Cycling in Cornwall

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Day 1: Arrive Padstow

Make your own way to Padstow. The town is named after St. Petroc, who came here in the 5th century. The church of St. Petroc is one of a group of three said to have been founded by the saint. The old harbour usually has a beautiful array of boats, including old pilot vessels. There are plenty of wonderful pubs as well as the Rick Stein café/restaurant in Padstow, not forgetting the iconic Rick’s Fish & Chip shop and National Lobster hatchery.

• Accommodation: The Pickwick Inn (Padstow) or similar

Day 2: Padstow to Perranporth | 40.5km

After breakfast, start pedalling southwards on roads close to the Cornish coast. From Padstow, cycle along the coast past Mawgan Porth and Watergate Bay. Passing by the surfing beaches and town of Newquay, follow coastal lanes to the village of Crantock, with its pretty church and round garden, before arriving at Perranporth.

It is believed that Saint Piran founded a church at Perranzabuloe near Perranporth in the 7th century. Buried under sand for many centuries, it was unearthed early in the 20th century, but it was left to the mercy of the sands once again in the 1970s. Otherwise, this is a pretty small resort with a very long 4.8km beach and sea stacks. The ride between Padstow and Newquay can be very busy in summer, so you can choose an inland route instead which goes through St Columb Major. Adding 12km to the day’s total, but it is faster and flatter.

• Cycling for the day: 40.5km
• Accommodation: St George’s Country House Hotel (Perranporth) or similar

Day 3: Perranporth to St. Ives | 41km

Today’s bike ride passes many old tin mines on your ride to the village of St. Agnes. There are then a couple of steep descents and ascents into the bays at Portreath and Porthtowan before rolling along the coast road towards Hayle with a possible stop at Godfrey Head. Skirting the Hayle Estuary, which is noted for its seabirds and waders, you then roll past the great long sands of Carbis Bay to reach St. Ives. This town dates back to AD 460, when the missionary St. Ia, daughter of an Irish chieftain, landed here and gave her name to the settlement.

Protected from Atlantic storms, St. Ives was once the most important fishing port in Cornwall but, like elsewhere on the surrounding coast, by the beginning of the 20th century, the fish stocks became depleted, and the fishing fleet largely disappeared. However, as early as 1811, Turner visited to paint the seascapes and, by the late 1880s, there were several artists installed, and the town became famous for its vibrant artists’ colony. Today, their work can be seen in the St. Ives Tate Gallery, Barbara Hepworth Museum and the Bernard Leach Gallery.

• Cycling for the day: 41km
• Accommodation: Coombe Farmhouse (St Ives) or similar

Day 4: St. Ives to Penzance | 53km

Taking a steep cycle out of St. Ives, the road takes you past classic Cornish scenery of small farms with ancient drystone walls, mine engine houses and chimneys. You could stop for a coffee in the attractive village of Zennor, famous for its mermaid legend. Or take the road out to Cape Cornwall and visit the tin mining museum at Geevor or continue on, perhaps stopping to have a snack at the old village of St. Just before visiting Land’s End. Having an ice cream at ‘The First and The Last ‘ store is a must, England’s most westerly point, from which it is possible to see the Isles of Scilly on a clear day.

Then you’ll head east through Treen, passing some ancient remains and cycling through the semi-tropical valley at Lamorna. The route runs down the coast of Cornwall to Mousehole, another picture postcard village. It has a history of pilchard fishing and now has a small artists’ community. You then pedal through Newlyn and into Penzance. This has several attractions, including some Georgian and Regency housing, the exuberant Egyptian House, Maritime Museum and National Lighthouse Museum.

Before Treen, you can take a little detour to Porthcurno, which is home to the Minack Theatre. Built by Rowena Cade, the Minack is a a unique place where the outdoor auditorium and stage are carved into the cliff with dramatic views on stage and beyond.

