London · Exeter · Plymouth · Penzance · St. Ives
Timetable-checked:4 trains · 5h 13m on board“Brunel built it, the sea shaped it.”
Coastal · Timetable-checked · Lower CO₂ than flying
A westward journey through Victorian engineering and seaside towns, ending in the soft Atlantic light that has drawn painters to Cornwall for a century.
“Red cliffs, granite harbours, one railway.”
London · Day stopA Victorian terminus sets the tone.
Exeter · 1 nightA cathedral city with Roman walls.
Plymouth · 1 nightA naval city of voyages and departures.
Penzance · 2 nightsThe far west, facing Mount's Bay.Timetable-checked on 3 October 2026 for travel on 2026-10-04
LondonIsambard Kingdom Brunel designed both the great train shed at Paddington and the railway it serves. Its wrought-iron roof still spans the platforms where trains leave for Devon and Cornwall. The canal basin behind the station is a quiet place to wait.
If you have a morning, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens are a short walk from the station. The Science Museum in South Kensington holds some of Britain's earliest locomotives.
The line runs west through the Thames valley and over the rolling Wiltshire downs. It then crosses the flat Somerset Levels before dropping into Devon. The last stretch follows the green Exe valley into Exeter.
Exeter was a Roman frontier town, and long stretches of its city walls still stand. Its Gothic cathedral has one of the longest unbroken medieval stone vaults in the world. The cathedral green is the city's living room on a sunny day.
Exeter's historic quayside sits on the river Exe, with old warehouses now used as cafés and craft shops. A towpath follows the Exeter Ship Canal, one of the oldest canals in England, towards the estuary.
In Devon the scone gets cream first, then jam. Local cider is the other thing to try.
South of Exeter the line follows the Exe estuary and then runs right beside the sea at Dawlish and Teignmouth. Brunel built the track on a sea wall between red sandstone cliffs and the waves, and spray can reach the windows on a rough day. Sit on the left for the best views.
Plymouth has sent sailors across the world for centuries. Francis Drake sailed from here, and the Mayflower pilgrims left from the Barbican in 1620. The Mayflower Steps mark the spot.
The Hoe is a wide clifftop park above Plymouth Sound, with the red and white Smeaton's Tower lighthouse at its centre. The Royal William Yard, a grand former naval supply yard, now houses restaurants on the waterfront.
Plymouth's fish market is one of the biggest in England. Try the day's catch in the old Barbican quarter.
Leaving Plymouth, the line crosses the river Tamar on the Royal Albert Bridge, Brunel's last great work. It then winds across Cornwall on a chain of tall viaducts above wooded valleys. The final approach runs along Mount's Bay with St Michael's Mount offshore.
Penzance was a busy harbour and market town for tin, fish and flowers. Chapel Street is lined with old inns and Georgian houses. The Jubilee Pool, an Art Deco sea-water lido, sits on the promenade.
The castle on St Michael's Mount rises from the bay just east of town. At low tide you can walk to it across a stone causeway; at high tide a small boat takes you over. Land's End and the cliffs of the Penwith peninsula are a short bus ride away.
The Cornish pasty was the tin miner's lunch, and bakeries here still make it by hand. In Cornwall the cream tea gets jam first, then cream.
Every June the Golowan festival revives old midsummer customs with bonfires, music and giant puppets. Its highlight is Mazey Day, when parades fill the streets.
Change at St Erth for a short branch line along the Hayle estuary. The track then climbs onto the cliffs above Carbis Bay, with white sand and turquoise water below. It is one of the shortest and prettiest train rides in Britain.
The clear light of St Ives drew artists here from the late nineteenth century. In the mid twentieth century it became a centre of British modern art. Tate St Ives shows their work in a gallery above Porthmeor Beach.
The old town is a tangle of granite cottages and narrow lanes around the harbour. Four beaches surround the town, and the Island headland gives views along the coast. The Barbara Hepworth Museum keeps her studio and sculpture garden as she left it.
Every February, on the Feast Monday, the town plays an old game of hurling a silver ball through the streets and onto the beach. In September the St Ives September Festival brings music and art to the town.
Trainlink doesn't sell tickets. Check each leg with the operator or a retailer before you travel.
Long-distance trains to the west are busy in summer; reserving a seat is usually free and worth doing.
For St Ives, change to the short branch line at St Erth.
May, June and September bring warm days and quieter beaches than the peak summer holidays.
Trainlink plans journeys; operators and retailers sell the tickets.
Every photo on this page — open one for its full credit.
