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Voykit pocket guide · United Kingdom
St Just in Penwith
Lannust
Stay 1–2 nights as a walking base for Cape Cornwall and the Tin Coast mines; skip as a day trip from Penzance unless you have a car or the bus timetable fits.
St Just is the most westerly town on the British mainland, a granite mining town 7 miles from Penzance with the last mine closed in 1996. Sights sit outside the town: Cape Cornwall, the Crowns engine houses at Botallack, Geevor mine and the South West Coast Path. It works as a quiet base for two nights, not a tick-box stop.
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Local name
- Lannust
- Best months
- May–Jun, Sep
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug (school-holiday crowds and full car parks), Nov–Feb (wet, dark, many places shut)
- Stay
- 1–2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- GBP
- Money
- Currency is the pound sterling (GBP, £). Cards and contactless work almost everywhere; some places are card-only.
- Daily spend
- Budget £45–70 excl. bed · Mid £70–110 excl. bed · High £110+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- EE, Vodafone (merged with Three in 2025) and O2 run the networks; prepaid SIMs sell in supermarkets, phone shops and airport vending machines, no registration needed.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 999 · Non-emergency police 101 · NHS non-emergency 111
- Plugs
- Types G · 230 V · 50 Hz · Three-pin Type G only; European, US and Australian plugs need an adapter. Bathrooms have two-pin shaver sockets only.
- Tipping
- Restaurant with table service: 10–12.5% if no service charge is on the bill; check before adding more.; Pub or bar: Not expected; 'and one for yourself' offers the bartender a drink.; Taxi: Round up or 10%.; Hotel porter: £1–2 per bag.; Tour guide: £5–10 per person for a day tour; free walking tours expect £10–15.
- Water
- Tap water is safe everywhere. Free refills are common; restaurants will bring tap water if you ask.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are scarce and some charge 50p–£1 or are card-only. Stations, museums, department stores and pubs (if you buy a drink) are the fallback.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Large steak pasty | £5–7 |
| Fish and chips, takeaway | £11–16 |
| Café lunch or cream tea | £8–14 |
| Pint of local ale | £4.50–6 |
| Pub main course | £14–22 |
| Taxi St Just → Penzance | About £20 |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | £8–15 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- NQY · Newquay
- About 1 h 15 min by car; bus links to Penzance are slow, so a car or a taxi is easier.
- LHR · London Heathrow
- Train to Penzance from Paddington takes about 5 h; from Heathrow allow 6 h+ door to door.
Typical fares
- Bus Penzance → St Just
- about £4 single, 30–40 min (check)
- Taxi Penzance station → St Just
- about £20 (check)
- Summer open-top bus St Just → St Ives
- about £5 single, seasonal (check)
Get around
The town itself is small enough to walk in 10 minutes. For Cape Cornwall, Botallack, Geevor and Sennen you need a car, a bike or the bus: route 10/10A from Penzance runs to St Just in 30–40 min, and the summer open-top 300 links Land's End, Sennen, St Just, Zennor and St Ives. Parking in town is mostly free.
See and do
Known for
- Cape Cornwall
- Botallack Crowns engine houses
- Geevor Tin Mine
- South West Coast Path
- Cornish pasties
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Cape Cornwall | Walk down Cape Cornwall Road, about 2 miles | 45 min each way |
| Botallack and the Crowns engine houses | Car or bus on the B3308 towards Zennor, about 3 miles | About 15 min by car |
| Geevor Tin Mine, Pendeen | Car or bus north on the coast road, about 4 miles | About 15 min by car |
| Sennen Cove and Land's End | Car on the B3306, or the summer open-top 300 bus | About 20 min by car |
| St Ives | Car on the B3306, or the summer open-top 300 bus | About 40 min by car |
| Isles of Scilly | Flight from Land's End Airfield, about 2 miles away, or ferry from Penzance | About 20 min to the airfield; crossing times vary |
Sleep
- Market Square and Fore Street
- Pubs, pasty shops and the Commercial Hotel in one block; everything walkable.
- Cape Cornwall Road
- Quieter B&Bs and the walk to the cape starts here; 10–15 min on foot from the square.
- Pendeen and Botallack
- 3–4 miles north on the coast road; better for Geevor and the coast path, needs a car or the bus.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | Dydh dadeeth dah |
| Thank you | Meur rasmur rahss |
| Goodbye | Duw genesdoo geh-ness |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake at first meeting; 'hi' and first names quickly; avoid: Cheek kisses with strangers
- Conversation: Weather is a safe opener; understatement and self-deprecating humour; avoid: Asking about salary or class
- Queues: Join at the back; avoid: Pushing onto buses or trains before others get off
- Apologies: 'Sorry' is said constantly, even when not at fault; avoid: Taking it as an admission of blame
- Pubs: Buy rounds in a group; wait at the bar without waving money; avoid: Clicking fingers at staff
- Nations: Call Scots Scottish and Welsh Welsh; avoid: Calling the whole UK 'England'
Scams and watch-outs
- Buses thin out in the evening and on Sundays; check the last service before you plan a late walk.
- Coast path clifftop sections are unfenced and slippery when wet; tell someone your route.
- Many cafés and pubs close early out of season, and some shut for weeks in winter.
- Mobile signal is patchy in the coves and on the moors.
Low street crime and a safe feel day and night. The real risks are clifftop paths in wet or windy weather, unlit lanes after dark and long gaps between buses.
One and two days
No timed day plan for St Just in Penwith yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Cape Cornwall
- Botallack Crowns engine houses
- Geevor Tin Mine
- South West Coast Path
- Cornish pasties
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Visit Cornwall — West Cornwall: www.visitcornwall.com/
- National Trust — Cape Cornwall: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/cape-cornwall
- Geevor Tin Mine: www.geevor.com/
- Wikivoyage: St Just in Penwith, revision 5237898 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5237898
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
St Just in PenwithLannust
Dhe'n chy ma, mar pleg
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Cornwall; the US, Canadian, Australian and Irish embassies are in London, with consulates in Bristol or Cardiff for some countries (check).
Cornish is a recognised minority language; English is spoken everywhere.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/st-just-in-penwith). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.