Route Overview
About this Tour
Cornwall is not a place for fleeting glances through the windshield. It is a land of 290 million-year-old granite, shaped by tin mining and the unceasing rhythm of the Atlantic. When you cross the border at the River Tamar, the light changes. It becomes harder, clearer – a phenomenon that has drawn artists to St Ives since the 19th century. For campers, Cornwall is a logistical test. The "Hedges", those stony earth walls that line the roads, do not forgive driving errors. Here, top speed does not count, but the width of your body. Those traveling with 2.30 meters width will get to know the smell of crushed fern and damp slate. The history of the region is present in the ruins of the pump houses of Botallack and Levant, whose shafts reach up to 500 meters below sea level. It smells like burnt peat, seaweed and the heavy fat of the pasties that have satiated miners here for generations. The route requires patience; at 300 kilometers in 7 days, the focus is on slowness. You will learn to read the tides, as many coastal roads whip spray onto the windshield during storm surges. It is a journey into the extreme southwest of England, where the land becomes narrow and the sea presses against the cliffs from three sides simultaneously.
Your Journey in Detail
🏖️From Truro's Towers to the Southernmost Tip
Your journey begins in Truro [50.26, -5.05]. The cathedral dominates the cityscape with its three towers, built of Cornish granite and Bath Stone. Park on the "Waitrose & Cornish Food Box" parking lot (approx. 14 € for the day) to store supplies. The drive leads south to the Lizard Peninsula. The "Henry's Campsite" pitch in The Lizard (50.00, -5.19) costs about 35 € per night and offers an unobstructed view of the southernmost point of the island. The paths here are so narrow that two motorhomes often only fit past each other with folded mirrors. Culinarically, no way leads past "Ann’s Pasties" – skip the tourist traps and buy where the locals queue up. The beef must lie in coarse pieces, not as minced meat, in the dough pocket. The air here is thicker, saturated by the spray that hits up to 20 meters high at Lizard Point in southwest winds. Visit the Lizard Lighthouse, which has warned sailors of treacherous reefs since 1751. The foghorn can be heard up to 10 kilometers away in fog and vibrates to your bones when you stand on the cliff.
🏄The Driving Maturity Test: Porthcurno and Land's End
The section between Penzance and Sennen Cove is the heart of the route. The B3306 winds through a landscape that feels more like the Scottish Highlands than South England. In Porthcurno you will find the Minack Theatre (50.04, -5.65). Rowena Cade chiseled this amphitheater into the rock by hand starting in 1931. Parking for motorhomes is allowed on the upper gravel lot, but staying overnight is strictly forbidden (fine approx. 70 €). The hike to Logan Rock offers the best view of the turquoise water of Pedn Vounder, which reveals sandbanks like in the Caribbean at low tide. Warning: the descents to the bays often have gradients of 15 to 20 percent. Your brakes will smell like hot metal when you reach the bottom. Consistently use the engine as a brake. Visit the tin mine of Geevor, where time stood still in 1990. The rusty machines and the clatter of the conveyor baskets are the acoustic ghosts of the industrial past. The "Treen Farm Campsite" pitch (50.04, -5.63) for 30 € is the ideal starting point to walk the cliff paths at sunset when the granite rock glows in deep orange.
🥧St Ives: The Final in the Light of Painters
The destination is St Ives [50.21, -5.48]. Never drive into the city center with the motorhome. The alleys are partly only 2.10 meters wide and dead ends often end in nothing. Use the park-and-ride lot "Lelant Saltings" (50.19, -5.43) and take the train. The route is considered one of the most beautiful short train connections in Europe; it leads directly along the dunes of Carbis Bay. In St Ives, the "Tate St Ives" dominates, a building from 1993 perched on the foundations of an old gasworks. The "Polmanter Touring Park" pitch (approx. 40 € to 52 €) offers a shuttle service into town. Here the route ends with a pint of "Proper Job" IPA in the Sloop Inn, a pub from 1312. The reflection of the harbor in the water at low tide, when the fishing boats lie on their side in the mud, is the visual finale of these 300 kilometers. If you want to move on, the coastal road leads further north towards Padstow, but the soft light of St Ives is the point where most campers interrupt their journey for a few days. The smell of fresh fish & chips mixes here with the salty note of the harbor.
💡Practical Tips
- ✓Vehicles over 7 meters length and 2.30 meters width reach physical limits here. The "Cornish Hedges" are stone walls disguised as harmless hedges. Evading is often only possible by reversing hundreds of meters into the next "Passing Place". Tolls only exist for the Tamar Bridge (approx. 3 € for motorhomes, only city-bound). Watch out for overhangs on the tight curves of the B3306; the granite does not give way.
- ✓Avoid British "Bank Holidays" and school holidays in July/August. Roads clog up and the search for a parking spot becomes a nightmare. The best time is May or September. In May the gorse blooms bright yellow and the scent of coconut is in the air. Temperatures are at moderate 15-18 degrees, ideal for hiking, while the sea is still too cold for swimming.
- ✓Large supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsbury’s) can be found in Truro, Helston and Penzance. After that, supply becomes difficult. Use Farm Shops for local products like Cornish Cream. Water supply is standard at campsites; public disposal stations (Air de Service) like in France practically do not exist. Fill up in larger cities as prices near the coast rise by up to 20 cents per liter.
At a Glance
Duration
5-7 Days
Distance
300 km
Difficulty
Moderate
Highlights
- ⭐Land's End
- ⭐St Ives
- ⭐Minack Theatre
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