Five suggestions for rainy days in West Cornwall

Every morning I lean on the kitchen island after breakfast ready to offer
advice about our guests day out in #Cornwall

Over the years I've built up quite a bank of suggestions about days out in Cornwall with little tidbits of info brought back daily by our guests to top up the "library"! So if you should see a mornings rain in the forecast try one these until the clouds roll away as surely they will, or as a local Cornish bard that used to say "Penwith moors in the rain - Marvelous!!" and stay with your plan!

Penlee House Museum

Set at the top of Marrab road in an elegant building previously Victorian home built in 1865 it is the only Gallery devoted to works of the Penzance and Newlyn school artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The ever changing exhibitions normally showcase the The work of Elizabeth and Stanhope Forbes, Walter Langley, Howard Harvey, Lamorna Birch and Dame laura Knight with ever changing exhibitions.

CURRENT EXHIBITION

Penzance 400: A Celebration of the History of Penzance

The Terminus, 1925 by Stanhope Forbes

Visit daily between 10.00am and 5.00pm with free entry on Saturdays. More more  information about Penlee House visit:- http://www.penleehouse.org.uk/whats-on.html

Eat lunch in the lovely airy conservatory set in a lush garden or explore Penzance.  The Turk's Head, the oldest Inn in Penzance, set in Chapel street which as the former main street is packed full of atmosphere and character.

The Tate Gallery St Ives

Set in a fabulous position overlooking St Ives bay it is worth a visit for the architecture alone but do anticipate crowds on rainy days! With an ever changing exhibition in the outer airy galleries and the  main spine of St Ives artist topped by a cafe with stunning views.

Current Exhibition

International Exchanges: Modern Art and St Ives 1915–1965

Tate St Ives: Exhibition

17 May – 28 September 2014

Visit daily 10.00am - 5.20pm

For further information The Tate St Ives

Lunch in the gallery or try The Sloop Inn on the harbour for an atmospheric pub

I also enjoyed the Barbara hepworth Museum set in her intimate townhouse garden watching the rain drops trickling along the edge of her huge organic sculptures and watching the marvelous St Ives light  reflecting in the moving droplets.

Geevor Tin Mine and Museum

Geevor, the Cornish tin mine that just wouldn't die is a great place to start  the full story of mining in Cornwall. Kept alive by the miners who held on to this important piece of Cornish history and it has now achieved Cornish Mining World Heritage site inclusion.  The site is packed full of information, set  in a stunning location beside the North Atlantic seas. Underground tours of the 250 year old Wheal Mexico workings, talks from ex miners themselves and a fascinating little museum.

Visit 9.00am - 5pm Sunday to Friday (last admission 4.00pm)  Summer

For Further information:- Geevor Tin Mine

For lunch there is an on site cafe or meander along the scenic coastal road to The Gurnards Head  for great food

Porthcurno Telegraph Museum

Almost a birthplace for modern communications  Porthcurno valley, in the far west of Cornwall, was the hub of international cable communications from 1870-1970 and a training college for the communications industry until 1993.

In WWII secret tunnels were dug by Cornish miners to house an underground building and the entire telegraph operations. These bomb proof/gas proof tunnels provided 14 secure cables out of the UK to its allies and are rumoured to be haunted still

The museum proper is reopening in June after extensive reorganisation and the addition of a Sculpture Garden is a nice extra for the day  

Visit from June 14th for the stunning newly refurbished exhibitions  Opening times:-10.00am - 17.00 daily (Last admission 16.00) For further info check here:- Porthcurno Telegraph Museum 

Try lunch at the atmospheric, unspoilt,  Logan Rock Inn - sorry no web site for this little individual pub but it's as you'd expect a cornish pub to be - spotlessly clean, full of character and unadorned.

Wayside Museum Zennor

The16th-century working watermill and cottage holds a fascinating group of artifacts celebrating a very local occupation of this part of Cornwall. The collection extending to over 5000 artifacts benning with bronze age that still lends field boundaries to the local landscape.  The pretty village of Zennor backed by rugged moors with tiny pastures sweeping down to the sea, was described by one of my american visitors as "exactly what i expected a Cornish village to look like" The pretty village church hold a very special carved bench end and an ancient story of a local man seduced to sea by a mermaid.

Visit 1030am - 5.30pm May until September For further details and winter opening times:- Wayside Museum

Try lunch at the Tinner's Arms a true cornish pub dating from 1271 and once frequented by D.H. Lawrence. Here  the cows still queue to be milked in the lane outside and hungry coastal footpath walkers refuel for the next stretch of the path with one of the "nations favorite drives waiting for you just outside on the road between St Ives and Land's End.

Enjoy Cornwall and remember the rain never usually last for very long!

We live at Ednovean Farm a glorious 17-cuntury grante home set in over an acre of sub tropical gardens within the sight of the sea at Perranuthnoe Find us at www.ednoveanfarm.co.uk