West Cornwall Cottage Holidays

Penzance May Horns

Never let it be said that we don't like a bit of fun in Penzance!

The Penzance May Horns is a traditional event celebrating the advent of summer . It was revived in Penzance after 75 years in 2008 and is based on the famous descriptions of May Day in Penzance by historians such as Sir James George Frazer, author of the Golden Bough.   The tradition was carried on in Penzance town centre on the first of May right up until the 1930’s when the then Penzance Borough Police Force cracked down on the practice, deeming it anti-social.

Well it can be a bit noisy with the blowing of large tin horns to summon your friends to the "Maying" .

Today the first of May is celebrated with gusto straight after the toll of midnight, a loud blast on tin trumpets proclaims the advent of May.This is long continued and at dawn with their "tintarrems," they proceed to the country, and strip the sycamore-trees (called May-trees) of all their young branches, to make whistles. With these shrill musical instruments they return home. Young men and women devote May-day to junketing and picnics.

If you are worried about what to wear, join the locals in green and white with some greenery and flowers!

This fun and frivolity kicks off around 8pm from the Tolcarne Inn at Newlyn to the Admiral Benbow, Chapel St., Penzance.

Please feel to bring along anything that makes a noise however, melody instrument players most welcome to play alongside un tuned instruments, loud voices and 'hoofers'!!.

Cornwall International Male Voice Choir

Regional Gala Concert: Chapel St Methodist Church, Penzance 7.30pm

The bi-ennial Festival showcases the very best of male voice singing from across the world. Male choirs of all ages (from boys to senior citizens partipate in concerts, sing in in tourist attractions, educational activites and competitions.

Mousehole Male Voice Choir

Tideswell Male Voice Choir

Czech Boys Choir

MGV Liederblüte (Germany)

World Pilot Gig Championships

The 23rd annual World Pilot Gig Championships on the Isles of Scilly. Race starts on Friday evening

3rd - 6th May 2013

Official World Pilot Gig site

St. Ives May Day

In West Cornwall the end of Winter and the coming of spring marks a huge celebration and a tradition that stretches back hundreds of years.

May Day festivals have been revived in Penzance and St. Ives in recent years and they are a really good excuse for alot of fun for all the family.

In St. Ives at noon at the Guildhall the Grand Bard and Mayor choose the May Queen and King and their attending Prince and Princess, in a ceremony called the “pee whip”

The St Ives Guisers, dressed in their traditional black and white "mock formal" make an appearance, horn blowers herald the start of spring and there’ll be May sticks. At 1pm there’s a parade to the harbour where you can watch May pole dances, traditional Cornish dancing and music and througout the day local choirs and brass bands perform by the harbour.

Helston Flora Day

Helston is just 10 miles from Penzance and hosts this wonderful event every year.

Flora Day is connected to a pre-Christian celebratory dance and is one of the ancient spring festivals that has been revived in Cornwall and represents the ushering in of a propserous harvest.

The whole town is involved in this lively and very colourful celebration; decorated with bluebells, gorse and laurel leaves gathered from the surrounding countryside.

It's an early start as the dancing begins at 7.00am with gentlemen wearing shirts and ties and the ladies in light summer dresses.

The Hal-an-Tow, a boisterous mummers’ play featuring scenes of St George slaying the Dragon begins cheered on by a crowd dressed in Lincoln green and Elizabethan robes follows shortly after.

The children of the town dance at 10.00am wearing flowers and lily of the valley. At noon the formal dance of the day begins with men wearing morning dress and the ladies robed in magnificent ball gowns and eccentric hats.

During the day the main street and down towards the boating lake buzzes with many stalls selling local souvenirs, Cornish crafts and food and a big fairground and there's a carnival atmosphere from dawn to well into the night.

This is a wonderful day out for the family!

Cottages close to Helston

Food and Drink Festival

St Ives food and drink festival. At the West Pier, St Ives.

18th and 19th May 2013

Official Site

Penzance Race For Life

Join in this year’s Race for Life and show cancer who’s boss by raising money to fund groundbreaking research into new drugs and treatments. Race for Life is cancer’s worst nightmare. So come along and run, walk, dance and sponsor - together we will bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.

The 5K run in aid of Cancer Research starts at the Wharfside Penzance at 7.30pm.  Last year around 1,400 women and girls took part, raising thousands for the charity.

Corpus Christi - Feast & Fair

The Corpus Christi Feast is celebrated in Penzance by the arrival of the fair. This is another of the older traditions that we are looking to revive in West Cornwall usually held on Midsummer Day; is warmly welcomed every year.

During the feast the fairground takes over almost half of the main Wharfside car park in Penzance.

