The Beautiful B3306 Road Trip Cornwall

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 away 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 the b3306 road runs from St Ives to Sennen 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 spot was about 30 seconds walk from where the picture below was taken. It was quite an incredible spot. The wind was insane, the views incredible 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 southern most 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 finally visit. There are two notable things about Godrevy – the lighthouse and the seals. There’s a beach you can’t access which is home to loads of seals. I took a picture of it but the seals just look like rocks! Haha. The weather wasn’t favourable which meant it was fairly quiet so it’s like we had the place to ourselves.

Godrevy is looked after by the National Trust. If you have a NT pass, you can park for free! The Southwest is rich with NT sites so the membership is handy when it comes to 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 nice 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 famous for espresso martinis. She had her first one here 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 and a wonder around we jumped back in Bumper 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 nice drive and it doesn’t go on that long… but it’s nice. But then again, lots of roads in Cornwall are a nice drive. Their decent speed limits and lack of traffic lights make them pleasant to drive. It’s a road worth driving because it connects some awesome places, if nothing else. It takes you through some little villages and has some lovely views, despite being a bit short. You might want to bolt on some additional bits of interest, like we did.

An impromptu stop along the way – Cape Cornwall, which is another National Trust site. We happened to see a signpost as we passed through St Just so took a detour. Cape Cornwall marks the location where the Atlantic currents divide. Cape Cornwall was bought by Heinz for their centenary celebrations before being presented to the National Trust in 1987. The chimney stack behind Bumper dates back to 1894. There was a mine in operation which was used to extract tin and copper from out under the sea.

After leaving here 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 just to say we had been. If you don’t know, Land’s End is the western most point of mainland Britain. We arrived out of season so it was lacking a bit of atmosphere and quickly departed. Although the donuts smelled delicious!

Our final stop – Henry’s Campsite. When we arrived Henry was nowhere to be found. Another camper said to find a space we liked and Henry would find us later. So that’s what we did 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 of 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 should you wish for more information. And that was our version of a road trip along the B3306!

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