Penzance (England)

Penzance is a port town Cornwall (England UK), with population around 21,000. It is located approx 103 km (64 mi) southwest of Plymouth and approx 410 km (255 mi) southwest of London. To the southeast, the port faces the English Channel.

Town's modern economy started to prosper after building its train station (West Cornwall Railway's terminus) inaugurated in 1852. The railway station is located on Market Jew Str (Penzance Harbour's eastern side) and since 1859 links the town with Plymouth and more distant markets (Bristol, London, Manchester).

The town is connected via road A30 running from London to Land’s End (a holiday complex in western Cornwall). The road distance Penzance-London is approx 445 km (275 mi) or about 5 hours drive.

Buses (National Express coach service) link Penzances to London (Victoria Coach Station, via Heathrow Airport), with travel time around 9 hours. First Kernow coaches link the town to other large settlements in Cornwall. Skybus Airline buses connect with Land's End Airport for domestic flights (15 min) to Scilly Islands.

Along with the railway, Penzance Harbour was also developed. The second (and more sheltered) dock - Albert Pier - was completed in 1853. At the Old Pier was built a lighthouse (opened in 1855). In 1858 started the steamship service to Scilly Isles. Port Penzance also has drydock facilities (adjacent to the harbor) utilized for ship repairs and used by ferries (serving Scilly islands), cargo ships and Royal Navy vessels.

Regularly scheduled ferries run between Penzance and Isles of Scilly. These are Ro-Ro ships carry both passengers and wheeled cargo. Ferry travel time is about 2,5 hours. Newquay Airport is approx 65 km (41 mi) from Penzance and offers flights to London (Gatwick, Stansted), also to Ireland (Dublin, Cork) and other foreign destinations.

As cruise port, Penzance is rarely visited - and mainly by smaller-sized luxury ships and superyachts.