Cornwall

Towns & Villages

PENZANCE

Sheltered by Mount’s Bay, this holiday hotspot looks out onto the English Channel and famously boasts a mild, subtropical climate.



The seafront has a promenade and an open-air seawater swimming pool, which is one of the oldest surviving art deco baths in the country.

Penzance Promenade - Photo: Phil Williams CCL

Sir Humphry Davy - Photo: Mrs. Blorenge CCL

The picturesque harbour dates back to the 19th century and Penzance claims to be the place where the death of Admiral Lord Nelson was first announced after local fishermen intercepted HMS Pickle as it returned to England.

Penzance was often sacked by foreign fleets and raided by Barbary pirates - the name of the town’s oldest building, 'The Turk's Head' pub, refers to such an incident.


The town was the birthplace of Sir Humphry Davy, President of the Royal Society and inventor of electrolysis and the miner's safety lamp, and has a statue of him in Market Jew Street, near the house in which he was born.

Places worth visiting include the art gallery and museum of Penlee House, famous for its paintings by members of the ‘Newlyn School’, the unique, sub-tropical Morrab Gardens and The Admiral Benbow public house. The Branwell House was once inhabited by the mother of the Bronte sisters.

Close by is Lanyon Quiot, a 5,000-year-old burial place, and The Merry Maidens Stone Circle.

Morrab Gardens - Photo: Richard Knights CCL