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Cornwall Cycling Holiday - UK Bike Tours
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Cycling days
Cornish Cycle Tour
Cornish Cycle Tour
Type :
Level :
E-bike:
Duration :
9 days
Cycling days :
 7
Comfort :
period:
Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct
Code:
CCC
Seacoast Nature Island History Culture
price from £ 1.036
Cornish Cycle Tour

Bike Tour: Cornish Cycle Tour - 9 days

Cycle around approximately two thirds of the county of Cornwall, following the coastal roads as near as possible to the sea and covering parts of the South West Coastal Path, winding in and out of coves and bays. This trip takes in the best of Cornwall with a surprise around every corner. Think white sandy beaches, industrial history, gardens, medieval castles, and traditional former smugglers' pubs. The hotels, inns and pubs that you'll be staying at are carefully chosen by our team based on quality & location and really help you immerse in Cornwall. 

This ride offers an enormous wealth of coastal scenery, from rugged cliffs to sandy beaches, sleepy coves to marsh, cape and headland. Much of the area is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Cycle in a land of smugglers and ship wreckers with great historic and literary associations.

There's no escaping the fact that this is a cycling tour packed with hills. Many are steep, some are long and winding, some will take you by surprise and others will tease you from a distance. They make this a ride best suited for intermediate-to-advanced cyclists, or those who opt for an e-bike. Each day varies in elevation, length and gradient which keeps things interesting.

While you’ll be spending a large amount of time on your bike, you’ll still have plenty of time to stop and take in the picture-perfect surroundings. We particularly urge you to explore and enjoy the gastronomical delights that this tour has to offer - you’ll have certainly worked up an appetite. 

Enjoy locally produced Cornish ice cream and cream teas and go home with great memories of England's south west coast (one of the sunniest areas within the UK).

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Cornish Cycle Tour Map
Route
Day 1: Arrive in Padstow
Day 2: Padstow to Perranporth (40.5 km / 25.1 miles)
Day 3: Perranporth to St. Ives (41 km / 25.4 miles)
Day 4: St. Ives to Penzance (appr. 53 km / 33 miles)
Day 5: Penzance to Porthleven (20 km / 12 miles)
Day 6: Porthleven to Falmouth (55.3 km / 34.3 miles)
Day 7: Falmouth to Charlestown (42 km / 26 miles)
Day 8: Charlestown to Padstow (44 km / 27 miles)
Day 9: Arrangements end after breakfast

Day 1:    Arrive in Padstow

Make your own way to Padstow. The town is named after St. Petroc who came here circa AD 500. The church of St. Petroc is one of a group of three said to have been founded by the saint. It is quite large and mostly of 13th and 14th century date. The old harbour usually has a nice ensemble of boats including the old pilot vessels. You can find nice pub fayre and a Rick Stein café/restaurant, not forgetting Rick's Fish & Chip shop and ‘National Lobster hatchery.’ 

Accommodation: Our normal inn dates back to the 14th Century and is the oldest existing pub in the town.


Day 2:    Padstow to Perranporth (40.5 km / 25.1 miles)

If you are hiring bikes, the bike hire shop opens from 9.00 am, so after breakfast, make your way there to collect and check out your steed before pedalling off southwards on roads close to the Cornish coast. From Padstow, cycle along the coast past Mawgan Porth and Watergate Bay. Passing by the surfing beaches and town of Newquay and follow coastal lanes to the village of Crantock with its pretty church and round garden, before arriving at Perranporth.

It is believed that Saint Piran founded a church at Perranzabuloe near Perranporth in the seventh century. Buried under sand for many centuries, it was unearthed early in the twentieth century, but again left to the mercy of the sands in the 1970s. Otherwise this is a pretty small resort with a very long 3 mile beach, sea stacks and shrieking gulls. The ride between Padstow and Newquay can be very busy in summer, and instead you can choose an inland route which goes through St Columb Major. Adding 12 km/7.5 miles to the day’s total, but it is faster and flatter.


Accommodation: The 4* country house offers all rooms ensuite. The country house is situated in its own grounds overlooking Perranporth and is only minutes from the coastal footpaths. It is a steep ride out of Perranporth to the accommodation, and if you want to have a meal.


