Venton Vean is a stylish and arty B&B in a quiet location opposite the gate into Penlee Park in Penzance.
We’ve previously stayed in Room 2, a large room with white-painted floorboards and a window seat overlooking the front garden and the trees of the park. This time we were in Room 5, a smaller room at the top of the house with a cunningly designed shower room in the eaves.
Philippa is a very friendly and natural hostess, and you will be greeted with tea and homemade cake. She and her husband David have carefully restored the Victorian house, decorated with moody colours, and liberally scattered around art and design icons, without being in any way pretentious.
If you use reading glasses, remember to take them down to breakfast, as you’ll want to browse through the many cookery books and interiors mags stacked in the dining and sitting rooms!
Breakfast at Venton Vean includes the usual full English and pancakes, or specials such as a Mexican or Spanish breakfast. David makes his own jams, including fig and pomegranate, which was one of the reasons we came back!
The seafront is round the corner and down the road (where we’ve found it easy to park on our out of season visits). Penzance town centre with its quirky shops and galleries is a lovely walk through the park and past Penlee House Gallery and Museum, where you can see paintings by eminent members of the Newlyn School.
If you fancy a mix of town and country style while in Cornwall, then Ednovean Farm is the perfect complement. It’s perched above Mount’s Bay with idyllic views of St Michael’s Mount, colourful and comfortable bedrooms, and a garden full of palms and other exotic plants. Check out my review of Ednovean Farm here.
And have a good look at Venton Vean here.
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