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Helston & The LizardWelcome to Penzance
Standing on the shores of Mount's Bay, Penzance has a wealth of good shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants. Market Jew Street, a busy shopping street, connects with the harbour area through the Wharfside Shopping Centre. Explore pedestrianised Causewayhead and Chapel Street. At the mid-point of the shoreline is the Jubilee Pool, a fine example of the art deco style of the 1930s. A short distance beyond the harbour whose inner dock shelters fishing boats, visiting yachts and the occasional tall-masted sailing ship againist the granite quays. Subtropical Morrab Gardens flourish in Penzance's mild climate. On the outskirts of the town are Trewidden, Trereife and Trengwainton Gardens.
Each June the Golowan Festival celebrates the Celtic traditions of West Cornwall in spectacular style.
The name Penzance comes from two Cornish words, pen and sans, meaning 'holy headland'. The holy headland in question is just opposite the Jubilee Pool in St Anthony Gardens, where the tiny chapel of St Anthony, built in the 6th century, once stood.
The unusual name for Penzance's main shopping street, Market Jew Street, comes from the Cornish marghas yow, which means 'Thursday Market' and has no connection with Judaism. The art deco Jubilee Pool was completed in 1935 and holds more than one million gallons of seawater.
The Market House is the large domed building at the top of Market Jew Street. In front is a statue of Penzance's famous son, Humphry Davy. Born in Market Jew Street in 1778 and famous for inventing the miner's safety lamp, although his greatest achievement was his discovery of calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium and nitrous oxide (laughing gas). Davy was knighted in 1812, became President of the Royal Institution in 1819, and died in Geneva in May 1829.
The inhabitants of Penzance dealt with friendly foreign traders looking for tin, but it was another matter when invaders arrived. Vikings and Saxons were soon dispatched and Penzance prospered as a seaport until 1595 when it was pillaged by the Spanish along with Newlyn and Mousehole. This wan't the first time that the area had suffered from invading armies - nearby Marazion had been burnt by the French some 80 years earlier - and it wasn't the last time either - Turkish pirates infested the coast in 1634 and 1760.
On the seafront, near to the Scillonian III dock, the Barbican, is the Dolphin Inn, the occasional battle headquaters of Sir John Hawkins, the Elizabethan commander during Spanish hostilities. It is hardly surprising that Gilbert and Sullivan chose Penzance as the base for their Opera!
Just round the corner from the Dolphin is Battery Rocks, the place where a small fort and gun battery was built in 1740. Next to this is the Jubilee Pool; the starting point for the promenade.
Today, the artistic flags, suntrap terraces, high walkways with views over Mount's Bay and the poolside cafe, make the Jubilee Pool a major Penzance attraction. Since it is an outside pool, it is open only from Whitsun to September, but the cafe stays open until the end of October, weather permitting.
Penlee Park has tennis courts,a children's playground and a summer-only outdoor theatre.
Looking at Penzance from a distance, two buildings stand out above the rest: the Parish Church and the Market House.
Acorn Theatre is situated along Parade Street, a very narrow road just off Chapel Street. It attracts big names as well as local companies and international performers.
Each June the Golowan Festival celebrates the Celtic traditions of West Cornwall in spectacular style.
The name Penzance comes from two Cornish words, pen and sans, meaning 'holy headland'. The holy headland in question is just opposite the Jubilee Pool in St Anthony Gardens, where the tiny chapel of St Anthony, built in the 6th century, once stood.
The unusual name for Penzance's main shopping street, Market Jew Street, comes from the Cornish marghas yow, which means 'Thursday Market' and has no connection with Judaism. The art deco Jubilee Pool was completed in 1935 and holds more than one million gallons of seawater.
The Market House is the large domed building at the top of Market Jew Street. In front is a statue of Penzance's famous son, Humphry Davy. Born in Market Jew Street in 1778 and famous for inventing the miner's safety lamp, although his greatest achievement was his discovery of calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium and nitrous oxide (laughing gas). Davy was knighted in 1812, became President of the Royal Institution in 1819, and died in Geneva in May 1829.
The inhabitants of Penzance dealt with friendly foreign traders looking for tin, but it was another matter when invaders arrived. Vikings and Saxons were soon dispatched and Penzance prospered as a seaport until 1595 when it was pillaged by the Spanish along with Newlyn and Mousehole. This wan't the first time that the area had suffered from invading armies - nearby Marazion had been burnt by the French some 80 years earlier - and it wasn't the last time either - Turkish pirates infested the coast in 1634 and 1760.
On the seafront, near to the Scillonian III dock, the Barbican, is the Dolphin Inn, the occasional battle headquaters of Sir John Hawkins, the Elizabethan commander during Spanish hostilities. It is hardly surprising that Gilbert and Sullivan chose Penzance as the base for their Opera!
Just round the corner from the Dolphin is Battery Rocks, the place where a small fort and gun battery was built in 1740. Next to this is the Jubilee Pool; the starting point for the promenade.
Today, the artistic flags, suntrap terraces, high walkways with views over Mount's Bay and the poolside cafe, make the Jubilee Pool a major Penzance attraction. Since it is an outside pool, it is open only from Whitsun to September, but the cafe stays open until the end of October, weather permitting.
Penlee Park has tennis courts,a children's playground and a summer-only outdoor theatre.
Looking at Penzance from a distance, two buildings stand out above the rest: the Parish Church and the Market House.
Acorn Theatre is situated along Parade Street, a very narrow road just off Chapel Street. It attracts big names as well as local companies and international performers.