Day 3:    Perranporth to St. Ives (41 km / 25.4 miles)

The bike ride today passes many old tin mine workings riding to the village of St. Agnes. There are then a couple of steep descents and ascents into the bays at Porthtreath and Porthtowan, before rolling along the coast road towards Hayle with a possible stop at Godvrey Head. Skirting the Hayle Estuary, which is noted for its seabirds and waders, you then roll past beautiful Carbis Bay to reach the town of St. Ives. This dates back to AD 460, when the missionary St. Ia, daughter of an Irish chieftain, landed here and gave her name to the settlement.

Protected from Atlantic storms, St. Ives was once the most important fishing port in Cornwall, but like elsewhere on the surrounding coast, by the beginning of the 20th century, the fish stocks became depleted and the fishing fleet largely disappeared. However as early as 1811 Turner visited to paint the seascapes and by the late 1880s there were several artists installed and the town became famous for its vibrant artists’ colony. This perhaps reached its peak during the late 1940s and the 1950s. Today, their work can be seen in the St. Ives Tate Gallery, the Barbara Hepworth Museum and the Bernard Leach Gallery.


Accommodation: We use several guesthouses in the busy town of St Ives, one is a 4 star and the other a boutique B&B. If this is full you may be booked into Carbis Bay 10 minutes ride away.


Day 4:    St. Ives to Penzance (appr. 53 km / 33 miles)

Cycling steeply out of St. Ives, the roads take you along a classic Cornish scenery of small farms with ancient drystone walls, mine engine houses and chimneys. You could stop for a coffee in the attractive village of Zennor, famous for its mermaid legend. You could take the road out to Cape Cornwall then check out the landscape, visit the tin mining museum at Geevor or continue on, perhaps to have a snack at the old village of St. Just before visiting Land’s End. Have an ice cream at ‘The First and The Last ‘ store. This is England’s most westerly point, it is possible to see the Isles of Scilly on a clear day.

Then you’ll head east through Treen, passing some ancient remains, and cycling through the semi tropical valley at Lamorna. The route runs down the coast of Cornwall to Mousehole (pron’Mowzl’), another picture postcard village. It has a history of pilchard fishing and now has a small artists community. You then pedal through Newlyn and into Penzance. This has a number of attractions including some Georgian and Regency housing, the exuberant Egyptian House, Maritime Museum and National Lighthouse Museum.

Before Treen you can take a little detour to Porthcurno which is home to the Minack Theatre. It is dramatically situated and built by Rowena Cade - a unique place where the auditorium and stage are carved into the cliff above the sea, and above a wonderful bay.
Accommodation: You will stay at one of our selected guesthouses/B&B's in the seaside town of Penzance.


Day 5:    Penzance to Porthleven (20 km / 12 miles)

A short day of cycling, allowing you the opportunity to explore Penzance or spend some time relaxing on the beach. From Penzance there is a flattish but dramatic ride around Mounts Bay with views over to St. Michael’s Mount with its tidal causeway. You maybe able to fit a visit in with the tide times. The road then goes inland before you reach Porthleven. This is another charming fishing village, whose harbour is closed by wooden baulks during storms with good restaurants and a couple of nice pubs. You can enjoy fine seafood at the inn or venture along the quay to a seafood restaurant that is famous all over Britain (reservations recommended!).

Accommodation: We stay in a 4-star inn by the quayside with old stone flags on the floor and oak beams and wood panelling in profusion. The bar retains the ambience of an old fisherman’s pub, and offers friendly service in traditional surroundings. If you are there on a Saturday, there will often be entertainment as well.


Day 6:    Porthleven to Falmouth (55.3 km / 34.3 miles)

Pedal out inland to cross Lizard Point avoiding the steepest coastal hills. You pass the heath of Goonhilly Down to St. Keverne to view its pleasant village square and remarkable churchyard. Here over 400 shipwreck victims of the nearby Manacle Reef are buried. Continue cycling to Helford and round the pretty villages that surround the Helford River. Frenchmans Creek here was made famous by the writer Daphne Du Maurier. Here you need to take a ferry across the Helford River. On the other side you could drop into the famous Trebah Gardens, before continuing through to the pretty cove at Swanpool for a coffee or an icecream. Finally, you roll into Falmouth, home to the world’s third largest natural harbour and the National Maritime Museum.

Accommodation: We use a number of guesthouse/B&B's in this lively town.


