The final section of the railway to Penzance is said to have been completed only after a local landowner’s request that the trains not run during “cocktail hour”.
Fortunately, an agreement was reached and in 1852 the first Truro service began, connecting with Plymouth seven years later, when Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Royal Albert Bridge opened over the Tamar between Devon and Cornwall.
The ‘Cornish Riviera’, as the Great Western Railway quickly dubbed it, was up and running. Cornish Riviera Expresses soon began operating and the county was never the same again.
Penzance, being the term, was naturally at the center of it all. And it still is, with London Paddington’s Night Riviera sleepers.
Penzance (21,000 inhabitants) is not, however, simply a summer destination for its beaches and the much-loved Jubilee Lido. In the autumn/winter months, the city offers invigorating coastal walks, cheaper hotels and cozy, welcoming inns.
High and dry: Visitors to Penzance in Cornwall can reach nearby St Michael’s Mount (pictured) by causeway or by boat
For the latter, the Admiral Benbow on Chapel Street, with its chaotic nautical paraphernalia and proud boast of “serving pirates, smugglers and rum since 1685”, seems the ideal place.
There is also the Turks Head, the Dolphin, the Dock Inn, the Navy Inn, the Yacht Inn and many more along the confusing hilly streets; In short, there are many pubs, many of them with live music.
Chapel Street leads to the Isles of Scilly ferry port and is home to the extraordinary Grade I listed Egyptian House, built in 1836 with ancient Luxor-style columns.
“In the autumn/winter months, the town offers invigorating coastal walks, cheaper hotels and cozy, welcoming inns,” says Tom Chesshyre of Penzance.
From Penzance, you can walk 15 miles to Land’s End (seen here), reveals Tom
Exotic: The Grade I-listed Egyptian house of Penzance
Nearby you will find the excellent Acorn Theater and Penlee House Gallery and Museum, home to wonderful Newlyn School of Art works by Stanhope Forbes and Lamorna Birch, as well as the important fishing port of Newlyn.
A four-mile drive beyond the station will take you to St Michael’s Mount, the castle island that inspired many photographs. It can sometimes be reached via a causeway or by boat.
Many other leisurely walks can be taken to the village of Mousehole (three miles) or Land’s End (15 miles), although you may be tempted to stay put and explore the bookstores, antique shops or even go for cocktail hour . of the taverns.
WHERE TO STAY: Double rooms at the charming and stylish Chapel House hotel cost from £200 (chapelhousepz.co.uk). Night Riviera from £179 per person return, two sharing cabin (gwr.com); or £91 on day trains return. For more, see visitcornwall.com.
Tom says Penzance has many excellent pubs, including the Admiral Benbow (pictured). He claims to have been “in the service of pirates, smugglers and rum since 1685.”