Sightseeing

Penzance and the Lands End peninsula, located in the extreme Far West of Cornwall, include some stunning coastal scenery and unspoiled coastal villages.

Amongst the most attractive locations, for both the tourist visitor and the artist, are:

Penzance Town, with a long history as a seafaring centre and many quaint and colourful "nooks" and "crannies". In addition to local curiosity shops, there is an abundance of art galleries, libraries, public houses and restaurants offering local seafood as well as a wide choice of international cuisine   St Michaels Mount, a "jewel in the crown" of the National Trust, is home to a castle - once a monastery - located on an island just off-shore from Marazion and reached by a tidal causeway across the sandy beach   Mousehole, an enchanting tiny village with a small harbour enclosed by sturdy granite walls. The village is home to the annual "Tom Bawcock's Eve" celebration before Christmas, at which time the harbour is the centre of spectacular illuminations throughout the village   Porthcurno Beach, a beautiful golden sanded and sheltered cove, with backed by high granite cliffs   Minack Theatre, an open-air venue set into the clifftop above Porthcurno, where a season of plays, musicals and a variety of other performances is available throughout the summer months   Lands End, the very westernmost part of the English mainland, with rugged granite cliffs looking out over open sea towards the Isles of Scilly and North America beyond   Cornish Coastal Footpath, part of the longest uninterrupted footpath in Britain stretching some 630 miles from Minehead in Somerset to near Poole in Dorset, with some of the most dramatic sections within easy reach of Penzance   St Ives, an artists' paradise with numerous narrow streets, fishermans' cottages, an enclosed safe and sandy harbour and no less than four beaches

Further afield are the many resorts and villages along the coasts of Cornwall in addition to inland places of interest. Included amongst these are:

Newquay, the surfing capital of Cornwall, with numerous cliff-backed sand beaches and focus of many watersports events throught the season   Padstow and Port Isaac, attractive coastal villages on the North Coast   Tintagel, home to King Arthur's Castle with its legends of Merlin and Knights of the Round Table, convenient for nearby Boscastle   The Lizard, Falmouth, Mevagissey, Looe and Polperro on the South Coast   The Eden Project, Bodmin Moor and numerous National Trust properties throughout the County   The Isles of Scilly, which are reached by Ferry from Penzance, by helicopter also from Penzance or by aircraft from Lands End