The End of the UK: Visiting Land's End

Jess, aged 14, says: On our week long trip to Cornwall, our family drove to Land's End: the western and southernmost point of England. I had expected there to be nothing there except for the famous sign, but I was shocked by how much there was to do! The whole family (especially Robert) had a great time, and it was really exciting to see the "end" of England.

[caption id="attachment_2717" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Outside the Land's End complex[/caption]

We had driven for about an hour from our cottage near Truro, and had driven through miles and miles of nothing to get there. We had passed England's "First and Last Inn" in Sennen, and found ourself in a large car park.

As soon as we walked into the centre, we were greeted with posters of the exhibitions that were there: a 4D film, the Shaun the Sheep Experience, Arthur's Quest, the End to End story, and Greeb Farm. I was quite surprised by how commercialised the area was although Robert didn't seem to mind. He quickly dragged me and dad to the 4D film, entitled "The Lost World".

The film was centred on a man named Bob, who meets a crazy Scottish woman named Professor Lizzie on an island. The island is inhabited by dinosaurs, and they have to run, drive, and fly away to escape. The film was especially special as our chairs moved, and we were blasted with air, water, and bubbles. Whilst I found the plot a bit predictable, Robert and dad loved it, and said that it was their favourite parts of the holiday. It certainly was very funny, and the 4D aspect was really cool.

[caption id="attachment_2718" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Inside Arthur's Quest[/caption]

Afterwards, the whole family headed to Arthur's Quest, where we explored the world of King Arthur. It was narrated by Brian Blessed, and the exhibition began with a narration of the tale. The tale was also stuck up around a small alley, but this was quite difficult to read. There was a big rope bridge to walk across, a large model of a dragon, and an interactive quiz, and I really enjoyed the exhibition. Robert was disappointed that it wasn't as exciting as the signs had made it out to be, but I thought that it was really well done and lots of fun.

[caption id="attachment_2649" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Inside the Shaun the Sheep exhibition[/caption]

The next exhibition we visited was the Shaun the Sheep Experience, which, in retrospect, we were too old for. This involved walking through a house, looking at models, and throwing "poo" at a bull. This wasn't too enjoyable, although the house was styled really well and I definitely would have enjoyed it had I been younger. The subsequent room was full of Aardman's history, and we learnt all about how the company animates its characters. There was also an opportunity to draw your own Shaun the Sheep characters, which I tried (and failed) at.

[caption id="attachment_2647" align="alignnone" width="1200"] It was amazing to visit the iconic Land's End sign![/caption]

After enjoying a slushie, it was time to visit the famous Land's End signpost, which was established in the 1950s. The signpost is run by a photography company, and you can pay to get your picture taken with it. What makes these pictures special is that you can customise the signpost to show the distance to your hometown, but we chose not to do that. We had to wait until people were changing the sign to get a picture outside it, but this was fine. It was really cool to see the famous sign, and this certainly made my day.

[caption id="attachment_2719" align="alignnone" width="1200"] The views around Land's End were gorgeous[/caption]

Subsequently, we enjoyed a walk across the cliffs of Land's End. The views were astonishing, and there was a lot to see. We walked for about forty minutes, and while it was steep at times, it was very manageable. Mum absolutely loved the views.

Next was time for lunch, which I thought had quite a few options and was reasonably priced. Mum had a jacket potato, Robert and I had pizza, and dad ate a pasty. The pizza was delicious, and the serving was very decent.



Finally, we walked through the End to End Story exhibition. This exhibition is dedicated to the people who have walked the entire length of Great Britain: Land’s End to John O’Groats. We found out which cities the tour takes you through (this was displayed on a 6000mph video), and learnt about people who completed the journey in all sorts of wacky ways. One man was mailed there in a giant envelope, and one man was frequently arrested on the way for making the journey while naked! This was probably my favourite exhibition, as everything was really interesting and I loved the graphics.

Overall, the whole family had a really great time visiting Land's End. It really was thrilling to go to the "end" of England, and there was a lot to do. Even though it was really commercialised for such a quiet area, it was nice that there was so much to do (it really would have been boring for kids without the exhibitions). The views were gorgeous, and we had a really fun and interesting day.

Please watch the video below to see more about our trip to Cornwall:

[kad_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oWmvduevzM" width=200 height=100 ]

 

Need to know: It is free to go to Land's End and see the beautiful views and walk around. If you want to visit the attractions, however, you do have to pay. They are usually open from 10am daily, although do check the website to confirm times. The attractions are open from March 12th to October 28th (perfect for half-term). You buy one ticket for all of them (including a farm which we didn't visit) and a family ticket  costs £30 for two adults and two children and £27 if booked online.

More in Cornwall:

Visiting the Eden Project, Cornwall

A Week in Cornwall (by all of us!)

Playing football golf