Penzance; Friday, 01 October, 2021

As I’d been able to come down the previous evening to Plymouth it meant I only needed to book a half days annual leave, so I worked out of my hotel room in the morning before powering down the laptop at the start of lunch, checking out and heading to the station.

I caught my train south from Plymouth, across the Tamar and on into Cornwall. It’s a very pleasant ride, but is also nearly another two hours on from Plymouth – which was why I didn’t even contemplate doing it in one go the previous evening. After arriving in Penzance I walked across the road to my hotel, checked-in, dropped off my stuff and headed straight back out to catch the Coaster open-top bus.

Unlike an open-top tour in other cities this is just a standard bus route, so no commentary, but you can also use a local cheap bus pass on it. Also unlike a city tour this takes a mammoth route that lasts almost four hours, doing a complete circuit round the south of Cornwall.

After leaving Penzance we headed north up the coast to Marazion for views across to St Michael’s Mount, before turning West inland for the longest part of the journey that isn’t close to the sea to travel across to the North coast of Cornwall at St Ives. The bus has an extended stop in St Ives at the bus station, high on the hill overlooking the harbour – so it’s the perfect spot to get some great photos of the town whilst the bus waits for its timetabled departure.

On leaving St Ives the Coaster climbs up the steep roads and into the hills of the North Cornish coast, running along a minor road that’s between the highest hills and the fields leading down to the coast. It passes many small villages and Hamlets, including Zennor for those wanting a trip to one of the few places in the UK with a Z placename. Along this part of the route there is lots of evidence of the industrial past of Cornwall with the ruins of Engine houses and chimneys from the Tin mine workings that used to power the Cornish economy.

About an hour after leaving St Ives the bus turns down a steep road and descends down into the stunning Sennen Cove – a beautiful bay with large crashing waves, sand dunes and a wide sandy beach, before ascending back up to the coast road and completing this leg of the journey at the car park for the Lands End Experience. Again, the bus takes an extended break here – though there is little to see to take photos of if you’re not getting off the bus.

From Lands End the Coaster heads onto its final leg back along the South coast of Cornwall, stopping briefly at Porthcurno for the communications museum, beach and Minack Theatre before heading along the small country roads that include a significant number of ancient Celtic crosses, standing stones and even a stone circle. The route finally arrives back on the edge of greater Penzance as it enters Newlyn, still high above sea level and quickly descends down the steep roads to the harbour and seafront.

From Newlyn it then runs along the seafront and past Penzance Harbour before reaching back to the bus station just under 4 hours after it left.

Having stayed on for the full circuit I was quite stiff by the time I finally got up out of my seat, so I went for a little wander around town, partly to stretch my legs and partly to find somewhere to get dinner as I was also feeling quite hungry.