Lizard Point
An LysardhThe most southerly point in Great Britain
The rare geology of the area creates a haven for exceptional plants and flowers. Around the coastline you’ll find little fishing ports with huge granite seawalls to protect from the Atlantic gales, restaurants specialising in freshly caught seafood, and gorgeous sandy bays with jagged black rocks jutting out in to the sea.
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Reasons to Visit
- Plenty of picturesque coves + beaches to keep you occupied: Coverack Beach, Kynance Cove, Kennack Sands and more.
- Lies within Cornwall's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- Sit at Kynance Cove and simply enjoy the view of the spectacular beach.
- Walk along the thick harbour walls at Mullion Cove dramatically surrounded by tall stacks of black volcanic rock. Climb up to the hotel on the hill and take in the view Visit St Winwaloe Church located right on the beach at Gunwalloe Church Cove. Dating from the 13th century and also, due to its location, known as the Church of Storms, there is a separate bell tower behind the church and inside you’ll find a 16th century rood screen made of wood from a Portuguese wreck.
Things to do
- Visit the Lizard Lighthouse and find out more about maritime history in the visitor centre and enjoy the views from the top of the lighthouse
- Take a diving trip and discover dozens of shipwrecks off the notorious Manacles rocks.
- Enjoy a sea fishing trip and catch your supper.
- Explore picturesque villages, coves and harbours such as Coverack, Cadgwith, Portholland and St Keverne.
- South West Coast Path walks including The Lizard to Coverack
- Designated as a National Character Area
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The Lizard Peninsula
Head south onto the Lizard and the scenery changes. The sea seems a touch bluer, the light a little brighter and the rare geology of the area creates a haven for exceptional plants and flowers. Around the coastline you’ll find little fishing ports with huge granite sea walls to protect from the Atlantic gales, restaurants specializing in freshly caught seafood, gorgeous sandy bay with jagged black rocks jutting out in to the sea and it’s on the Lizard you’ll also get an insight into how Cornwall played it’s part in the progress of mass communication. Here in the most southerly part of mainland Britain, the land is exposed, revealing a hard, natural landscape where, as you stand facing the ocean with the sea boiling below you, you’ll feel a million miles from the modern world.
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The Lizard Peninsula is famous for the local serpentine stone, a unique metamorphic rock which is dark green veined with red and white.
Plan your trip
Everything you need to know to plan your perfect trip to The Lizard
The M4, M5 and M6 motorways have made travel to Cornwall simple and straightforward, while within Cornwall itself, the A30 and A38 continue to improve with fast dual carriageways. Follow the M5 to Exeter, and join the A30 to Redruth. From here take the smaller road of the B3297 to Helston. From Helston follow the A3083 to the Lizard. There is parking on the Village Green which is approx a 20 minute walk down to the point, or parking at the point in the National Trust car park.
National Express serves Cornwall from destinations throughout the UK. Connecting services to Cornwall are available from Bristol, Birmingham and London. The closest coach stop is located in Helston. You can pick up a local bus connection or taxi here.
Great Western Railways operate high speed services from London Paddington, South Wales and the Cotswolds to Cornwall, including sleeper services from London Paddington. Cross Country Trains (Arriva Trains) operate services into Cornwall from the Midlands, the North and Scotland. Redruth is the closest mainline train station. You can pick up a local bus connection to the Heslton, then The Lizard, from here.
- CALL TO ACTION
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.
The geology of the Lizard is unique, which leads to amazing formations which can be viewed along the coastline. This also allows for a wide range of unique flora and fauna, and the area is, as such, designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
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