Hey! It’s Evie, a final year History and Politics student here at the Penryn Campus. Like many people, I picked the Cornwall campus because I loved the location and wanted to make the most of living somewhere I’d never otherwise have the chance to be. There’s a bit of a misconception that it’s impossible to explore Cornwall without a car – but I’m here to show you that’s not true! Whether you’re a current student looking for some fun new day trips to try, or you’re joining us soon and want to know the all the essentials for getting everywhere you need to go, hopefully this guide will help reassure you.
Buying tickets
It’s super easy to get a ticket for any of the trips I’m about to talk you through. The quickest way is to just tap on and off the bus with contactless, which will cap your ticket price depending on distance with a maximum fare of £3 per journey.
You can also buy a physical ticket from the driver with cash or contactless. If you’re under 19, this is a particularly good option as you can get discounted tickets, like for the Falmouth-Penryn town zone. This is really handy for your shopping, beach trips, café study sessions or nights out as it gives you flexibility to use the buses as many times as you need within the time period, at a very good price. You can also get a day ticket that covers the whole of Cornwall – this is what you’ll want for the day trips I cover later on…
I would really recommend downloading the Transport for Cornwall app for more ticket options, journey planning and for checking the bus times. This has everything you need in one place, and anyone can use it to buy a mobile ticket which will save time on the bus. If you are aged 19-25 this is definitely the best option, as you can verify your age on the app and get discounts that aren’t available from the driver, like day tickets and weekly passes for all of Cornwall. Again, this will take you all over Cornwall’s bus network and you can travel unlimited within the time period. This gives us such a great opportunity to explore!
If you’re still not sure what ticket you need, the drivers are really friendly and can help make sure you get the best option – so don’t be afraid to ask for advice.
Penryn and Falmouth – the essentials
Before we move on to venturing further afield, I’ll run you through the basics you need to know to get around on a daily basis. You’ll quickly become familiar with the main bus stops on campus, which are located at the top of Glasney Student Village, just along the road from The Shop and Exchange buildings. These are called ‘Tremough, Falmouth Uni Penryn Campus’ on the bus app.
There’s four different bus stops here, but you just need to remember Stand A and Stand B for local journeys in the Penryn and Falmouth direction. Stand C goes in the opposite direction, so is helpful for a lot of the day trips I’ll talk about later, but not for your regular trips to the shops!
Falmouth Town
The most helpful bus routes for you to know are the 3, the 32A and the 33. All of these run from Campus Stand A or B to ‘The Moor’ in Falmouth in just over twenty minutes, which is the main bus stop in town. This is probably the other stop you’ll get very familiar with early on, as it’s helpful for cafés, shops and pubs. It’s also only about a twenty-minute walk away from the beach! It’s worth noting that if you go on a night out on a Wednesday-Saturday, the last bus back from ‘The Moor’ is at 02:38am, so you can get back safely on popular student nights.
Penryn train station
There’s plenty of other helpful stops in between campus and Falmouth on these same routes. About five minutes from campus, you’ve got Penryn train station, although you can also walk here in around fifteen minutes. To get the bus from the train station to campus you’ll want to get on at the stop just outside called ‘Railway Station’. To go from campus to the train station you’ll want to get off at the ‘Harbour View’ stop which is just down the road. These are also your closest stops if you are living in The Sidings accommodation.
Penryn
Penryn high street is around ten minutes away from campus on the same routes, just after the train station. Travelling from campus you’ll want to get off at the ‘Spar’ stop; then get on at the ‘Seven Stars’ stop to travel back.
This is helpful if you’re going to Penryn Surgery, which is the closest doctors that you’ll probably register with in Welcome Week – although there is also a medical centre on site. There are also some lovely little cafés and shops in Penryn (Wildflower is one of my favourites), and it’s nice to have an explore here to feel more settled in the local area.
Supermarkets
Continuing on, you get to Lidl around fifteen minutes from campus. The closest bus stops in both directions are called ‘Waterside House’, and they’re just outside so this is very convenient for doing a cheap food shop!
One minute further and you’ll get to the ‘McDonalds’ stop, which is opposite the ‘Sainsburys’ stop. So you have plenty of supermarket options nearby.
