Truro (England)

Truro (Cornish: Truru) is a small cathedral city (population 22,000) in South Cornwall. It is the administrative capital of the County of Cornwall.

Understand

Queen Victoria designated Truro a city in 1876, but it is the size of a small town.

Get in

By train

🌍 Truro station is on the Cornish Main Line from Plymouth to Penzance. The station is a fairly long, steep downhill walk to the city centre. If you've got luggage, plan ahead and know the buses or book a taxi. If you're travelling from elsewhere in Cornwall, you may well find the bus more convenient as it stops more centrally, and all branch line trains (except for the Falmouth branch) will require a change of train to get to Truro. There is no lift for the footbridge between platforms.

Generally, there are trains every half hour on the branch line from Falmouth. Trains on the mainline are more esoteric, but there's usually an hourly stopping train between Penzance and Plymouth calling at every station en-route, then usually at least one long distance train every hour calling at main stops only en-route to somewhere upcountry. All trains stop at Truro. There are direct trains from London Paddington (including the Night Riviera sleeper), Bristol Temple Meads, Birmingham New Street and beyond, including an agonising 13-hour direct service from Aberdeen (once a day) - which is not a sleeper.

When you leave Truro, if you are going to be taking an eastbound service (towards Plymouth / Exeter / London) then do not enter the main station building. Instead, cross the tracks at the level crossing. You can enter the eastbound platforms directly via the ramp in the car park.

By car

Truro is at the junction of the A39 and A390 arterial roads, some 14 mi (23 km) north of Falmouth. There is a park and ride system available, with a western car park off the A390 at Langarth / Threemilestone (sat nav postcode: TR4 9AN), and an eastern car park off the A39 at Tregurra (sat nav postocde: TR1 1RH). Parking free, shuttle bus £2

By bus

Almost all services passing though or terminating/starting at Truro will run through the main bus station at Lemon Quay, right in the middle of town. Municipal services and services within Cornwall are mostly run by either First Kernow or Go Cornwall. BusTimes.org is your friend.

National Express services provide sporadic services to and from places outside of Cornwall, including Heathrow Airport and London Victoria.

By plane

🌍 Cornwall Airport Newquay (NQY IATA). The nearest airport is near Newquay. As of Jan 2023, it welcomes flights from many major UK cities and some destinations in mainland Europe: Aer Lingus (Dublin, Belfast City), Ryanair (London Stansted, Dublin, Portugal and Spain), Easyjet, SAS (Copenhagen), Eastern Airways (London Gatwick, other domestic), Loganair (the North of England and Scotland), Edelweiss (Zürich), and Eurowings (Düsseldorf). Skybus flies from the Isles of Scilly. (updated Oct 2023)

There's no direct public transport available; take the A9 bus to Newquay and change for one of several routes going to Truro.

Get around

Most attractions are within walking distance.

Lemon Quay is the hub for bus services, including shuttles for the Truro Park and Ride service. There are departure information screens, and inside the station building you can grab a Cornwall-wide printed timetable, where there are some comfy chairs and vending machines to ease the wait. The station building is an "island", and there are departure bays on both sides, so make sure you know where your bus is departing from, as it's easy to miss it if you're on the wrong side. The bus station is not anywhere near the train station, which is a long way out from the town centre.

See
  • 🌍 Truro Cathedral (The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Truro), 14 St Mary's St, TR1 2AF, ☏ +44 1872 276782. M-Sa 10AM-5PM, Su and Bank Holidays 11:30AM-4PM. Completed in 1910. There is a disabled ramp at the entrance and a disabled restroom near the restaurant. Free admission, but £5 donations recommended for upkeep. (updated May 2023)
  • 🌍 Royal Cornwall Museum, River Street, TR1 2SJ, ☏ +44 1872 272205, . Tu-Sa 10AM-4:45PM, Su 10AM-4PM, closed Mondays except Bank Holiday Mondays & school holidays: 10AM-4:45PM. Includes the Courtney Library and exhibitions devoted to the history, culture and geography of Cornwall. Wheelchair accessible toilets and nappy changing facilities available Adult: £5.50 for a day pass, child (under 16): free. (updated Apr 2017)
  • 🌍 Victoria Gardens, St. George's Road, TR1 1EA (Nearest Car park - Edwards Street.), ☏ +44 1872 274766. Dawn until dusk. Created to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, Victoria Gardens is filled with exotic trees, shrubs & flowers. (updated Apr 2017)
  • 🌍 Trelissick Garden, Feock, TR3 6QL (south of Truro), ☏ +44 1872 862090, . 10:30AM-5:30PM. Garden under the care of The National Trust. £10.90, children £5.45, parking £4. (updated Apr 2017)

Do

Buy

There is a good number of shops, including a rather large Marks and Spencer's.