It is a wonderfully happy time when all the fun of the fair comes to town!

Royal Cornwall Show

Only a 45 minute drive from Penzance there really is something for every member of the family at the Royal Cornwall Show, which this year runs from 6th to 8th June.

It’s the county’s biggest annual event and overflows with exhibits and activities which offer much entertainment, competition, shopping and all that’s best in food and farming in Cornwall.  It’s a place to enjoy Cornwall in all its glory and each year it hosts thousands of visitors from outside our wonderful county.

This will be the 220th year of the Cornwall Show and promises to be a very special event with a traditional steam fair, live music, song and dance.

Apart from being a top agricultural show, there are rare breed classes for dogs and goats, horse and pony show-jumping as well a countryside area with rabbits, cage birds and bees.

Cornish produce is well supported at the show, and you will be guaranteed to eat and drink well in the selection of cafes and restaurants.

For more information

Golowen Festival

Golowen Festival, Penzance

It is the biggest event of the year in the town, with a week of celebrations, entertainment and shows from 22nd to 30th June with Mazey Day, held on Saturday June 29th, attracting up to 50,000 people. 

Golowan is one of the last mid-summer festivals practiced in Cornwall, celebrating the Feast of St John. 

On Friday June 28th visit the promenade in the evening and be entertained by a spectacular fireworks display and street entertainers.

Highlights include the Mazey Day parades on Saturday June 29th, featuring hundreds of schoolchildren in colourful costumes with giant imagery as Market Jew Street is closed for the day and hundreds of stallholders line the streets.  The mock mayor elections are usually held in the week before Mazey Day, with local characters competing for the title in front of an informal assembly outside the Chapel Street Methodist Church. The serpent dance, performed by local children, the Golowan Band, Penglaz the mysterious ‘obby ‘oss and numerous shows concerts and spontaneous street entertainment all feature every year. 

The festival ends with Quay Fair Day on Sunday June 30th when the festivities and stalls move down to the harbour. 

The festival needs more than 100 volunteers to keep it going, so if you’re keen to sign up please comtact the Golowan committee.

View all available properties in Penznace

Mazey Day Saturday 29th June 2013

Official Golowen Site

Lafrowda Festival

Lafrowda Festival is an annual event in St. Just in Penwith, Cornwall, in celebration of community arts.

5th July 2013 - 20th July 2013

View cottages in St.Just

RNAS Culdrose Air Day

Come along to this annual event based at the home of 771 Squadron at the  Royal Naval Station in Culdrose near Helston.

Famous last year for receiving the Olympic Flame, RNAS Culdrose provides vital Air Sea rescue to the West of Cornwall.

It is the largest helicopter base in Europe.

The Air Day is a very special event with flying diplays,  exhibitions  and a chance to get up close and personal with the Royal Navy's latest helicopter the Merlin as well as the famous Sea King.

There are attractions for all the family, including many food and drink tents.

It's a lovely day out 

Holday Cottages near to Culdrose

Penzance to Sciliy and Back Sailing Race

PASAB  - The Penzance to Sciliy and Back Sailing Race will take place this year between Friday, 26 to 29 July.

This annual race has been running since the 1978 and is now made up of three legs held over the last weekend in July.

Race briefing at 18:30 on Friday, 26 July 2013 at the Penzance Sailing Club clubhouse.           

Date    Start Time

Leg 1: Penzance to St Marys   Friday, 26 July        20:00

Leg 2: Around the Islands       Sunday, 28 July      09:00

Leg 3: St Marys to Penzance   Monday, 29 July      09:00

All Enquiries to Penzance Sailing Club

PASAB prizegiving at 20:00 on Saturday, 3 August 2013 at the Penzance Sailing Club clubhouse.

Mousehole Carnival

Mousehole Carnival 

Why not enjoy a weekend of fun and be right in the heart of the action!

Holiday cottages available in Mousehole

For More Information on the festival

2nd August 2013 - 5th August 2013

Festival of Sport - Marazion

Set in the charming village of Marazion the "Festival of Sport" hosts a range of world class sporting events, live music, festival fun, beach sports and children's activities as well as high quality food from Jamie Oliver's Fabulous Feasts and drink from St. Austell Brewery, the Festival of Sport promises to be a brilliant weekend for everyone.

The core sports have distances for all abilities and are made up of triathlon, sportive cycling, a women-only Cycletta, open-water swimming and beach running. 

During the evenings the Festival comes to life with a full and vibrant programme of live music featuring local Cornish bands and headline acts.

The festival runs from 20th - 22nd Sptember 2013

View properties is Marazion

www.festivalofsport.net