Another option is to get the 33A to Asda. The 33A route also goes between campus and Falmouth, so it’s another helpful one to remember, but it doesn’t go through Penryn. It does go to the ‘Asda’ stop though, giving you yet another option! Asda is also the closest to walk to from campus, it only takes about fifteen minutes from Glasney Student Village.
Packsaddle
The 32 bus runs from Falmouth through Penryn, but it doesn’t stop at the main campus bus stand. It can still be helpful though, especially if you live near the bottom of Glasney Student Village or in the Packsaddle accommodation. It stops at ‘Packsaddle Estate’ stops which are just by the steps at the bottom of campus, so you can still use it – just be careful not to miss the stop as it just drives past campus!
Hopefully you’ll feel a bit more confident navigating all the essential trips now, but remember you can look on the Transport for Cornwall app for more information on specific trips. It’s also worth checking with the driver that you’re on the right bus if you’re not sure!
Day trips – exploring Cornwall
Now you know the basics, we can move on to more fun journeys you can take all over Cornwall. There are plenty of ways to explore the area without a car – and getting public transport means you can just sit and relax on the journey. Although I’m focusing on bus trips here, there are also a lot of nice destinations you can get to by train if you prefer, so it’s worth getting a railcard and having a look where you can get to!
For all of these trips it’s probably best to get the day ticket for all of Cornwall. You’ll also need to get the bus from ‘Campus Stand C’.
Truro
Truro is Cornwall’s capital, and not far from Penryn Campus! It’s a great place to go to do some shopping, watch a show at Hall for Cornwall, or try out a new restaurant. There’s often a seasonal event on, like Christmas markets in the winter or food festivals in summer, which makes a very nice day out.
It’s also a great base for exploring other parts of Cornwall, so you’ll need to get here first for some of the other day trips on this list!
To get there, take the 32A from campus to Truro bus station, this takes around half an hour. Alternatively, you can get the 32 from ‘Packsaddle Estate’ at the bottom of campus. There’s also the option to get the train from Penryn, which only takes about twenty minutes.
Newquay
Probably one of the other most famous places in Cornwall, Newquay is a lively beach town on the north coast. There’s a range of nice coffee shops, bakeries and smoothie bowl shops. It’s also a great place to try out surfing, kayaking or paddle boarding, with plenty of hire and lessons available. The beaches are absolutely beautiful, and the harbour is very pretty in the sunshine too.
To get to Newquay, you’ll need to get to Truro first. From Truro bus station, take the 91 or 93 to Newquay Railway Station. It’s exactly the same in reverse on the way back. This makes it around an hour and a half total from campus, although it’s worth checking your journey to make sure the bus times line up so you’re not waiting too long in Truro (or have a shopping trip)!
Porthtowan and St Agnes
Porthtowan is a stunning beach south of Newquay. It’s along a lovely stretch of coastline so makes a great day out in itself, but I like to combine it with the nearby village of St Agnes. You can do a beautiful hike along the coast path all the way between them, which takes around two to three hours with a picnic stop. This path goes through the National Trust St Agnes Head and Heritage Coast areas, so it is extremely scenic. At the end, you reach St Agnes, which is a very pretty village that again could make a day out in itself, with a nice beach and cafés.
What’s great about public transport is that if you get the bus to Porthtowan, you can hike for as long as you like without having to go back on yourself, so you can explore as much as possible and then get the bus back from St Agnes instead of worrying about where the car is parked.
You can of course split this into two separate trips, but I’ll talk you through how to do the combined day trip and hike. Again, you’ll need to travel from campus to Truro first. From here, you can take the 304 to ‘Porthtowan, Beach Road’, which takes around forty-five minutes and runs hourly. After your walk, which you can find online to check it’s suitable for you, walk a bit inland once you reach St Agnes. It’s a nice little walk through the village and a woodland area but make sure you leave enoughtime for this as the bus stop is not that close to the coast! The stop you need is called ‘Institute’, and from here you can catch the 87, which takes just over half an hour to return to Truro.
