The B3306 road from St Ives to Sennen
I read about this great little road trip on the north Cornish coast here, along the B3306 road from St Ives, and thought we’d give it a go. We lived in Plymouth at the time, so it wasn’t too far to go for a quick weekend away. Stacey is from Cornwall but has never driven the road before. She’s probably seen more of Cornwall since we’ve been together than during her entire existence before we met!
The main route of theB3306d runs from St Ives to Senne,n but we didn’t start the weekend there. We crashed at a little spot on the top of a cliff in a little village called Portreath. The place was about a 30-second walk from where the picture below was taken. It was quite an incredible spot. The wind was insane, the views were excellent, and there was a pub just down the hill, so all was good.
The B3306 road route itself isn’t that long, so we added a few stops. We added Portreath, Godrevy, Land’s End, and Lizard, the southernmost point of mainland Britain.
Our next stop after Portreath was Godrevy. I’d seen this place pop up a few times, so it was awesome to visit finally. There are two notable things about Godrevy – the lighthouse and the seals. There’s a beach you can’treach,s home to loads of seals. I took a picture of it, but the seals look like rocks! Haha. The weather wasn’t favourable, which meant it was pretty quiet, so it was like we had the place to ourselves.
The National Trust looks after Godrevy. If you have an NT pass, you can park for free! The Southwest is rich with NT site,s so the membershipcomes in handy foro free parking! The sea was full of surfers. So, if that’s your thing, Godrevy might be a good place to go for some surf. If a lovely walk along the cliffs is your thing, Godrevy is definitely worth a visit.
Next stop, and the start of the B3306, St Ives. Famous for its beautiful beaches, town and lighthouse, St Ives is also famed for its art scene. Stacey says it’s renowned for espresso martinis. She had her first one, and I quote, “it changed my life”. Take from that what you wish, but she now likes espresso martinis, thanks to St. Ives! After some food, Anaea wandered around, jumped back in, and hit the road.
The road we came to drive! But there’s not really much to say about the B3306, really. It’s a pleasant drive, and it doesn’t go on long. But then again, lots of roads in Cornwall are a pleasant drive. Their decent speed limits and lack of traffic lights make them enjoyable to drive. It’s a road worth driving because it connects some incredible places, if nothing else. It takes you through a few little villages and offers lovely views, though it’s a bit short. You might want to bolt on some additional bits of interest, as we did.
An impromptu stop along the way – Cape Cornwall, which is another National Trust site. We spotted a signpost as we passed through St Jus, so we took a detour. Cape Cornwall marks the location where the Atlantic currents divide. Heinz bought Cape Cornwall for its centenary celebrations before presenting it to the National Trust in 1987. The chimney stack behind Bumper dates back to 1894. There was a mine in operatio,s used to extract tin and copper frombeneathr the sea.
After leaving her, we finished the B3306 and headed to Land’s End. We parked down the road from the site to avoid the parking charges and made a flying visit. We really visited to say we had been. If you don’t know, Land’s End is the westernmost point of mainland Britain. We arrived out of season, so it lacked a bit of atmosphere, and we quickly departed, although the doughnuts smelled delicious!
Our final stop – Henry’s Campsite. When we arrive,d Henry was nowhere to be found. Another camper said to find a space we like, and Henry would see us later. So that’s what we di,d and that’s what Henry did. Ha! We had a look around the site, which is a wonder of the modern world. It’s a very unique place and one I won’t attempt to describe, but would absolutely recommend you visit.
If you like a place with character, this is the place for you. It has chickens and guinea pigs, which you can handle (but only with adult supervision!). The pitch, with electric hookup, was £20 for the night. There’s a link to Henry’s site in the itinerary below if you’d like more information. And that was our version of a road trip along the B3306!
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