Cornwall and Devon: Stonehenge, Bath, Dartmoor and the Cornish Coast

1. Day 1: London to Stonehenge and Bath

   Central London to Stonehenge, then across Salisbury Plain to Bath

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Lunch near Stonehenge and a welcome dinner in Bath
   • Stay in Bath
   Day 1 details

   We meet at a central London point at 8:30 am (the exact place comes with your final itinerary) and drive about two and a half hours west on the M3 and A303, with a coffee stop on the way, to Stonehenge for our timed entry at about 11:30. Your guide starts in the visitor centre, with its exhibition and reconstructed Neolithic houses, then walks the group out to the stone circle, begun about 5,000 years ago, with the great sarsens raised around 2500 BC; it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986. Lunch, at about 1:30, is a sit-down meal at a village pub nearby. In the afternoon we cross Salisbury Plain, about an hour, and reach Bath by about 4 pm. The rest of the afternoon is free to settle in, rest after the early start or wander down to the Abbey on your own. At 7 pm we sit down together to a welcome dinner in the centre. The guided walk of Georgian Bath comes tomorrow, after the Roman Baths.

   Included

   • Pick-up at a central London meeting point
   • Stonehenge with a timed entry and the visitor centre exhibition
   • Sit-down lunch at a village pub near Stonehenge
   • Welcome dinner in Bath

   Free time: Late afternoon free in Bath

   Activity: About 3 km on foot at Stonehenge (a shuttle runs from the visitor centre to the stones if you prefer). If traffic out of London runs late, the timed entry is moved and lunch follows the visit.

   

2. Day 2: The Roman Baths early, then onto Dartmoor

   Bath to Dartmoor National Park by the M5, then Haytor

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Dartmoor
   Day 2 details

   We are at the Roman Baths when the doors open at 9 am, ahead of the day's coach parties. The Great Bath still fills with water from the hot spring the Romans enclosed nearly 2,000 years ago, and the walkways lead past the temple courtyard and the steaming overflow. At about 10:45 your guide leads an hour's walk through the Georgian city: Bath Abbey, the Circus, the Royal Crescent and Pulteney Bridge over the Avon. Then you are free until 1 pm to climb the Abbey tower, look into the Pump Room or find lunch around the Guildhall Market. We leave at 1 pm and drive about two and a quarter hours south-west on the M5 into Devon. On Dartmoor the roads narrow and the land opens into heather, granite tors and free-roaming ponies. We stop at Haytor Rocks, where a short climb gives a view over the moor to the coast on a clear day, then settle into our moorland village. Dinner is together at a village pub.

   Included

   • The Roman Baths at opening
   • Guided walk of Georgian Bath: the Abbey, the Circus, the Royal Crescent and Pulteney Bridge
   • Drive into Dartmoor National Park
   • Haytor Rocks with your guide
   • Dinner at a village pub on Dartmoor

   Optional experiences

   • Bath Abbey tower tour

   Easier option: Stay at the foot of Haytor and enjoy the view from the grass; the climb onto the rocks is optional.

   Free time: Late morning and lunch free in Bath

   Activity: About 3 km on foot in Bath, with some slopes, and about 1.5 km on uneven moorland paths at Haytor, with a short climb.

   

3. Day 3: Dartmoor on foot, Plymouth and over the Tamar

   Dartmoor to Hound Tor, then Plymouth, the Tamar Bridge and St Ives

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in St Ives
   Day 3 details

   We start on foot at Hound Tor at about 9 am. A short walk down the slope from the granite stack reaches the stone footings of a deserted medieval village, its longhouses abandoned in the late Middle Ages, with the open moor all around and ponies grazing between the walls. Active walkers can add Wistman's Wood, a grove of stunted, moss-covered oaks on a path north from Two Bridges, about 4.5 km there and back, while the others have coffee at Two Bridges. Then we cross the moor through Princetown and drop down to Plymouth for lunch on the Barbican, the old harbour quarter. A short walk takes us up to the Hoe, where Drake is said to have finished his game of bowls before sailing against the Armada in 1588, and past the Mayflower Steps, which mark the Pilgrims' departure in 1620. In the afternoon we cross the Tamar Bridge into Cornwall and follow the A38 and A30 west, about two hours, to St Ives, arriving around 5 pm. We stay three nights, so unpack. The evening is free.

