The Cornwall Peninsula is home to hundreds of beaches and storybook harbour villages, the kind we read about in classic English novels. The pace moves more slowly than the hustle of London, so feel free to be a little lighter on the accelerator, and slow down a notch, or three. Drive West from London [and a little South], as far as you can, and you’ll soon be encircled by almost 300km of rugged, stunning coastline than tumbles into the Atlantic Ocean. Cornwall also enjoys the mildest and sunniest climate in the United Kingdom, with over 1541 hours of sunshine per year, and winters are amongst the warmest in the country.
For the second part of my trip with VisitBritain, I was so excited to explore the South West for the very first time. After checking out of the beautiful The Great Northern hotel, I hopped across the road to collect my hire car from Hertz St Pancras, loaded my playlist, plugged in my GPS and hit the road for Cornwall.
It’s an easy drive (via freeway the entire way), but a lengthy drive to take solo – so I took my time, and also made a quick diversion to Bristol for lunch and leg stretch. The drive itself takes around 5 hours, depending on traffic – a perfect opportunity to listen to some of my favourite podcasts and just be with my thoughts and the open road.
There’s so many beautiful parts of Cornwall – and much that I still want to see. But here’s how I spent three nights in Cornwall (and you should too).

