Penzance - Pensans

Penzance (Pensans) is situated in Mounts Bay facing southeast to the English Channel and bordered to the west by Newlyn. The economy of Penzance is a mixture of tourism, retail and light industry. There are some Georgian and Regency buildings in the town and parts of the Penzance Parish are classified as local conservation areas which also cover Newlyn and Mousehole. On the seafront is a promenade with an Art Deco open-air seawater swimming pool. Penlee House in the town is a museum and art gallery and houses a number of paintings from the Newlyn School and has information on the prehistory of Cornwall. The large granite cross outside of the museum dates from the eleventh century, although this is not it's original location.

Penzance is about 5 miles from the end of the A30. The railway station is close to the harbour and is the terminus of the Cornish Main Line. The bus and coach station is next to the railway station from where national and Local services run.

Our visit

Often described as the capital of west Cornwall, Penzance gets its name from the Cornish "Pen Sans" meaning "holy headland", where early Christians built a chapel over 1000 years ago. The port stands on Mounts Bay in an area steeped with Celtic culture. There are numerous shops, restaurants and leisure facilities. Ferry services operate from Penzance to the Isles of Scilly which is nearly 30 miles from Land's End. The Penlee House Gallery and Museum is certainly worth visiting and we include their website for details of coming events, exhibitions and other information about the gallery and museum www.penleehouse.org.uk. In Cornish the towns says 'Pensans a'gas Dynergh' (Penzance welcomes you) and we found that to be true.