West Cornwall

West Cornwall means the Penwith Peninsula - the narrow finger of land that ends at Land's End, Britain's most south-westerly point. The landscape here is older and more exposed than anywhere else in Cornwall: ancient field systems, Iron Age hillforts, standing stones, and engine houses from the 19th-century tin mining industry that shaped this part of the county. St Ives is the main draw - the town built a reputation as an artists' colony in the early 20th century, when painters including Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth, and Patrick Heron came for the light. Tate St Ives opened in 1993 and the galleries along Fore Street and around the harbour continue that tradition. The beaches are excellent: Porthmeor faces the Atlantic (surfing, Blue Flag), Carbis Bay is more sheltered, and Porthminster has a beach café consistently rated among the best in Britain. West from St Ives, the B3306 coast road is one of the finest drives in the county, passing through Zennor and along clifftop moorland to Penzance and Mousehole. The area around St Just and Cape Cornwall is seriously remote - walking country, with few tourists and genuine solitude.