Day 7:    Falmouth to Charlestown (42 km / 26 miles)

You start today's cycling with a ferry ride from Falmouth to St. Mawes. It is a remote pleasant little yachting harbour at the end of the Roseland Peninsula, which boasts a clover leaf castle built by Henry VIII in 1542. Today is hilly as you visit various attractive coves on the route, you are cycling across the pretty Roseland Peninsula passing through Veryan (with its round houses) Portloe and Portholland before rolling past Caerhays Castle and beaches. Then cycle along country lanes with some steep hills to the old fishing and smuggling village of Mevagissey.

The hilly route continues to your overnight stop in Charlestown. This attractive old port was used as a location for filming Poldark and Jane Austin’s Persuasion. Usually there is at least one square ridded vessel being worked on in the old dock, which gives the place an old fashion air. There is also a shipwreck museum. Today or tomorrow you could visit the Eden Project, famous in Cornwall it is a biosphere reserve with tropical gardens.


Accommodation: Our Georgian guesthouse lies at the head of the historic port, Charlestown is a Conservation Area of special local importance. There are seven tastefully decorated letting rooms all en-suite with views overlooking the harbour.


Day 8:    Charlestown to Padstow (44 km / 27 miles)

Heading towards the Eden Project, in the old China Clay pits, you avoid the busiest roads, to ascend the quiet lane through Tregrehan Mills to join a rough track that goes to the project. At a junction, if you want you can do an excursion off along the Clay Trails - a landscape well known for its clay tips and pits created by the 250-year-old clay mining industry. This striking and dramatic scenery is visible from distances of many miles. You can ride them, passing the Eden Project and then into the beautiful UNESCO ‘World Heritage Site’ valley before the pretty village of Luxulyan. Then onto Bodmin, which has an 18th century gaol where you could break for lunch passing the Bodmin & Wenford Railway, where steam locomotives are still chugging away. Leaving Bodmin, your Cornish Cycle tour ends with a gentle cycle along the Camel Trail. Follow the river towards Padstow and you have now completed this exciting loop of Cornwall.

Accommodation: As per the first night.


Day 9:    Arrangements end after breakfast

Depart Padstow after breakfast.

Prices & Dates

Starting dates:

Daily from 1 March to 20 October


Price pp £
Single room, incl. breakfast 1,782.88
Double room, incl. breakfast 1,036.00
Extra night, per room incl. breakfast 160.00
Rental bike £
Rental bike 127.00
Ebike 253.00
Accommodation

The hotels, guesthouses and bed and breakfasts on this cycling trip in Cornwall are family-run, clean and comfortable (ranging from 2-4 stars), and provide access to local living thanks to your hosts. The hospitality is generous and their knowledge of Cornwall is invaluable. Where possible, we choose locations that add to your experience.

Bikes

If you decide not bring your own, you can rent a bicycle through us. You can choose from a range of bicycles suitable for your route. As well as providing you with the different options available, our team can organise the rental for you. Just contact us for details.

Once all confirmed, you will find your rental bikes waiting for you at your first hotel or at an alternative meeting point. When your bike is handed over to you, you'll also be provided with items such as the keys, chain lock, helmet and spare inner tube. 

Practical Info

To complete this Cornwall cycle tour you need to be of adequate fitness. The bike trails are generally flat and uncrowded and the longest distance is about 30 miles (50km). There is ample time to sightsee Cornwall between cycling. 

8 nights included

Hotels, guesthouses, and B&Bs

8 breakfasts included

Information pack including route notes & maps

Bicycle hire not included; bike hire available for additional cost: Lightweight Bike £100pp, Electric Bike £220pp (subject to availability) and pair of panniers £25pp.

7-days a week service hotline.

One piece of luggage per person transferred between your accommodation daily, not exceeding 20kg. Please note all luggage moves over October dates will incur a Winter Transfer Supplement.

Nearest train station: Bodmin Parkway - from there bus 11 to Padstow

Paid long-term parking by the harbour in Padstow

GPX files

Exclusions

  • Dinner, lunch and drinks
  • Bike hire
  • Any entrance fees
  • Travel insurance
  • Travel to the start and from the end point of the trip
  • Personal expenses such as laundry and phone calls
  • Unscheduled transfers required during the ​trip
Arrival Info

Nearest train station: Bodmin Parkway - from there bus 11 to Padstow

Info

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