At the Edge of the World: Driving West Cornwall’s Ancient Roads
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About the Tour
About the Tour
West Cornwall has more history per mile than almost anywhere else in Britain.
On this driving tour, you’ll trace the deep roots of Kernow, a Celtic kingdom with its own language, legends, and hard-won identity. You’ll make your way through coastal villages, prehistoric monuments, and the ruins of an industry that once powered the world.
The tour starts at Penzance – a working port that gave the world both a famous opera and Humphry Davy, the scientist who discovered laughing gas and its possible use as an anaesthetic. From there, you’ll wind through Marazion, where St Michael’s Mount – part monastery, part fortress, part family home – shifts shape with every angle.
You’ll continue through Poldark country at Porthgwarra Cove and arrive at Land’s End, where legend says a drowned kingdom called Lyonesse once stretched toward the Isles of Scilly. The tour ends at Lanyon Quoit, a Neolithic chambered tomb on the open West Penwith moorland, with wide views across the peninsula.
On this two-hour drive, you’ll have a chance to:
- Explore the fishing village of Mousehole and hear the story of the Mousehole Cat
- See the Tregiffian Burial Chamber, a 4,000-year-old communal tomb still visible from the road
- Visit the Merry Maidens stone circle, an ancient monument with a Christian folk story bolted on centuries too late
- Discover Geevor Tin Mine, now Europe’s largest preserved tin mining site, which closed almost overnight in 1990
- Head to the fishing harbour at Newlyn, home to one of Cornwall’s most dramatic religious stand-offs
- Stop at Lands End, one of the most photogenic areas in Britain
- Learn how granite from Lamorna Cove ended up lining the Thames Embankment in London
This tour rewards those who take their time. Stop often, breathe the Atlantic air, and let Cornwall tell its own story.
Tour Producer
Tour Producer
Penelewey Tours
Hi, I’m Becky Frost, a proud Cornish storyteller and founder of Penelewey Tours and Penelewey Audio Story Tours, also known as PAST. I create immersive walking audio tours and GPS guided audio experiences on the VoiceMap platform, bringing history, culture, and place vividly to life across Cornwall, the South West of England and beyond.
I specialise in historical walking audio tours, indoor audio guides, and place based storytelling for heritage sites, cultural organisations, cities, and coastal towns. My work covers research, scriptwriting, narration, and delivery of audio tours from concept through to launch, ensuring each experience is authentic, accessible, and thoughtfully paced.
As a fisherman’s daughter raised by the sea, storytelling has always been part of my world. My work is rooted in landscape, memory, and the voices of ordinary people, those whose stories are often walked past rather than truly heard. Through carefully researched and locally voiced audio tours, I invite listeners to slow down and connect with the layers of history beneath their feet.
My greatest fascination lies in the Celtic period, shaped by the movement of people, ideas, trade, and shared culture, alongside Cornwall’s long history of resilience and its ongoing fight to retain identity and land. These themes run quietly through my work, blending local history with wider European narratives in a way that feels grounded and human.
I have been commissioned to create audio interpretation for one of Cornwall’s most significant historic religious buildings, alongside developing audio tours for towns, cities, and coastal places across the region. Accessibility and inclusivity sit at the heart of everything I do, audio tours allow people to explore independently, at their own pace, using their own devices, supporting different learning styles and access needs.
My narration is delivered in a clear English accent with a soft Cornish tone, warm, calm, and welcoming, designed to feel like walking alongside a local rather than being lectured. I write, research, and voice my tours myself, ensuring clarity, care, and authenticity from start to finish.
We don’t walk past history with audio tours, we walk through it.
Preview Location
Preview Location
Location 36
The Merry Maidens - Stop
It will feel like I've made you stop in a random farm entrance, but up to your left is the sto... Read More
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Major Landmarks
Major Landmarks
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Saint Michael's Mount
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Mousehole
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The Merry Maidens Stone Circle
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The Minack Theatre
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Land's End
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Botallack Mine & Engine House
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Mên-an-Tol
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Lanyon Quoit
Getting There
Getting There
Route Overview
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Total distance66km
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Final locationB3312, Heamoor, Penzance TR18 3QU, UK
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Distance back to start location3km
Directions to Starting Point
The tour begins in the Car Park of the Heliport Retail Park in Penzance, It is easy to find taking the third exit off the Heliport roundabout on the A30 heading toward Penzance.
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Tips
Tips
Places to stop along the way
Depending on how long you would like your tour to be, you can complete the tour in under 2 hours without leaving your vehicle, if you would like to make it a longer experience I recommend these stops.
St Michaels Mount - Marazion, paid parking along the seafront, check tide times, better to prebook
Mousehole Harbour - Paid parking on the harbour or at the top of the village. Great to grab a coffee and stretch your legs
Merry Maidens - An easy stop, no parking or entry fees and you can walk amongst the stones
The Minack Theatre - We don't go into Porthcurnow on the tour however the turning is pointed out, this is one of THE most beautiful attractions in Cornwall (in my opinion) but booking in advance is essential.
Porthgwara - 30 mins free parking, lovely little cafe if the sun is shining! Visit the area where Ross from Poldark took a skinny dip!
Lands End - Paid parking, unless you have a locals pass (you can register your car in the Visitor Help Centre. See the famous Lands End Sign or meander through the attraction to the views of the most westerly point in the UK.
Botallack Headland - walk through the Arsenic Labyrinths and see some of the most magnificent mining landscape Cornwall has to offer.
Men-an-Tol - a 40 minute out and back walk from the small free car park, learn about ancient healing rituals
Lanyon Quoit - park up on the road right next to the Quoit, a small stile to go over the hedge and walk amongst the ancient stones.
Best time of day
I recommend doing this tour in daylight hours. If you plan on stopping in Mousehole, Lands End or any other attractions please check opening hours as they are seasonal.
Precautions
The roads in West Cornwall are narrow and windy, many of them follow our national speed limit of 60mph, but please, not even us locals go that fast on them! Take your time and drive at a pace that is comfortable to you.
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