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Sign in with FacebookLatest Penzance hotel reviews
Pro
Lots to see and do, good shopping, excellent transportation facilities to take you all over West Cornwall.
Con
Crowded in summer,
In a nutshell
The "real" Cornwall for sure
leics Says: Regent Square was built from local granite in 1839 specifically to house the local 'gentry' (upper-middle-class wealthy residents).The square is absolutely lovely, with the buildings beautifully maintained. The house prices reflect its ongoing exclusivity!The surrounding...
leics Says: St Mary's stands on a hillock near the sea, a prominent landmark for those out on the water.There has been a place of worship on the site since at least the 1200s, when a small chapel (from which the street gets its name) stood there. This building was enlarged over the...
leics Says: I had never associated Penzance with the Brontes at all. Charlotte ('Jane Eyre'), Emily ('Wuthering Heights', Anne ('The Tenant of Wildfell Hall') and their rather sad drug-addict brother Branwell (there were two other siblings) are so strongly tied to Yorkshire , and to...
leics Says: I've looked at a lot of buildings in a lot of English cities, towns and villages over the years and have never seen anything like this oddity.All things Egyptian were hugely in fashion at the start of the 1800s. The Egyptian House was built around 1835 and its whole frontage...
Look at the architecture 3: Chapel Street
leics Says: Chapel Street leads off Market Square and has some of the oldest buildings in Penzance.It also has the rather magnificent Egyptian House (see separate tip).You'll find more Georgian four-square buildings, 'The Turk's Head' pub (supposedly dating from the 1200s, though the...
Look at the architecture 2: around Market Square
leics Says: Look up and you will see a wide variety of architectural styles in Market Square, Market Jew Street and Causeway. There are lots of little independent shops too, especially in Causeway, which makes a wander even more worthwhile.Erratic rooflines give away the differences in...
Look at the architecture 1: Market House
leics Says: Penzance, like many English towns, shows a mixture of architectural styles from over the centuries.In the Market Place, where you really can't miss the rather magnificent Market House (now Lloyds bank). Built in 1837, it was the civic centre of the town until St John's Hall...
leics Says: Penzance has excellent views across Mounts Bay: to one side, St Michael's Mount and Marazion, to the other Newlyn.The Mounts Bay side of the seafront is largely taken up with harbour, dry dock and a huge (and much needed) car park but the Newlyn side has a rather good 'prom'...
1 Review and 60 Opinions The Beachfield Hotel is a cosy white Victorian style building facing the Penzance promenade. Located...
1 Review and 88 Opinions First of all...this is *not* a hotel. So don't expect an elevator, a bar, evening meals, porters....
Wetherspoons: Le Tremenheere: It's a chain, but it's ok.
leics Says: There are J.D. Wetherspoon's pubs all over England. Their beer is good and reasonably-priced, and their food menus are also reasonably-priced (and edible). Although a chain, each pub is different (most were in existence as pubs before Wetherspoons took them over).A...
The Admiral Benbow: Another ancient building, more good food.
leics Says: The Admiral Benbow is a short distance away from The Turk's Head, still on Chapel Street.It's an old building, originally cottages, and has an entirely unique interior, crammed with marine-related ephemera (quite a lot has, apparently, been discovered by local divers in the...
leafmcgowan Says: very small end-of-the rail station of Great Western, I found it friendly and efficient; even if the hours of operation are tied directly to operating hours. The staff is friendly and the station decor is artistic. The bus station is essentially attached on the outside with a...
TheWanderingCamel Says: So many people visiting Cornwall miss out on the Scilly Islands. A great pity - but so much the better for the rest of us!A great sea trip is on the RMS Scillonian III which sails from Penzance harbour to the island of St Mary's in the Islands. She sails 6 days a week...
BOOKS: Head to Chapel Street for antiques & old books
eankelvin Says: "Books" of Chapel Street is one of the best shops in Cornwall for antique & collectable books. The whole of Chapel Street is perfect for those who love the old and interesting. Vintage shop. several antique shops, vintage clothes. Books about old Cornwall, Retro clothes and...
The Wharfside Centre: The Local Mall
TheWanderingCamel Says: The Wharfside Shopping Centre bills itself as "The shopping centre with the best views in the whole country" and they might just be right!It's right alongside the harbour and a short spit from the railway station and the buses. The ground floor is devoted to the "Farmers...
leics Says: ...you may be concerned to see vapour trails in a grid pattern over this part of Cornwall.But don't panic!No, they are *not* chemtrails. They are not the secret sowing of chemicals onto an unsuspecting populace by a devious and secretive world government. This part of the UK...
It may be quite pretty, it may be small....
leics Says: ....but Penzance, like any other community anywhere, has its opportunistic thieves.So do use your common sense when visiting, just as you should anywhere. Keep your valuables safely, lock your car and put anything of value in the car trunk, don't kleave your phone or camera...
leafmcgowan Says: The Chûn Castle is an Iron Age hillfort on the summit of Chûn Downs holding a stronghold with secure views of the north and northwest, onwards to the Atlantic Coast and south towards Mounts Bay. it is roughly 84 meters in diameter with stone walls up to 2.7 meters high and...
leafmcgowan Says: The Men Scryfa Standing Stone is a standing engrave stone sitting in the middle of a field not far from the infamous Men-an-Tol holey stone monument and the Nine Maidens stone circle. Its early origins is unknown just like with all the other standing stones. "Men Scryfa"...
Helpfulness
If you ask today where to find the Pirates of Penzance, you will be directed to the premises of the Penzance and Newlyn Rugby Football Club, aka "The Pirates".
Originally there were two clubs, in Newlyn and in Penzance, but they amalgamated in1945. Relations between the two were not always harmonious; we are told that between 1929 and 1932, fixtures between the two were cancelled by the police in the interest of public order!
They play today in perfect agreement, and the club is known as fielding a pretty good side. They have regular fixtures with such clubs as Cardiff, Guy's Hospital and the Barbarians who usually do a West Country tour, and the Pirates are not horribly outclassed.
The Mennaye Field where they play is tidily situated about half way between the two towns, and they are heartily supported by the whole of West Penwith.
Updated Aug 7, 2006
Address: Westholme Lodge, Alexandra Road, Penzance
Phone: Phone: +44(0)1736-351568
Website: www.cornish-pirates.com/pzn/
TheWanderingCamel Says: The advent of the railway in the nineteenth century made the distant areas far more accessible to everybody. But it was the quality of light and the low cost of living that attracted many artists. In France, they went to Concarneau and to Pont Aven in Brittany, in Britain...
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Many Brits automatically associate Penzance with pirates, mostly because of the Gilbert & Sullivan opera 'Pirates of Penzance'. Some folk from other countries (no names, no pack drill :-) ) think......
Penzance : the capital of West Cornwall
Penzance is the main market town of West Cornwall, and people come here to shop from as far away as Redruth. The shops are very good for the size of the town, and you can find most things you want –...
Brought to fame by Gilbert & Sullivan's 'Pirates of Penzance' play, Penzance is a wonderful seaside town with a number of interesting sites and shops. It isn't huge, with a population of 20,000, but...
Egyptian House is a fascinating building on Penzances' oldest Street. It is rather an incongruous sight and very beautiful. It was built by the mineriologist John to house a geological museum and now...
Penzance - The land's end is near!!!
Penzance is one of the main places in Cornwall and is well connected by rail and coach as well. Any visit to Cornwall should include Penzance for the sheer beauty of the place and the sea, sand and......
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