exeter to penzance

[lurker]

A friend has just bought a holiday let in Newlyn
We may use it off season: most likely next feb/march at the earliest.

I have a good idea of travel time between home & Exeter but no idea of "beyond".
It must be 20 years since I was down that way
A route finder suggests just under 2 hours travel time

 

[Phil Pascoe]

That's about right - in reasonable traffic, other than that how long's a piece of string? I've done Redruth to Bristol in two hours - but I've also taken eight and a half. I've taken well over a hour from Redruth to Penzance and three from Redruth to Plymouth (and Redruth - Plymouth and back in under two). Just try to avoid the traffic, you'll be fine. If I drive long distance I go by night - much less stress. You'd do well to avoid Penzance at 8.00am - 9.30am and 4.00pm - 6pm - it can be a nightmare to get in and out of.

 

[lurker]

Cheers Phil

We are unlikely to visit the area at peak holiday time and I think your other hours are pretty much the same for any town in the UK.

 

[AndyT]

Exeter to Penzance is one of the most impressively scenic bits of railway I have ever had the pleasure of travelling. Make sure you sit on the left hand side facing forward when travelling west. There are places where you will lose sight of land as you hug the edge of the sea. You also get to go over Brunel's Tamar Bridge.

Journey time? All too short!

 

[Eric The Viking]

I drove from St.Austell to Bristol yesterday. We broke the journey in Topsham to visit relatives.

Got back on the M5 around teatime to go north, and it was horrid - full of aggressive idiots, making sensible overtaking unpleasant. Did see someone in a white Audi convertible get pulled over though, so it is patrolled, but not very enthusiastically (it had been doing stupid speeds on the road out of Exmouth - it overtook us there).

That said, we meandered round the SE coastline around Fowey and took the A374 to the Torpoint ferry rather than the Tamar bridge. The 374 (and the ferry) was completely empty.

We were staying just off the A390 outside St. Austell, and the A390 never seemed to get really busy.

Irrelevant, but the coastline east of Fowey is gorgeous. Stopped for a long walk on the costal path - hardly anybody about.

I can understand why you're being told 2+ hours from Exeter - it is a long way, and after Plymouth there are no really fast roads.

E.

PS: given the choice I'd go by rail, like Andy T., especially in that direction but Beeching was far too successful, sadly.

 

[lurker]

Evidently I have been volunteered to "do a few repairs" and pat test all the appliances so need to take tools.

 

[sunnybob]

I used to drive that route almost daily. From M5 J25 to reach penzance driving close to legal speeds was 3 hours and a bit without traffic.

I once had to drive from Taunton to Penzance to change a light bulb. (Dont you love National contracts?) That was my entire working day by the time I got back.

Points to take note of.
from Bristol, DO NOT drive south on fridays or saturdays!

Use the M5 /A38, lots of bypasses and reasonable roads in between the winding lane stretches.
Once past exeter services at J31, you want enough fuel to drive a 100 miles in the tank, or youll have to go off searching for petrol.

From anywhere in cornwall, DO NOT drive north on sundays or mondays!

 

[lurker]

Thanks bob
That's useful
Home to bridgewater (and on to Hinckley point) is a regular run for me .

I reckon 5.5 hours from home to Newlyn with a fair wind then.

 

[Rorschach]

Once you cross the Tamar Bridge (assume you go M5-A38-A30) then you are looking at about 2 hours.

I wouldn't recommend Petrol at Exeter, while not as bad as most services it is still very pricey. Good Tesco store at Lee Mill, just before Plymouth, reasonable prices, food, toilet, cafe etc. Otherwise there is a Sainsburys at Plymouth, same kind of facilities, very cheap fuel and literally just off at the slip road then easy to get back on again. If desperate there is petrol at Carkeel just on the other side of the bridge, bit more expensive though, waitrose too if you like fancy food and a screwfix if you forgot something on the way down. I personally (living in Plymouth) always get fuel before going into Cornwall, plenty of stations on the A38 and A30 but the prices are always several pence per litre higher than I pay near home.

As someone else has said it is a shame you are not going by train, after Exeter it really is beautiful scenery, if you ignore Plymouth station lol.

 

[sunnybob]

Lurker,
REWIND. Major typo in my last post. From the M5 use the A thirty, NOT the thirty eight. Take the right fork at telegraph hill.

The 38 is good to plymouth, but then disintegrates.
The 30 is largely dual carriageway.
All of my comments were based on the 30, not the 38.

And as far as fuel prices. if you dont know where you are, getting off the main drag and looking for garages will cost you more fuel and time than the few pence extra at the services will.

(Sorry, I've been gone so long now the numbers are starting to fade.)

 

[Rorschach]

Lurker,
REWIND. Major typo in my last post. From the M5 use the A thirty, NOT the thirty eight. Take the right fork at telegraph hill.

Huh?

The A30 turn is junction 31 of the M5, just before it turns into the A38

 

[sunnybob]

Oh man, 8 years since I drove this road, and my brain is dying. Sorry for the confusion, I've just had to look it up.
I still mean take the A 30 to penzance, I stand by this being the quickest way but I'm no longer going to give any other directions without checking the maps first..

 

[Stanleymonkey]

Can't tell you about that drive but...

Last time we drove to Lake district we drove to Oxford and stayed in a cheapie Travelodge. Woke early and had a fantastic drive up to the lakes.

Try and break it up and look for special deal on Travelodge etc.

 

[Rorschach]

Can't tell you about that drive but...

Last time we drove to Lake district we drove to Oxford and stayed in a cheapie Travelodge. Woke early and had a fantastic drive up to the lakes.

Try and break it up and look for special deal on Travelodge etc.

I do this as much as I can, I get very uncomfortable if I have to drive for more than about 5 hours in one hit so when we have a longish journey to do we look for cheap travelodges along the route and then break it up and do something interesting. There are many places in the country that would never warrant a special trip but are lovely for walk around for a few hours.
Same thing for travelling home, instead of staying in the city we were in overnight to travel home the following morning, instead on the last day we will leave at tea time, drive for an hour or two to a cheap hotel and stay the night there. Next morning you wake up and instead of dreading a long day in the car, you have already knocked a few hours off and have a much more pleasant ride. Sometimes we have found a hotel for as little as £20 for the night, I reckon it's worth that for the reduction in stress for me and my body.