Penwith - Penwith visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Penwith' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Cornwall.

Coming from the Cornish 'penn' (headland) and 'wydh' (at the end), Penwith refers to the westernmost peninsula of Cornwall in England. Made mostly of granite bedrock and shale, shaped by ice and sea, Penwith contains a rugged coastline of steep cliffs interspersed with coves and beaches. Penwith also contains the highest concentration of Iron Age and Romano-British archaeological remains in Europe.

The region is also famous for mining, with tin and copper being mined here from pre-Roman times right through to the late 18th century. The landscape is dotted with former mine workings. Alongside farming, the region depended on fishing and agriculture for income. Recently, tourism and travel have become very important, and Penwith sees hundreds of thousands of visitors during the summer months.

Penwith - Main Towns and Villages

The principal town and seat of government in Penwith is Penzance, though the most famous is probably St Ives, which is very popular in the summer. Throughout the landscape are many tiny villages and settlement, many of them tourist destinations in the summer with beaches or ancient monuments. Among them are Botallack, Carbis Bay, Crowlas, Drift, Gulval, Gwithian, Hayle, Lamorna, Lelant, Levant, Long Rock, Ludgvan, Madron, Marazion, Morvah, Mousehole, Nancledra, Newlyn, Paul, Penberth, Pendeen, Porthcurno, Sancreed, Sennen, St Buryan, St Erth, St Hilary, St Just in Penwith, St Levan and Zennor.

Penwith - Sights and Attractions

Penwith has plenty of things to see and do year round, but most people flock to the beaches and villages during the summer months. At this time, driving around Penwith can be very slow. Some of the top tourist attractions in Penwith, apart from the beaches, include:

• Barbara Hepworth Museum
• Carn Brea and the Basset Memorial
• Carn Euny
• Castle An Dinas
• Chûn Castle
• Chûn Quoit
• Chysauster Ancient Village
• Geevor Tin Mine
• Godrevy Island
• Land's End
• Lanyon Quoit
• Mên-an-Tol
• Minack Theatre
• Mining remains like the Carnkie Great Flat Lode and Cornish Stamps at Tolgus Tin
• Mousehole with it's small harbour
• Mousehole Wild Bird Hospital and Sanctuary
• Museum of Submarine (free)
• Newlyn Art Gallery
• Paradise Park, Hayle
• Penlee HouseMuseum
• South West Coast Path
• St Elwyn the Martyr Church at Hayle
• St Michael's Mount
• Tate St. Ives in St Ives
• The Merry Maidens
• The Wayside Folk
• Trinity House National Lighthouse
• Zennor Quoit

Penwith - Beaches

Penwith has many fine beaches, with both long, open streteches of sand as well as tiny delightful coves. Some of the most popular beaches in Penwith include:

• Battery Rocks
• Carbis Bay
• Church Rock, Penwith
• Gwithian Beach
• Marazion
• Mount's Bay
• Nanjizal
• Pedn Vounder
• Pendour Cove
• Porth Nanven
• Porthcurno
• Porthgwarra
• Priest's Cove
• Sennen Beach
• Sennen Cove
• St Loy's Cove
• Treen Cove
• Veor Cove
• Wherrytown

There are several tourist information centres (TIC) within Penwith, located at the following addresses. Many are only open seasonally.

St Ives Tourist Information Centre
The Guildhall
Street an Pol
St Ives, TR26 2DS
Phone: 01736 796297
Email: stivestic@cornwall.gov.uk

Penzance Tourist Information Centre
Station Approach
Penzance
TR18 2NF
Tel: 01736 362207
Email: penzancetic@cornwall.gov.uk

Hayle Tourist Information Centre
Tourist Information Service
Hayle Library
Commercial Road
Hayle, Cornwall
TR27 4DE
Phone: 01736 754399
Email: hayle.library@cornwall.gov.uk

St Just Tourist Information Centre
Market Street
St Just
TR19 7HX
Phone: 01736 788165
Email: stjusttourist@cornwall.gov.uk

Road: Penwith is fed by A394 along the south as far as Penzance. The A30 follows the northern coastline of Penwith, passing through Penzance and then continuing on towards Land's End.
Train: Train lines proceed as far west as Penzance and St Ives, with other stations at St Erth, Lelant, Carbis Bay and Hayle.
Flight: Newquay Airport.