July 2020. Still summer, still sunny mostly. Lockdown lifted. Missing the beach. We were lusting for sand in our feet, put on our swimsuits and take a dip in the ocean water. When we decided where to go, Cornwall is a unanimous choice.
TRANSPORTATION: We rented a car since Jack knows how to drive and has a license. We rented from Enterprise. We paid £380 for three days, all Central London vehicle charges included. At first though, Jack was charged £722 probably some deposit charges, but was refunded days later.
As for petrol, we topped up three times, amounting to £92 for the whole trip. Parking fees in these areas might range from £5 – £8.50.
ACCOMMODATION: We booked an Airbnb at Penzance, just a walking distance from the Promenade. We paid £350 for a 2-night stay, 2-bedroom flat with very spacious living room area.
Here’s a video of our trip overall:
Day 0: We picked up the car before 6PM because we plan to start driving by 3 or 4 AM the next day.
Day 1
We headed straight to Porthcurno Beach. The drive was about 5 hours and 30 minutes with stopover at Exeter for some snacks and coffee. We brought our lunch and picnicked in the beach.
The weather was thankfully sunny when we stayed there albeit the weather forecast saying otherwise. But, you can never be really too happy with the UK waters. It’s ice cold and we were wondering how these other people tolerate the cold. However, we miss dipping way too much that we were willing to sacrifice dying from the cold water just not to die from regret not plunging in.
After the beach, we hiked up to Minack Theatre. There’s a booking system and we didn’t manage to get tickets, and it’s closed at the time of our visit. We were hoping we can have just a glimpse but we failed.
Instead, we just had this view overlooking Porthcurno beach and the sea. There is actually a hike path from the beach to here but it was very steep.
After here, we checked in at our Airbnb and rested for the day.
Day 2
We had early lunch at St. Ives Harbour then went souvenir shopping. There were water activities offered such as kayaking but we didn’t do any as Kynance Cove is a bit of a far drive. We just hiked up to St. Nicholas Chapel as a viewpoint to see the whole of St. Ives Harbour and surroundings.
Alleyway of St. Ives
It was already around 2 PM or so when we left St. Ives, and Kynance Cove is an hour drive. It’s hectic but the cove was worth it.
On our way home we stopped by Marazion beach for St. Michael’s Mount. It was low tide already and the path to the castle was visible but we were already tired and hungry that we just took photos from afar.
Day 3: We didn’t go anywhere anymore. We drove home after check out to make it in time for the 6 PM deadline to avoid another day of charge. It was like Amazing Race. We arrived just a few minutes after 6PM. Thankfully, we were not charged.
That’s our itinerary for our short Cornwall trip. This was one of the reasons why my 2020, I would say, is fun.