Boscastle
Kastel BoterelA sheltered harbour on a rugged coast
The picturesque harbour of Boscastle is one of Cornwall’s most romantic places. The long narrow valley runs down to a twisting rocky entrance hiding the raging sea beyond
Explore Boscastle
As you wander around the harbour you will notice the quaint old buildings which have been converted into pubs, restaurants and coffee shops. Look out for the wonky rooftops and crooked cottages, they have real character. The limekiln and storage buildings give a brief reminder of Boscastle's industrial heritage as both a port and a fishing village. Hard to imaging much of what you see was damaged by floods in 2004.
For fantastic coastal views take the left hand path alongside the harbour which leads to a slate platform where you can see the ‘blowhole’ an hour before or after low tide, shooting a horizontal waterspout halfway across the harbour entrance if the conditions are right. You can follow the coast path up to Willapark, where the National Coastwatch have a watch-house high on the headland.
The path on the other side of the harbour leads past the Witchcraft Museum out onto Penally Point, again this provides walkers with fantastic views but can be difficult underfoot in places.
Hardy and St Juliot's
Follow in the footsteps of the famous novelist Thomas Hardy by taking the path up the Valency Valley to St. Juliot Church. It was here in the early 1870s, a few years before he became an author, that he met his sweetheart Emma Gifford whilst he was working as an architect on the church tower.
Hardy would incorporate several locations around Boscastle and St Juliot into his novel ‘A Pair of Blue Eyes’ based on his love affair with Emma. He also featured Lesnewth Church, which sits on the western side of the valley. Many years later, after Emma’s death, Hardy returned to the area and wrote the poem ‘Beeny Cliff’ which lies just up the coast from Boscastle.
St Juliot Church now features a memorial to Emma, designed by Hardy and an etched glass window erected in 2000 by the Hardy Society. It has become a place of pilgrimage for lovers of his work but is still a quiet place tucked away in the Cornish countryside where you can rest awhile after a nice walk.
It's witchcraft
Hidden deep in woodland above the Valency Valley, this slyvan setting, well known for its graveyard full of wild flowers in the spring, is also home to a dark mystery.
On the edge of the graveyard is a gravestone belonging to a Joan Wytte who was allegedly a white witch living in Bodmin in the early 1800s. She died in Bodmin Jail but for some reason she was never buried and her skeleton eventually ended up in the Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle in the 1960s.
It stayed there, hanging from the ceiling, until new owners bought the museum in 1996. They claimed the skeleton was disruptive and decided to make plans to bury her. However the local churches refused this to happen and one dark night she was taken into the woods and secretly buried, a stone later being erected just outside Minster Church.
How much truth there is in the whole story is open to discussion, some claim it was all a publicity stunt for when the museum first opened, but that doesn't stop you viewing the gravestone, if you can find it!
Boscastle is a place steeped in history, associated with authors and artists who have been inspired by its remoteness and rugged beauty. But it’s also a working harbour, and the main village which sits on the hill above is also a pleasant place to explore.
Plan your trip
Everything you need to know to plan your perfect trip to Boscastle
From the M5 at Exeter take the A30 until a few mile east of Launceston. Turn off onto the A395 following it to the A39. From here follow signs to Boscastle.
There are is a large pay and display car park in the valley behind the harbour.
The main bus serving Boscastle is the 95 bus, which runs between Bude and Wadebridge via Tintagel and Camelford. (Summer 2022)
The nearest National Express stop is Bodmin. A connection bus from there reaches Boscastle after changing in Wadebridge.
The nearest train station to Boscastle is Bodmin Parkway, about 16 miles away. You can journey by bus from there, but it requires changing in Wadebridge.
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Travel to Cornwall by train
GWR operate high speed train services frequently from London Paddington station including the Night Riviera Sleeper Service to Penzance. There are also direct trains daily from Bristol and beyond. More info from: nationalrail.co.uk
Once in Cornwall, there's a great rail network for getting around the county, ideal for when the roads are busy in the summer. Give the driver a rest and grab a cheap day return to St Ives or Looe. Sit back and enjoy the scenery on the Tamar Valley Line or head to the beach at Newquay or Falmouth. For more info, go to Great Scenic Railways
For National Rail enquiries telephone 08457 484950
The First Group co-ordinate bus services from many Cornish stations.
Park-and-ride schemes run in season at Liskeard (for Looe) and St Erth (for St. Ives).
Travel to Cornwall by road
It takes less than five hours to get from London to the heart of Cornwall by either train or car. Drive along the M4 motorway from London, or M6 from Manchester, and then the M5 to Exeter and finally either the A30, that is mostly dual carriageway, or the A38 passing Plymouth and Saltash into South East Cornwall. Alternatively if you enter Cornwall from North Devon, there is the scenic A39 Atlantic Highway running through Bude, which you can join from Junction 27 on the M5. Due to the high volume of traffic on Cornwall's roads during the summer months the main routes can become congested especially at weekends. Travelling overnight or outside peak rush hours is recommended to avoid long delays.
- To plan your journey use the AA Route Planner for a tailor made travel plan with timings and mileage
- For information on possible delays or roadwork's throughout the UK or in Cornwall visit Traffic Watch
- Travelling to Cornwall with a caravan? Check out our Caravan Towing guide
PLEASE BE AWARE. Sat-Navs can lead you to some wonderful places in Cornwall, many of them down narrow country lanes with high hedges and few reversing points. If you are not sure...don't go on. Better to turn around and find another route than end up lost in the middle of nowhere.
Travel to Cornwall by coach and bus
National Express operate a full service into Cornwall as far as Penzance, Megabuss also go to a few towns including Newquay and Falmouth.
Coach travel times from London or Birmingham to the city of Truro are around 7-8 hours
Many tour operators offer coach holidays to Cornwall, contact your local travel agent for details.
For information on public transport, including local bus timetables, once you are in Cornwall, Click here.
To plan your journey in advance, journey planning websites such as Traveline South West can be useful.
If you are bringing a coach to Cornwall, did you know Cornwall Council now offers a weekly coach rover ticket. This is available for all car parks where coaches are permitted and costs £15 for 24 hours or £50 for 7 days and £35 for 4 days. These can be obtained by creating an account to use the ZatPermit system.
Travel to Cornwall by air
Flying to Cornwall can offer an attractive alternative to the long and sometimes frustrating journey by train or car.
Newquay Airport is served by a variety of routes from across the UK and beyond. For more information, please visit the Cornwall Airport Newquay Website or call +44 (0)1637 860600 or e-mail Info@newquaycornwallairport.com
The Airport offers year-round onward connectivity to the Isles of Scilly with Skybus.
Exeter Airport is also withing easy reach of Cornwall via the A30 and A38.
Travel to Cornwall by ferry Travelling across the Channel from France to the UK can take as little time as 35 minutes on the Eurotunnel from Calais to Folkestone and just 1 hour and 20 minutes on one of the ferry services between France and Dover.
Plymouth is the closest ferry port to Cornwall, being just across the River Tamar. Brittany Ferries offer services from Roscoff in France and Santander in Northern Spain into Plymouth as well as further services from France and Spain into Portsmouth and Poole.
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