   Included

   • Guided walk at Hound Tor and its deserted medieval village
   • Sit-down lunch on the Barbican in Plymouth
   • Plymouth Hoe and the Mayflower Steps with your guide
   • Drive over the Tamar Bridge into Cornwall

   Easier option: Look over the medieval village from the lane below Hound Tor instead of walking down the slope, and skip Wistman's Wood.

   More active option: Walk to Wistman's Wood and back from Two Bridges, about 4.5 km on a rough moorland path, about 1.5 hours.

   Free time: Evening free in St Ives

   Activity: About 2 km on grass and rock at Hound Tor; the active option adds about 4.5 km.

   

4. Day 4: The Minack, the coast path and Land's End

   St Ives to Porthcurno and the Minack Theatre, the coast path from Porthgwarra to Land's End, then Sennen Cove and Botallack

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in St Ives
   Day 4 details

   West Penwith, the granite tip of Cornwall, is all within an hour of St Ives. We leave at 9:15 and drive about 40 minutes to Porthcurno for our 10 am entry to the Minack Theatre, an open-air theatre cut into the cliff above the bay, built from 1932 by Rowena Cade, much of it by her own hands. Then a five-minute drive to Porthgwarra, a tiny cove with a slipway cut through the rock, and the walk: about 5.5 km of the South West Coast Path past Gwennap Head and the cove at Nanjizal to Land's End, about two and a half hours with steep steps in places. We arrive along the cliffs and skip the paid attractions at the top; the reason to be here is the view out to the Longships lighthouse. Lunch, at about 1:30, is a sit-down meal at Sennen Cove, a short way north. In the afternoon we visit Botallack, where the engine houses of old tin and copper mines stand on the cliff edge, part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site, and return by the coast road through Zennor, in St Ives by about 5 pm.

   Included

   • The Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
   • Guided coast path walk from Porthgwarra to Land's End
   • Sit-down lunch at Sennen Cove
   • Botallack mine engine houses and the coast road through Zennor

   Optional experiences

   • A play at the Minack Theatre on a summer evening, when the schedule allows

   Easier option: Ride in the minibus to Land's End and walk the level clifftop path from there to Sennen Cove, about 2.5 km and 40 minutes.

   More active option: Start the walk at the Minack itself and follow the coast path all the way from Porthcurno to Land's End, about 8 km and three and a half hours; lunch at Sennen is then about 2:30.

   Free time: Evening free in St Ives

   Activity: About 5.5 km on the coast path with steep, uneven steps in and out of coves; good shoes needed. The Minack has timed entries and closes to visitors during matinees, so we go at 10 am.

   

5. Day 5: St Michael's Mount and the Lizard

   St Ives to Marazion and St Michael's Mount, then the Lizard Peninsula and back

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in St Ives
   Day 5 details

   A 20-minute drive south brings us to Marazion near opening time. At low tide we walk out to St Michael's Mount over the granite causeway; when the tide is in, a small boat takes us across, and your guide plans the crossing from the tide tables. The castle on the summit has been the home of the St Aubyn family since the 17th century, and the cobbled path up to it is steep and uneven, so take it at your own pace. From the battlements you look back over Mount's Bay to Penzance and Newlyn. Lunch is your choice in Marazion. In the afternoon we drive about 45 minutes onto the Lizard Peninsula. At Kynance Cove the water turns green and blue over white sand between dark serpentine rocks, and a little further on Lizard Point is the most southerly point of mainland Britain, with its lighthouse on the cliff. We are back in St Ives by about 5 pm, with the evening free.

   Included

   • St Michael's Mount: the crossing on foot or by boat and the castle
   • Kynance Cove
   • Lizard Point

   Easier option: Stay at harbour level on the Mount rather than climbing to the castle, and see Kynance Cove from the clifftop instead of walking down to the beach.

   More active option: Walk the coast path from Kynance Cove to Lizard Point, about 4 km, and meet the minibus there.

   Free time: Lunch on your own in Marazion; evening free in St Ives

   Activity: The path up to the castle is steep, cobbled and uneven. The castle has usually been closed on Saturdays, so departures never start on a Tuesday and this day never falls on one.

