Made famous by the popular Gilbert and Sullivan opera, the Pirates of Penzance, the town is a civil parish and port town facing southeast into the English Channel. Because itis sheltered in Mounts Bay, Penzance has a more temperate climate than the rest of Britain. On its west is the fishing town of Newlyn and to the east it is bordered with Marazion, the oldest chartered town in Britain. Lescudjak castle, an Iron Age settlement, is just one of many sites that remain as evidence of the era, another being the St Calre area of the town. The towns name is pen sans in Cornish (meaning holy headland) and is derived from St Anthonys Chapel which stood at the headland on the west of what became Penzance Harbour. St Raffidy, a largely roded carved figure, is the only remaining object of the chapel
Sir Humphry Davy, chemist, the inventor of electrolysis and the first person to isolate sodium, was born in Penzance. Davy was also a big contributor to the mining industry, he is commemorated by having one of the town secondary schools named after him. Penzance is linked by bus and rail to most of the major Cornish settlements, including, Truro, St Ives, St Just, Lands End and Plymouth. First Great WEstren provides direct links to areas further afield such as Bristol, Bath and Newport. The towns closest ariports are in Newquay although Penzance does have helicopter service to the Isle of Scilly. The sevice, operated by British International Helicopters from the Penzance heliport is a twenty minute journey. Aside from the towns scenery, attractions include the Golowan Festival, the Feast Day of Corpus Christi and Allantide, a Cornish version of Halloween. The areas imediately surrounding Penzance include Newlyn, Tredavoe, Chyandour, Gulval and Trevarrack
Penzance Hotel, Penzance Bed and Breakfast, Penzance Cheap Hotel accommodation suitable for a Penzance Weekend Break, a Penzance City Break, Penzance Wedding Accommodation, Penzance Guys Night out, Penzance Girls Night out or even a Penzance Stag Night or a Penzance Hen Night