Hey guys, Not so long ago my family came down to visit us in Cornwall for the week. and I knew I had to take them to St.Michaels mount. We spent the week on a family caravan holiday pretty 10 minutes from our house, but it was so nice. Where we stayed ( near the Lizard in Helston and Sea Acres caravan park) had a sea view and I got to spend more time properly exploring Cornwall.
One day trip we took was to explore Marazion, St.Michaels Mount and Penzance which I had visited before so I thought I’d share my recommendations and what to see in one day.
In the morning – St.Michaels mountStart the day off at Marazion, have a walk around the little village that overlooks your main event. St.Michaels mount. If you’ve not heard of St.Michaels mount its a beautiful castle on an island, you can walk across a causeway or get a boat across when its high tide.
Once you arrive at the island, you don’t have to pay to explore the island, but you can pay to enter the castle or the castle and the gardens. I recommend everyone does this at least once.
The walk up to the castle isn’t too hard, probably takes around twenty minutes but its not as steep as it looks. Stop at every point to admire the grounds and views.
Once you reach the top, you can begin exploring the building, which is beautiful inside. The bedrooms are decorated in the original style. Corridors are filled with artefacts and paintings of the mount from different eras. You’ll even find a little chapel, which is very interesting.
The views from here are even more breathtaking looking across to Penzance, and down on the gardens with the sea looking so clear, it’s worth paying the entry fee just for these views.
After making your way back down from the castle, there are two cafes, an ice cream parlour and two shops to enjoy. I recommend getting some lunch. The crab sandwiches are incredible while looking out on the water.
If you want something more for lunch, make your way back to Marazion and head to Godolphin arms hotel and restaurant. I recently had a Sunday lunch there, which was incredible, and you have the best view of St.Michaels mount.
Penzance is about a 7-minute drive from Marazion. One thing not to be missed is the famous, newly refurbished Jubilee pool lido on the seafront. They have kept it in its original art deco style. Art deco is one of my favourite forms of architecture and design.
I’d been under the impression from the marketing surrounding their re-opening that it was now going to be heated and I’ve been to a lot of lidos, and outdoor pools before, every single one was heated. So it was a bit of a shock when the water felt colder than the sea. A few people were a bit more prepared than us and took wetsuits however you don’t have to pay to enter so those not swimming its free to enjoy the lido, have a drink and sunbathe on the terrace. Throughout the season they are also hosting a few events with music which could be worth checking out here. As long as you don’t foolishly go in expecting heated water, you’ll love it.
After our swim we had a wander into the town there are a few cool antique shops and a lovely bookshop (barton books) but its mostly chain shops.
If you wanted to stay in Penzance, I recommend either getting a Neopolitan pizza from Totti on the main high street or going to The Cornish barn for a meal. It’s part of the super cool artists’ residence hotel and has a newly opened terrace restaurant.
We took a drive through the fishing port of Newlyn to Mousehole, which is a beautiful little village, worth seeing. There’s a highly recommended restaurant there called 2 Fore Street.
However, we cheated on this guide and had dinner at a pub called the Coach and Horses just outside Penzance on our drive back to the caravan which. The food was very high quality with lots of local fish specials although unlike me I tried the steak, which was lovely. It was a pleasant surprise for a pub on the side of the road.
Have you been to St.Michaels Mount or the french counterpart? I hope you enjoyed this style of whistle top tour and recommendations. I’d love to keep doing these with different parts of Cornwall. If you’re a business based in Cornwall and would like to be featured email afashionoddity@hotmail.com
Love Charlotte
xxx
Oh wow that lido looks absolutely beautiful. My family decided it would be a great idea to go over to St Michaels mount and push me and my brother in our wheelchairs over the causeway. I was definitely an experience haha but the views more than made up for the bone rattling journey
Bethan Elizabeth x