   

6. Day 6: St Ives early, the Eden Project and on to Padstow

   St Ives to the Eden Project near St Austell, then Padstow

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Padstow
   Day 6 details

   In season St Ives fills with day visitors from mid-morning, so we see it first. At 8:30 your guide walks the group around the harbour, out to the Island and St Nicholas Chapel for the view along the coast, and down to Porthmeor beach while the lanes are still quiet. At 10 am we visit the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, the studio and garden where the sculptor worked from 1949 until her death in 1975, with her bronzes among the plants. We leave at about 11:30 and drive just over an hour east to the Eden Project, built in a former china clay pit near St Austell, where two huge covered biomes hold a rainforest and a Mediterranean garden. Lunch is at Eden, then the afternoon is yours to walk the biomes and the outdoor gardens at your own pace. In the late afternoon it is about 50 minutes north to Padstow, a fishing harbour on the Camel estuary and our base for the last two nights. The evening is free.

   Included

   • Early guided walk of St Ives: the harbour, the Island and Porthmeor beach
   • Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden
   • The Eden Project
   • Lunch at the Eden Project

   Optional experiences

   • Tate St Ives, if you prefer the main gallery to the Hepworth garden

   Easier option: At Eden, skip the warm, humid upper paths of the Rainforest Biome and stay in the Mediterranean Biome and the outdoor gardens.

   Free time: Evening free in Padstow

   Activity: St Ives is hilly with cobbled lanes; Eden involves 2 to 3 hours on foot, with slopes and steps.

   

7. Day 7: Port Isaac, Tintagel and Boscastle

   Padstow to Port Isaac, Tintagel Castle and Boscastle, then back to Padstow

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Padstow
   Day 7 details

   A slow morning start, then about 30 minutes to Port Isaac, a fishing village of whitewashed cottages packed around a small harbour, familiar from the television series Doc Martin. We park at the top and walk down the steep lanes, which are too narrow for traffic, to the harbour while it is still quiet. Then it is 25 minutes along the coast to Tintagel, where our timed entry is booked for the late morning. The ruined castle on the headland was built by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, in the 13th century on a site long tied to the legend of King Arthur, and a footbridge opened in 2019 crosses the gap between the mainland and the island. Lunch is your choice in Tintagel village. In the afternoon, walkers take the coast path to Boscastle, about 8 km and three hours with several steep climbs, while the others ride ahead in the minibus. Boscastle sits at the head of a narrow inlet, with a harbour wall from the 1580s. Back in Padstow, we close the trip with a farewell dinner.

   Included

   • Port Isaac with your guide
   • Tintagel Castle with a timed entry
   • Boscastle harbour
   • Farewell dinner in Padstow

   Optional experiences

   • Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Boscastle

   Easier option: Ride from Tintagel to Boscastle in the minibus and walk the level path along the harbour to the sea.

   More active option: Walk the coast path from Tintagel to Boscastle, about 8 km with several steep climbs, about 3 hours.

   Free time: Lunch on your own in Tintagel

   Activity: Tintagel Castle has many steep steps; the coast path option adds about 3 hours on foot.

8. Day 8: Padstow to Exeter and the train to London

   Padstow to Exeter by the A30 across Bodmin Moor, then the train to London Paddington

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 8 details

   Take a last walk around Padstow harbour, or a stretch of the Camel Trail along the estuary, before breakfast. We leave at about 9:30 and drive east on the A30 across Bodmin Moor and along the northern edge of Dartmoor, about one and three quarter hours to Exeter. Your guide sees you to Exeter St Davids station at about 11:30 and checks you onto your train. A standard-class ticket to London Paddington is included, and direct trains take about two and a half hours, so you are in London by mid-afternoon. If you fly home from Exeter Airport (EXT), we drop you there instead, about 20 minutes from the station. For a flight from Heathrow the same day, book one leaving after about 7 pm; otherwise stay a night in London and we can book it for you. If you would like to see Exeter Cathedral, stay on in the city and take a later train on the same ticket, subject to its rules.

   Included

   • Drop-off at Exeter St Davids station or Exeter Airport (EXT)
   • Standard-class rail ticket from Exeter St Davids to London Paddington

   Activity: Book a Heathrow flight leaving after about 7 pm, or a night in London.

Wildlife and weather: Cornish weather changes fast: sea mist can hide St Michael's Mount and Land's End. Days 4 and 5 both start and end in St Ives, so the guide can swap them to follow clear weather. Day 6 cannot move: it is the transfer to Padstow, with the early St Ives walk and a set Hepworth entry. Spring brings sea pinks on the cliffs and Dartmoor foals; July and August are warmest but busiest, with school holiday crowds in St Ives and Padstow.

• Bath1 night
• Dartmoor1 night
• St Ives3 nights
• Padstow2 nights