This bus (87) is a handy one to become familiar with, as it also provides access to other beaches up the coast, like Perranporth and Holywell, all the way to Newquay – so there’s a few other trips you could do similar to this where you walk in between the bus stops.
Helston
Another helpful base for trips further afield is Helston. This is a great local town, which often has a community event on, like the annual Flora Day, and various parades and festivals. I went to the Christmas lights switch-on here last year, and it felt so friendly and welcoming. It’s also home to the Museum of Cornish Life, which as a History student I may be biased towards, but does make a nice day out to learn more about the region you’re studying in!
To get to Helston, take the 3 bus from Campus Stand C to Helston ‘Tyre Centre’. From here it’s a fifteen-minute walk to the town centre. Alternatively (and for the other day trips) you can stay on to Helston ‘Sainsbury’s’ and change to route 2 to reach the ‘Blue Anchor’ stop which is in the centre of town. It’s more straightforward to return to campus as you’ll just need the 3 from the ‘Seven Stars’ stop which is in the town centre. This journey takes around thirty-five minutes.
Porthleven
Porthleven is a lovely harbour town with a surprising amount of great food options, and a nice beach. As it’s so easy to get to, I find this is a good place to take people who come to visit me whilst at university. There’s also a fairly easy section of the coast path to walk along to Loe Bar, which takes around forty minutes each way, although you have the flexibility to do as much or as little as you want.
To get to Porthleven, you’ll want the 3 bus from campus to Helston ‘Sainsbury’s’, and then the 2 all the way to ‘Harbour Bus Shelter’ in Porthleven. This takes just over an hour in total and is exactly the same on the way back.
St Michael’s Mount
You might have heard of St Michael’s Mount, or its sister Mont-Saint-Michel in France. The English version is located off the south coast of Cornwall, making it convenient for us to get to whilst studying in Penryn. It’s a tidal island that is only accessible by foot at low-tide along a causeway, or by boat at high-tide. On top of the island is a castle which you can visit, surrounded by a beautiful garden open in the summer. It’s free to visit the island itself in the winter, but to gain access to the castle or garden in the summer you need to buy a ticket, so it’s not quite as cheap as the other activities on this list. However, this is one of the most unique local tourist destinations, and definitely worth a visit while you’re so close by.
To get here, you’ll need to catch the 3 from campus again, changing to the 2 at Helston ‘Sainsbury’s’ and continuing on past Porthleven until you get to ‘Marazion Square’ which is the closest you can get on the mainland. Then you’ll just need to walk across the causeway or get a boat! This takes around two hours total from campus, but it’s an easy journey and so worth it.
St Ives
The last location I’m including on this list is St Ives, probably my favourite place in Cornwall and a lovely holiday destination. This beautiful seaside town has some of the nicest beaches in the UK, amazing bakeries, cafés and shops along cobbled streets, as well as the Tate gallery and Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden. There’s plenty to do in the town, whether you’re into art, shopping, or just want a decent cream tea. The coast is absolutely stunning too, and it’s another great place for swimming, surfing and sunbathing. As you can probably tell by now, I love a coastal walk, and St Ives has lots of options for this too.
Although it is quickest to get here by train, it is possible (and cheaper) by bus, so it’s worth knowing about. You can take the 33 bus from Campus Stand C to Redruth Railway Station in about half an hour. From here you need to change to the 14, which takes an hour and fifteen minutes to ‘The Terrace’ in St Ives. This makes it under two hours travel time, but as the buses only run hourly you might have to wait a bit in Redruth so bear this in mind when planning.
This list is by no means exhaustive, and I’d recommend you do your own research before doing these trips, and to find out about more you can do. Hopefully this post has helped you find out about some new ways to explore Cornwall whilst studying at the Penryn Campus, whether you’re already here and trying to make the most of living in such a beautiful part of the world, or if you’re looking to join and wondering if it’s really possible to get around without a car. After three years here I can confirm that it absolutely is – public transport gives you so much freedom to explore without constraints. Plus, it’s better for the environment, and for your budget too! I can’t think of many other locations to be based for university that would give you access to so many amazing destinations with just one bus day ticket! Happy travelling!