Quality/Quantity - Huge grounds, and sadly, we realized after leaving that we only walked half of…read moreit. Well, we have and will be visiting so many castles on this trip. Atmosphere - Several routes to the entrances of the castle, all of which take about the same time. We walked one route to the castle, and left with a different more scenic waterway route. Business hours are seasonal, see picture, Yelp, or website. It is best to check the website prior to going. But the walk to and from the castle is also good. Service - Good. Price - 18 pounds, not including a discount of almost 2 pounds when you show them you are from the cruise ship, see picture. Owner Suggestion - Congrats on your success since the 1540's.

Pendennis Castle is THE major historic attraction in Falmouth, and a must-see upon visiting this…read moresmall town on the Cornwall coast. Historically, the exhibits cover a period from between the reign of Henry VIII up to WWII, as Pendennis was still used as a military fort in the 1940s. In short: If you love cannons (And who doesn't!), you will want to visit this place! Also, you get splendid views of Falmouth Bay. The main castle compound is rather small indeed, and most of the "minor rooms" (like the quarter of the commandant) are essentially empty. No attempt has been made to re-create some of the furniture or objects to allow us a glimpse into how soldiers lived and worked during those days, which is what costs Pendennis Castle the fifth star in the rating, and even the printed information in the individual rooms is rather sparse. The main tower does feature a sizeable selection of historical cannons, and a (rather lame) black-and-white back projected attempt at an animation of how the soldiers were working the batteries. More impressive are the other military displays around the compound, and the fairly large grounds that you'll spend time walking in. These are mostly weapons from WWII, but there is another historic battery, too (some of the cannons are currently being restored). The area itself is a beautiful corner of Cornwall, and the views in and around the castle in themselves certainly merit a visit and the about UKP 10 you have to pay for them. The presentation is a tad old-fashioned, which also concerns the smallish gallery of barracks life, a building that also houses the rather lovely café with its nice outside seating area. All in all, Pendennis Castle makes a great day out for the family when the weather is good. A small shop features the usual souvenirs and you can also by a book-quality guide of the history of Pendennis Castle for a rather competitive UKP 4. There are no audio guides available. The staff were really nice and helpful when I visited, the atmosphere is very relaxed. See my pictures for a more detailed impression of the individual objects and attractions.

Restormel Castle is really worth a visit. It's smaller, but there's lots to see, to do and to learn…read moreabout its history. And it has quite the history! First real evidence dates back to the 13th Century. But there was probably already a castle here in the 12th or even 11th Century. It functioned as a castle until the 17th Century and then was abandoned. Only in the 20th Century it was discovered again, cleared and cleaned. And since 1984 in English Heritages good hands. It's sitting on top of a small hill, offering some nice views. Even nowadays. Members of EH enter for free and even dogs our allowed - our Bulldog enjoyed the visit very much. As did we. Staff was really friendly here and also helpful with some additional information. There is a small trail leading around the castle. And inside there are lots of really interesting sections. You also can walk on the wall to enjoy the views. Picnic area and bathrooms are on site as well. Free parking just a few steps away. A wonderful visit. And there was a surprisingly small number of visitors on that day. Too bad, because this castle is really no to be missed.

The entrance to Pencarrow House and Gardens is a mile long drive through dense woodlands, which…read morecontain amongst other things rhododendrons, hydrangeas and one hundred species of conifer. The car park is of a fair size, but would fill up quickly on a busy day. Adjacent to the car park is a shop and an area selling plants. The shop sells the usual gifts and paintings, but also serves as the location to buy tickets for the house and gardens. Be aware though, they don't take credit cards. The gardens are stunning, very well landscaped and looked after, and complement the impressive Pencarrow House - a perfect place for taking pictures. There are actually over 50 acres of garden, which include Italian and American gardens, however, we didn't get very far into them because of the unpredictable english weather. Guided tours take you around Pencarrow House, which take place every half an hour. For us this really brought the house to life, the guide was knowledgable about the furniture, paintings etc, adding in fascinating anecdotal stories in each room of the house. The house is still lived in to this day, and has recently recieved the license to conduct weddings ceremonies and receptions. Alongside Pencarrow House is the Peacock Cafe, appropriately named as peacocks and chickens roam free range through the area of outside seating in the courtyard surrounding the cafe. The cafe has a compact menu of dishes like salads, sandwiches and cake. All very tasty, but a little expensive for the size of the portions. But the cafe's setting more than makes up for it though. Pencarrow is a hidden gem in Cornwall and one we thoroughly enjoyed.

We visited in a hot Saturday in late July so knew it would be busy but it was grim busy…read more Shops too busy to move, full of overpriced tat, restaurants the same - place was dirty and full or very loud rude tourists Definitely give this one a miss in the summer months

One of the nicest fishing harbours in Cornwall. Plenty of places to eat and drink (even during the…read morepandemic). Quaint streets with wonderful shops. Loads of places to buy your real Cornish Pastie. We did and it was delicious. TIP; if driving then parking is a real pain. Most car parks are high up and it's a steep walk down and back again. Try taking the Park and Ride train from St Erth. Reasonable price with fab views from the train. Then a short reasonably flat walk to the harbour.

Fantastically rich history : this place was designed & built in 1853 by Cornish…read more architect,Sivanus Travail in the English Gothic style.Bernard Leach the potter taught here,as did Ben Nicholson & Barbara Hepworth & was the Centre for British art for many pre war years. Latterly most famous for Terry Frost's work. It is beautifully stituated near the Penlee Art Gallery & gardens, just doors way, & minutes from the sea.

Fab, great place to go watch all manner of things, and one of the very evry few places in Cornwall…read morewhere you can watch ballet! Great range of things you can choose to watch, and they have a great little cafe section for intervals or just to pop into at lunch time. Highly recommended!

The Hall for Cornwall is a medium sized theatre in Truro which has regular performances. The…read moretheatre is relatively new and the seating is comfortable. Over the last few years there have been increasingly big name appearances at the hall for Cornwall including Ken Dodd, Derren Brown and Jethro. There is a Pantomime every year which is generally the best in Cornwall. In the daytime the theatre is sometimes used for a flea market if there is no show on in the daytime. This theatre delvers a great service to the people of Cornwall and it has little competition of a similar size in the local area.

This museum is good and has the usual things you'd expect from a museum but what I really must…read morecommend them for will make you laugh. They have the best darn disabled toilet I've ever been in in my entire life, lol in fact it was so ornate and over the top marbled and Italian looking my hubby had to go and take a photo of the inside. I think more people were wowing at the architecture and decor of the loo than the exhibits on display. So if your thinking of visiting ask them to unlock the disabled loo for you (or if you have a radar key you can do it yourself) and wonder at such finery lol. Great stuff.

The Royal Cornwall Museum is in the center of Truro and is free to visit. One of the museums main…read moreattractions is the Egyptian exhibition which includes a real Egyptian Mummy. The main exhibit area on the ground floor has some old fashioned vehicles and I believe the other exhibitions vary throughout the year. The Royal Cornwall Museum also runs workshops on a Saturday for children and also does workshops with school groups from local area on various historical themes during the week. The museum itself is not massive but as the entry fee is free, I feel it is well worth a visit.

A welcome addition to Truro. This gallery has some gorgeous pieces ranging from paintings to…read moreceramics and also has a prime viewing location for the busy market below. The cafe is out of this world, one of my favourites in Truro to escape the hustle and bustle. They do great hot chocolate and are fairly kids friendly which is a bonus. The food is great and it is a different offering to the usual places.