Our long-awaited holiday to Penzance finally came around on Monday 10th of June. So, with happy hearts we left my home in Halifax at 8 30 am to catch a train to Manchester Victoria at 8 55 am – Brenda insists we are always early for everything!

When we arrived in Manchester, we had to change platforms and narrowly missed the airport train and so had to wait a while for the next one. After arriving at Manchester Airport, we caught a small plane to Newquay.

Once in Newquay, we had to pay £10 for a shared taxi to the airport and then had to wait for over an hour for a train to Par and then a train to Penzance. Brenda passed the time eating local fish and chips and ice cream! So, all in all, our journey to our destination which was The Longboat Inn, in Penzance, took almost eleven hours!

Retrospectively, I’m not sure if we took the most effective way to Penzance from Halifax, but at the time, I perceived it to be the cheapest way to travel.

We spent the first evening in our room which was very clean and functional though I think it would have benefitted from containing a small fridge – in all, there was a room with two single beds, a television and a nice bathroom with an adequate shower.

Unfortunately, it rained most of Tuesday which wasn’t too bad as it gave us the opportunity to rest after our long journey the previous day. However, we did manage to see a bit of Penzance and visit a nice café called The Quirky Bird.

On the Wednesday, we caught a bus to St. Ives and were informed that Brenda’s Disabled Bus Pass didn’t cover both of us – unlike in Yorkshire, so I had to pay which I didn’t mind. We found the place to be beautiful and could understand why people holiday there. In addition, we were lucky enough to meet an American author who promised to write for the magazine in the future. The journey to St Ives was also very scenic and there was a bus back to Penzance every half an hour. In the evening, we went for an Indian meal but we weren’t that impressed and thought it was expensive.

The following day we decided to go to Lands End and even though there was a complex of shops and entertainment venues, I didn’t think there was much there except for the iconic signpost. In the evening, we dined at The Longboat Inn and had a vegan curry that was well-cooked and not too expensive.

On the final day of our holiday, I wanted to visit St Michaels Mount but unfortunately, Brenda wasn’t well in the morning and slept until lunchtime. Happily, she felt better in the afternoon and we explored more of Penzance.

I came to the conclusion that Penzance is an excellent base from which to travel to other places.

Become a Patron!