• Cycling for the day: 53km
• Accommodation: The Longboat Inn (Penzance) or similar

Day 5: Penzance to Porthleven | 20km

A short day of cycling, giving you the opportunity to explore Penzance or spend some time relaxing on the beach. From Penzance, there is a flattish but dramatic ride around Mounts Bay with views over to St. Michael’s Mount with its tidal causeway. Try to fit a visit in with the tide times. The road then goes inland before you reach Porthleven. This is another charming fishing village, whose harbour is closed by wooden baulks during storms, great restaurants and a couple of nice pubs. You can enjoy fine seafood at the inn or venture along the quay to a seafood restaurant that is famous all over Britain (reservations recommended).

• Cycling for the day: 20km
• Accommodation: Harbour Inn (Porthleven) or similar

Day 6: Porthleven to Falmouth | 55.3km

Pedal inland to cross Lizard Point avoiding the steepest coastal hills. You pass the heath of Goonhilly Down to St. Keverne to view its pleasant village square and remarkable churchyard. Over 400 shipwreck victims of the nearby Manacle Reef are buried here. Continue cycling to Helford and around the pretty villages along the Helford River. Frenchman’s Creek here was made famous by the writer Daphne Du Maurier. After this, you need to take a ferry across the Helford River. On the other side, you could drop into the famous Trebah Gardens, before continuing through to the pretty cove at Swanpool for a coffee or an ice cream. Finally, you roll into Falmouth, home to the world’s third-largest natural harbour and the National Maritime Museum.

• Cycling for the day: 55.3km
• Accommodation: Chain Locker (Falmouth) or similar

Day 7: Falmouth to Charlestown | 42km

You start today’s cycling with a ferry ride from Falmouth to St. Mawes. It is a remote, pleasant little yachting harbour at the end of the Roseland Peninsula, which boasts a clover leaf castle built by Henry VIII in 1542. Today is hilly as you visit various attractive coves on the route; you are cycling across Roseland Peninsula, passing through Veryan (with its round houses), Portloe and Portholland before rolling past Caerhays Castle and beaches. Then cycle along country lanes with some steep hills to the old fishing and smuggling village of Mevagissey.

The hilly route continues to your overnight stop in Charlestown. This attractive old port was used as a location for filming Poldark and Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Usually, there is at least one square-ridded vessel being worked on in the old dock. There is also a shipwreck museum. Today or tomorrow, you could visit the Eden Project, a famous biosphere reserve with tropical gardens.

• Cycling for the day: 42km
• Accommodation: The Rashleigh Arms (Charlestown) or similar

Day 8: Charlestown to Padstow | 44km

Heading towards the Eden Project, in the old China Clay pits, you avoid the busiest roads to ascend a quiet lane through Tregrehan Mills to join a rough track that goes to the Project. At a junction, you can do an excursion along the Clay Trails – a landscape well known for its clay tips and pits created by the 250-year-old clay mining industry. This striking and dramatic scenery is visible from distances of many miles. You can ride them, passing the Eden Project and then into the beautiful UNESCO ‘World Heritage Site’ valley before the pretty village of Luxulyan. Then onto Bodmin, which has an 18th century gaol where you could break for lunch, passing the Bodmin & Wenford Railway, where steam trains are still chugging away. Leaving Bodmin, your Cornwall cycling holiday ends with a gentle cycle along the Camel Trail, a converted railway Follow the river towards Padstow, and you have now completed this exciting loop of Cornwall.

• Cycling for the day: 44km
• Accommodation: The Pickwick Inn (Padstow) or similar

Day 9: Departure

Departure after breakfast or extra nights upon request.

Click to view default hotels

• The Pickwick Inn (Padstow)
• St George’s Country House Hotel (Perranporth)
• Coombe Farmhouse (St Ives)
• The Longboat Inn (Penzance)
• Harbour Inn (Porthleven)
• Chain Locker (Falmouth)
• The Rashleigh Arms (Charlestown)

*Hotels are subject to availability. In case a particular hotel is fully booked for your desired dates, we will replace it with a hotel of equal or higher value and quality level. We will provide exact accommodation details to you upon booking confirmation.