Travelling to Cornwall

Within 5 hours (by train or car) you can be in a different world. That’s around how long it takes to reach Cornwall from London.

The train route is scenic from Paddington, and there are also direct trains from the Midlands, and Bristol. Stops take you directly to towns like Lostwithiel, St Austell, Bodmin and Truro, with branch lines off to other towns. For St Ives, head for St Erth, then catch the branch line. In November 2021 the Dartmoor Line reopened for the first time in 50 years, giving visitors the opportunity to now catch a train service from Exeter to Okehampton, situated just across the Cornwall border in Devon. For coach travel, check out National Express which offers various services to Cornwall.

By road, take the M4 from London, or the M6 from Manchester direction, then the M5 to Exeter (or M3, A303 across Salisbury Plain) and then the dual carriageway, the A30. Or for South East Cornwall, it’s the A38 through Plymouth and Saltash.

From the north east the A1/M1 motorway meets the M42 which then joins the M5.

Visitors from South Wales and Ireland should take the M4 motorway, then the M49 motorway across the Severn Bridge to join the M5.

For North Cornwall, you might prefer to leave the M5 at junction 27 and follow the link road to North Devon, to the A39 Atlantic highway to Bude, the gateway to Cornwall, and the area beyond.

Or you might consider flying to Newquay Airport from Gatwick, Manchester and some regional airports. Western Greyhound operates a bus service from the airport to Newquay and Padstow. From France, Brittany Ferries operate from Roscoff to Plymouth. You might also want to check out Exeter Airport.

Please always check travel arrangements when you plan as they are subject to change.