle that has turned into a Middle Eastern restaurant.
And finally, if it is nice weather while you’re in Camborne and Redruth, you can drive around 15 minutes to Stithians Lake, where they have a watersports centre. It’s a lovely spot for paddleboarding!
Camborne and Redruth are easy to access by rail, but you will need your own transport if you are venturing to Stithians Lake.
The Tamar Valley
The Tamar Valley stretches from just below Launceston to Plymouth in Devon, and it is a beautiful place if you want to enjoy nature somewhere that’s not too touristy.
The River Tamar marks the border of Cornwall and Devon and is historically a very important place as there are some stark differences between the two counties!
However, nowadays, it is serene and peaceful, perfect for walks along the Tamar Discovery Trail, bike rides, visiting small villages like Calstock and Gunnislake and even going canoeing.
You can also take a scenic train from Plymouth to Gunnislake and admire some of the beautiful surroundings this way.
It is easy to get to Plymouth from destinations in Cornwall and Devon, and from there, you can take the train to other spots in the Tamar Valley.
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Charlestown and Fowey
Charlestown and Fowey are two beautiful towns in south-east Cornwall, and you can do a day trip to see them both!
Charlestown is a historic harbour that Charles Rashleigh founded in 1791. It was a popular port for exporting copper and grew in size as the china clay industry in Cornwall expanded.
However, its days were numbered as the size of ships grew, and the harbour was too small to accommodate them. Nowadays, Charlestown harbour is a popular tourist attraction because it looks nearly the same as it did in the 19th century. It has also been a Poldark filming location!
After you’ve spent some time looking around the harbour and visiting the Shipwreck Treasure Museum, Fowey is another brilliant town in the region.
Fowey (pronounced Foy) has a long history spanning back to medieval times and is nowadays a mishmash of historic buildings and charming streets. There is also a lovely beach here – Readymoney Cove – and one of Henry VIII’s coastal fortresses, St Catherine’s Castle.
It’s also worth doing a boat trip up the Fowey Estuary to learn a little more about the town.
Charlestown and Fowey are linked by the 24 bus. If you are travelling to this area from elsewhere in Cornwall, the 24 also calls in at St Austell, which has train connections to other Cornish towns.
I hope that this list of day trips in Cornwall has given you some inspiration for visiting this stunning part of the UK! It is a beautiful region, with so much to offer, and wherever in Cornwall you are based you can get out and about and enjoy some of these places.
About the Author: Claire is a South West England travel expert. She has lived in Bristol, Bath and Devon, and knows Cornwall like the back of her hand. In her blog, Go South West England, she aims to shine a light on this region, with information on popular attractions as well as local secrets.
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