Wonderful Cornish Breaks – Exploring Marazion
Marazion is a small quaint town on the edge of the Cornish coast. With sandy beaches, beautiful scenery and wonderfully authentic Cornish culture, Marazion has become one of the most popular Cornish breaks with around 300,000 people exploring every year. If you really want to make the most of Marazion you have to stay over, don’t just come for St Michael’s Mount but stay for the many gems the town has to offer.
Being from Devon we love to spend time exploring everything Devon has to offer and often forget that Cornwall holds some real gems of its own. Being so close it was certainly an opportunity to explore one of Cornwall’s most famous towns.
Marazion has a huge history for such a small place, you may have heard of St Michael’s Mount and also seen many photographs of it on travel websites and magazines, it’s a beautiful postcard picture.
Having had a very busy week prior to our trip it was certainly the perfect place for some down time. We booked into the Marazion Hotel, which has the perfect location, with views of the mount and even a private car park out the back, providing a great spot for parking in Marazion. We could not have asked for any more from the Marazion Hotel everything was excellent. The rooms were comfy and warm, with a wonderful view of St Micheal’s Mount. We had a table booked for us in the restaurant as soon as we arrived, be warned it’s one of the most popular places to eat in Marazion, so fills up quickly. The food was superb, the menu is brimming with locally sourced produce and throughout all the restaurants in Marazion, seafood is a speciality.
There are plenty of places to eat in Marazion so luckily you will be spoilt for choice, the hotels and pubs are a popular choice as they offer easy going menus in a relaxed atmosphere. If you wanted something a little more up market Ben’s Cornish Kitchen is a good choice. Marazion is also home to some lovely Cafe’s, the Copper Spoon offers a great option for a day time pick me up. You can enjoy a hearty cream tea with freshly made scones, clotted cream and jam and as a Devonian you also have the option to put the jam and cream on yourself……cream first!!!!
When it comes to things to do Marazion has plenty to keep you entertained but it is always tempting to go adventuring outside your holiday destination and with so much on offer who would blame you. Beaches are a popular choice, Marazion beach offers a long sandy walk and plenty of room to swim and relax. Neighbouring beaches include Perranuthnoe, Prussia Cove and the famous Praa Sands, all these beaches are wonderful in their own right and as I said you can’t really go wrong in Cornwall when it comes to beaches.
Walking is another great pass time for visitors to Marazion, there are many walks leading away from Marazion and one which I would highly recommend is the south west coastal path. This path leads all the way around the south west, including up into Dorset, although I don’t expect you to walk that far!! The views and landscapes that you will enjoy along this walk are amazing, there is plenty of nature to keep you busy. It might be a good idea to visit your local tourist office as they usually provide guides on walking the southwest coastal path.
When you stay in Marazion it can sometimes feel like you have stepped into an isolated area of Cornwall, however despite Marazion being the main town in Cornwall for hundreds of years, neighbouring Penzance soon became the industrial hub and now provides a bustling environment with lots of those popular shops and restaurants you see in most cities. Its certainly worth a trip to Penzance as it is famously the last stop on the train line and has plenty of history to absorb during your visit.
A trip to Marazion wouldn’t be complete without visiting St Michael’s Mount. Mysterious and exciting it conjures up adventurous tales within your imagination, like something out of treasure island. We decided to visit the mount on our last day in Marazion, so with a hearty breakfast inside us and the need to make the most of the day with headed over to the mount. I had checked the tide times the previous day and the causeway wasn’t going to be open until around 1:30pm, this meant we had to get the boat. When we arrived at the departure point which was well signposted within the town, we got a glimpse of around 10 boats heading back and forth from the island in perfect timing. We thought it was an experience in itself, the boat costs £2 per person for the ride over so nothing outrageous. This is actually where I discovered a great tip, I would personally go over on the boat as the island was a lot quieter before the causeway opened, as soon as it opened a stream of people came rushing over and the island was rammed.
Fortunately, we had plenty of time before the causeway opened, it’s also worthy to note that St Michael’s Mount is owned by the National trust so it does cost to get in unless you have a National Trust Membership which I would always encourage as you get access to hundreds of locations not just here in the UK but all over the world and it helps protect these sites. The Lord and Lady of the Manor still live on the Island in a private location the gardens are there own and they open them to the public on certain days so check the schedule beforehand.
First start exploring by following the steps all the way to the top, up here you can get some breath-taking views of Marazion and the Cornish coast, remember to look at your guide you were given at the gate, there are some things to spot whilst you explore the grounds. After enjoying the views, we headed up and into the castle, unfortunately in can get a little cramped inside the small corridors especially during busy periods, there are plenty of artefacts, including armour, guns and jewellery to take a look at.
We meandered through the rooms and eventually came out onto a type of large courtyard, the views got even better from this point. This whole area provides a good open space to get some fresh air and take plenty of pictures, the stunning gardens are situated below so make sure you get an aerial shot of these.
I don’t want to spoil to much more of the mount as its such an amazing experience discovering things as you go along. The gardens are particularly beautiful with a large array of succulents, which is something I have never seen before and make sure you look out for the small tortoises whilst exploring.
I would recommend Marazion to anyone, as it can be a great place for a quiet romantic break or a jam-packed family holiday. What ever way you wish to spend your time here you wont regret staying over and making the most of everything on offer.
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