There are two covered markets. One leads off the Piazza with several small traditional stalls. The other leads off Lemon St (near the cinema): the little shops here would appeal more to the eco/organic minded, with a pleasant coffee shop and art gallery upstairs, where you can usually find a seat.

On Saturday mornings, a great farmers' market on the piazza has good local produce, including delicious Cornish ducks, cheeses, bread, rose veal and plants to take home. Wednesday's market, in the same place, is smaller.

The Lander Gallery is recommended for those wishing to purchase Cornish artwork, both old and new.

Eat
  • 🌍 Charlotte's Teahouse, 1 Boscawen Street, TR1 2QU (On the top floor of the Coinage Hall), ☏ +44 1872 263706. M–Sa 10AM–5PM. This old fashioned tea room offers cream teas, sandwiches, cakes, savouries. The tea is grown in Cornwall. (updated Jul 2018)
  • Cornish pasty: Bakeries include W.C. Rowe's on Victoria Square and Lemon Quay, Oggy Oggy on River Street, and Warrens on New Bridge Street and the cathedral square. All the pasty shops do a variety of different pasties, the traditional beef and vegetarian pasties and for the more adventurous there are the more unusual fillings to try. Particularly recommended to try are W.C. Rowes.
  • Saffron buns: Delicious sweet fruit buns flavoured with saffron, from the bakers above. Also "tea treats" (bigger than a bun) and saffron cake, like a fruit loaf, to be sliced, and sometimes toasted and buttered.
  • 🌍 Tabbs Restaurant, 85 Kenwyn St,, ☏ +44 1872 262110. (updated Jul 2018)

Drink
  • 🌍 Skinners, Newham Road, TR1 2DP, ☏ +44 1872 271885. M-Sa noon-10PM, Su noon-5PM. They have a tapyard that serves food, and tours of the brewery are available. (updated Jan 2024)
  • 🌍 Healey's Cornish Cyder Farm. A farm with a cider brewery and a distillery making premium 7 year old whisky. Whisky production started in 2003, and was the first in England for 100 years. Tour the farm, brewery and museum. (updated Jan 2021)
  • 🌍 Old Ale House, 7 Quay Street, TR1 2HD (just on the corner by the bus station), ☏ +44 1872 271122. The old ale house, is a great place to go for traditional ales and a quick game of pool. (updated Oct 2015)
  • 🌍 The City Inn, Pydar St, TR1 3SP, ☏ +44 1872 272623. Traditional pub under the viaduct on Pydar Street. (updated Nov 2016)
  • The Rising Sun, Mitchell Hill, TR1 1ED, ☏ +44 1872 240003. A refurbished pub on Mitchell Hill. (updated Nov 2016)
  • 🌍 William IV, Kenwyn St, TR1 3DJ, ☏ +44 1872 273334. A nice gastropub in the centre of Truro, which serves good food and fine ale, considered among the best pubs in town. (updated Nov 2016)
  • 🌍 The Wig and Pen, 1 Frances St, TR1 3DP, ☏ +44 1872 273028. Spacious pub situated near Victoria Square, often open later at the weekends. (updated Nov 2016)
  • 🌍 Try Dowr, Lemon Quay, TR1 2LW, ☏ +44 1872 265840. No real deviation from the Wetherspoon formula; cheap and cheerful, with no shortage of cheer, open early and late. (updated Nov 2016)
  • 🌍 Bunters Bar, 58 Little Castle St, TR1 3DL, ☏ +44 1872 241220. A sports bar that shows the football and can get pretty lively at weekends, worth a visit. (updated Nov 2016)

Sleep

Go next
  • The A390 trunk road leads into St Austell
  • First Devon & Cornwall number 14 & 18 buses run up to every fifteen minutes (this is very good for anywhere in Cornwall, even central Truro); destinations include Truro Railway Station, Camborne, and Redruth, and can be caught at the bus station on Lemon Quay or Victoria Square.
  • Truro Railway Station is a short but uphill walk from the centre. InterCity trains are frequently run to Penzance and Plymouth, and less frequently to London and the Midlands. There is a half-hourly service to Falmouth all day and hourly into the evening; a single journey takes half an hour and the return fare is £4 per adult. It is quite busy in the peaks, with traffic mostly living in Falmouth and commuting to Truro. Visitors will find Falmouth Town station the most convenient of the three in Falmouth (Penmere, Falmouth Town and Falmouth Docks); Penmere is a commuter stop at the back of the town on a steep hill and Falmouth Docks is beyond the town centre, though convenient for Pendennis Castle.
Routes through Truro
Wadebridge/Padstow ← St Columb Major ← (East) ←  N  S  → Falmouth
Redruth ← (West) ←  W  E  → St Austell


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