And where? Right here in Penzance of course! Penzance is where our roots are and with our move down to our new office building overlooking the harbour planned for later in the year, we don’t see ourselves choosing to go anywhere else!
We thought you might like to learn a bit more about our hometown, so we asked the team to share their favourite places to visit in the town. We hope there are some hidden gems in here that might inspire you next time you’re visiting.
- 45 Queen Street – our favourite place for an office get-together. Great food. Great cocktails. Great vibes.
- Morrab Gardens - much loved location for a lunchtime stroll
- Ride On - The cool new bike hire place in the Wharfside Shopping Centre
- Pizza Plz (and their £5 Wednesday margarita pizzas)
- Exchange Gallery – hidden away from the main thoroughfare but well worth a visit
- Penlee House
- Chapel Street & Causeway Head – gentrification ongoing with Creative Cluster development at the top opening later this year
- Jubilee Pool – with geothermal
- The Prom – overlooking the sea with arcade and fish and chip shop
- Abbey Slip – a cobbled slip way linking the harbour front with the main town area
- The Admiral Benbow Pub on Chapel Street
- Pocket Full of Stones – independent gin distillery, shop and hidden bar running tasting events
- The Artists' Residence on Chapel Street is a bit of a hidden gem for food
- Barbican Bistro
- Loafs - a modern marvel of a bakery on Causeway Head
- The Savoy Cinema (also on Causeway Head) is from c.1912 which is cool
- The Lloyds bank building which is currently undergoing renovation works
- Penzance station is the last railway station too - "end of the line"
- Penzance Jewish Cemetery (rare 18th century) - Penlee House
- The Egyptian House - built between 1834 and 1837 to house the mineral collection of dealer John Lavin. The choice of the Egyptian style for a mineral shop may seem odd, but the building was inspired by the now-lost Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, London, which opened in 1812 to display the private museum of collector William Bullock.
- Mounts Bay Wine and The Copper Fox – brilliant independent wine seller, now with a sushi bar attached!
- Edge of the World Book Shop - another superb independent shop
- The Honeypot - delicious cakes and lunchtime treats
- Archie Browns, Bread Street - independent health food shop with a difference. Salad boxes tasty enough to convert even the most broccoli-averse.
- Suko Thai – simply scrumptious
- Supercards - shop selling toys, games, Warhammer models - a must visit for enthusiasts!
- The Terrace - unparalleled sandwiches
Those interested in History may enjoy learning that ‘Penzance' comes from the Cornish word for Holy Headland: 'Pensans', which was the area around the harbour where the first church was established. The town's ancient symbol was the severed head of John the Baptist - a play on the phrase 'Holy Headland'. There are still two public examples of that symbol of display. One above a doorway on Voundervour Lane and another above a doorway on the Market House where Lloyds Bank is.
Penzance has its own Iron Age Hill Fort less than 15 minutes' walk from our offices as well as a rich history of smuggling. In fact they found tunnels leading out of the Abbey Warehouse and up the hill towards The Admiral Benbow when they were renovating it in 2008.
With a rich past and an exciting future, we’re proud to call Penzance our home.
