Truro Cathedral, photo credit: Flickr
I obsess about trip planning. There are times when I’ve been known to research a destination so deeply that I’m stymied by all the possible things to see and do when we get there. Inevitably, I find I need to step back, think about the goal of the trip whether it’s relaxation, sightseeing or visiting family and then formulate an overall itinerary building in plenty of options and flexibility – because when you travel with children, flexibility is key. Here’s the itinerary I’ve come up with for our upcoming trip to the U.K.:
- Day 0 (evening): Depart Seattle on overnight flight to Heathrow.
- Day 1 (midday): Arrive Heathrow, take the HeathrowConnect train to Paddington, and the train from Paddington to Truro. Arrive Truro approximately 20 hours after leaving Seattle. Whew!
- Day 2: Explore Penryn and possibly Truro – although all sightseeing in the afternoon could be sidelined to watch the Ireland Vs Scotland rugby match
Since this will be our first full day in this time zone, I expect that we’ll all be tired from the journey and hence it doesn’t make sense to try to plan a busy day. But, fresh air and exercise walking and exploring these towns, will help with everyone’s jet-lag and hopefully ensure that we all get a good night’s sleep. - Day 3: Visit the Eden Project and take a short driving tour of the Lizard Peninsula.
- Day 4: A day devoted to King Arthur. Although realistically, I think we’ll only have time for Tintagel, Camelford and Dozmary Pool. BigB really is beside himself at the prospect of ‘seeing’ the Lady of the Lake.
- Day 5: Hike Bodmin Moor. This is an easy 4-mile hike in beautiful countryside and, hey, it’s a moor, so I can have a Kate Bush moment where I can belt out Heathcliff at the top of my out-of-tune lungs – most likely to the WanderDad’s consternation. (And yes, I do know that Wuthering Heights was set on the Yorkshire Moors, but hey, you’ve got to adapt when you’re traveling).
- On Day 6 & 7 we’ll be at a family event and we’ll be back in Seattle by bedtime on Day 8. A short, but busy trip.
Attractions on my ‘oh-I-wish-we-could-squeeze-that-in-too’ list include: the National Maritime Museum, the Heligan Gardens and any number of other interesting castles, parks and other places. But, cramming our days too full will leave no time to just wander which is our favorite way to travel. If you’ve got a must-see attraction or destination in Cornwall, let me know – and hopefully we’ll be able to add it to our plans.
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If it were me I’d give Truro and Penryn a miss and go to nearby Falmouth instead…but an absolute must is St.Ives for charm, character, variety, artists and art galleries, museums, beaches and food. Truro is a rather dull city in my view with an even duller cathedral. Eden’s a good choice. Fred
@Fred: appreciate the suggestions – thanks!
Tintagel is a good choice, it’sbeyond awesome. Unless you’re acrophobic. Then it’s beyond terrifying.
i am laughing at day 5!
that would be a lot of activities for us – i prefer to poke around and travel slowly. that said, i am envious of your upcoming trip! have fun!
Can so relate about the trip planning, I’m obsessive. But luckily I have people around to talk me off the planning ledge. Your plan sound fun, and very flexible I must say.
You might like Padstow, on the Camel estuary if it’s not too crowded out of season – take the short ferry ride across the estuary from there to Rock and have a run along the beach and the sand dunes nefore coming back – great pasties & fish & chips.
Shame you can’t fit in the lost gardens of Heligan.
I’ve heard that Davistock on the edge of Darmoor is a nice little market town, could be a stop on your way back to Heathrow.
Hey, I live in Devon (next county along from cornwall – my house to Cornwall is about an hours drive). There are so many great places in Cornwall – St Ives is definitely beautiful – Truro (in my opinion) is not so beautiful.
Last summer we drove the whole coast of Cornwall (in 2 days). The Eden project is great but wont necessarily take a whole day (even for a wanderer
) – from there we drove along the coast to the Minack Theatre (which is incredible!). Then it was down to Lands End and up to Newquay (where we tend to go at least once a month as my boyfriend surfs). Newquay is also an excellent place – not idyllic and beautiful like most of Cornwall but a great place to visit.
My brain isn’t in gear yet this morning but if I think up more I shall come back! best wishes, Jen x
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We are planning a trip in MAY/JUNE and plan to take in the Chelsea Flower Show, possibly see Lord Mountbatten’s home and then on to Cornwall for a week. Any suggested for an itinerary for a week as we would like to see St. Michael’s Mt., the Eden Project, Heligan Gardens, Polperro, Pt Issac, Lizard, St Ives, Mousehole, Minack theatre production, and Tintagel, etc.
Thanks
This is very well done and informative! Thanks for sharing this. When I was a child my parents took me to Cornwall and even though I hardly remember anything I have a feeling it was an awesome place for a family trip. It motivated me to write this:
http://tripandtravelblog.com/top-10-family-days-out-in-cornwall/ I know it’s not even nearly similar or as good as yours but I wanted to make something with these few precious memories I had left.
Greetings from Athens!