DESTINATION CORNWALL
| Travel Cornwall - by road | ||
| Overview | ||
Because the County is a peninsula, the journey to your destination in Cornwall must pass through Devon, that is where the decisions on which road to take must be made. Note that you will go over a bridge to enter Cornwall as the Tamar almost cuts Cornwall off from the 'mainland'. Covered below |
||
| Main roads | ||
Whichever route you take to reach Cornwall a look at the road map will show that there are three roads which are important for travelling in Cornwall.
There are four places in Devon which might be important to your travel plan - Barnstaple, Exeter, Okehampton and Plymouth.
For the majority of travellers Exeter is the linchpin in route planning. All roads lead to Exeter, as it were, and here there are two options in your decision making (other than North Devon).
The 'length' of Cornwall: from the Devon border to Land's End is approximately 75 miles. Cornwall varies in width dramatically: from coast to the coast, Bude to Torpoint is approximately 40 miles, Newquay to St. Austell is 15 miles, Godrevy Point to Lizard Point is 21 miles and Hayle to Marazion is 4 miles. From the high points of Bodmin Moors, at the widest point of Cornwall, and on a clear day, you can see the coast on both sides of the county. Google maps is one of the best resources available for travellers. You can zoom in to the exact location and learn distances, alternative routes and view by satellite. View Larger Map . It is valid to point out that once away from the main roads things change dramatically and interestingly. Narrow country lanes become tunnels of greenery and colour in spring and summer. Behind this foliage often lurks a centuries old stone hedge, beware contact with a cornish 'hedge'. For every linear metre of standard highway 'hedge' there is approximately two tonnes of stone and soil, all hand built into place and designed to stay there for a very long time. Work out the width of your car, its tonnage and then calculate the equivalent tonnage in the cornish 'hedge'. Not an argument to involve your vehicle in. Coastal roads will often awe you with the magnificence of the scenery you come across and the back lanes can have a similar affect on you. |
| Traffic conditions | ||
It is very difficult to predict traffic conditions in Cornwall during the height of the summer holiday season if you are travelling in Cornwall tune into one of the local radio stations which give regular traffic reports. Apart from the main holiday periods road travel in Cornwall is usually uncomplicated and can often be a great pleasure if you choose one of the more scenic routes. The Cornwall County Council's map showing annaul average daily traffic flows gives a good inication of the most popular roads.
|
| Ready reckoner | ||||||||||||||||||||
To give you approximate travelling distances in Cornwall we have listed the major towns and strategic travelling points. The detail in brackets shows the route which we have used to calculate the distance.
|
| Liskeard | ||
|
||
| Newquay | ||
|
||
| Penzance | ||
|
||
| Redruth | ||
|
||
| St. Austell | ||
|
||
| St. Ives | ||
|
||
| Truro | ||
|
||
| Wadebridge | ||
|
||
This is just a suggestion, if you want to get about in Cornwall, who knows all the local beauty spots, the best way to get from A to B? Correct! Taxis. Before you leave for your holiday it might pay to check out what prices and availability are like, perhaps make a tentative booking. Car hire is worth thinking about and if its in your mind to hire a car, same as taxis - ring around. |