The Mazey Day Cornishman

Join us on this special excursion to the far west of Cornwall to experience the Mazey Day festivities in the Cornish town of Penzance. Mazey Day is the main event of the annual midsummer Golowan Festival in Penzance, with its traditional arts, music and parades, including the large wicker models created by the community. Enjoy the street entertainment, markets, food and craft stalls set up in the streets, along with live music, dancing and street performers providing entertainment across the town. The town will be decorated with flags and flowers, creating a vibrant and colourful atmosphere. On top of this, you can enjoy a highly scenic journey all the way to the southwest from the comfort of your special train.

The Mazey Day Cornishman will leave Dorridge diesel hauled by two Class 37 locomotives early in the morning which provides a convenient departure point for Warwickshire and west Birmingham customers to join. We then make our way to Birmingham New Street where a further pick will be made. Our journey southwards will follow the Bristol main line through to pick up stops at Worcestershire Parkway and Cheltenham, followed by a call at Cam & Dursley. Our last pick up stations will be at Bristol Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads.

From Bristol we will speed across the Somerset Levels and over the border into Devon after the climb to Whiteball Summit, arriving in Exeter as a prelude to the run along the Exe estuary and the famous Dawlish Seawall. Enjoy the glimmer of the waves reflecting on our train as we run along the shoreline of the English Channel through Dawlish towards Teignmouth, one of the great rail journeys of England. Cutting inland, we will follow the Teign estuary to Newton Abbot where we encounter the first of many of the day’s steep inclines as we climb the challenging east side of Dainton Bank. More climbing follows once through Totnes, as we take a run at Rattery Bank and along the edge of Dartmoor, on our way to Plymouth. There will be a short leg stretch in Plymouth.

From Plymouth, we will cross the river Tamar on the spectacular Royal Albert Bridge, engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and opened in 1859. The two lenticular iron spans take the railway line high across the Tamar into Cornwall. Our journey continues to twist and turn through Cornwall with its many viaducts and tunnels to pass through on the way. We will pause at Par to set down passengers who may wish to explore the local area that includes the pretty harbour villages of Fowey or Charlestown, or perhaps take the train to Newquay if a seaside destination appeals to you. As we continue through Cornwall, you will see the characteristic white hills from the china clay industrial mining as we make our way through to Truro, where there will be the option to detrain to visit this interesting cathedral city, or perhaps take the local train to the attractive harbour town of Falmouth.

As we progress into deepest Cornwall, your journey will include rolling countryside all the way, with frequent sightings of Cornish Engine Houses visible from the train, once the heart of the extensive tin mining industry. Our penultimate stop to set down will be at St Erth where you can opt to alight and take the short branch train to St Ives. As we near journeys end at Penzance, there is still one more gem to see at Marazion as we pass the spectacular St Michaels Mount that dominates the skyline. We will be aiming to arrive at Penzance around lunch time and you will have now have time to visit Penzance and experience the festivities of Mazey Day. The town is right by the station and there are promenade walks by the waterside to allow you to soak up the atmosphere during your free time in Penzance. Apart from all the Mazey Day street festivities going on during your visit, be sure to sample a real Cornish pasty! 

Once our time comes to reluctantly leave the Mazey Day celebrations, we will return to Dorridge by way of our outward route, setting down at our earlier pick up points, thus ending our full day to Cornwall from the West Midlands.

On Board Catering