Owned by Susan Stuart, whose career started in the city, with an aesthetic as sharp as her mind, Chapel House is an airy Georgian marvel, idyllically positioned over Penzance harbour and steeped in maritime history. Susan has washed the once-imposing home of an admiral in airy white, bringing it deftly into the modern world. Waterfall showers and Nordic chairs mix with opulent marble fireplaces and mahogany chests; the six-bedroom house is as elegant as it is relaxed. Guests who bag the top floor room can bathe under the stars –a glass roof opens above their heads. Walls are peppered with art from the Newlyn School and this elegant haven’s exceptional wine list and cuisine, its crisp linens and books galore beg the question: why leave? On Sundays you can lie in and have brunch, served until midday. If you do make it outside, you can explore antique shops, galleries and otherworldly beaches, while Penlee House Gallery & Museum is a stone’s throw away.
Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens – a hidden valley filled with an amazing variety of sub-tropical plants and sculpture exhibits. There is also a gallery featuring contemporary art, a glass and wood-built café which looks out over the sea to St Michaels Mount and serves delicious lunches, teas and suppers as well as a gorgeous little plant shops where you can indulge in a buying spree of exotic plants!
At The Shore; a fabulous fish and seafood restaurant run by chef patron Bruce Rennie. The 8-course tasting menu is exceptional and uses only local sustainably sourced produce
Art. Penzance and nearby villages Newlyn and Mousehole are packed with galleries and studios selling works produced by the thriving local creative community.
Nota Bene
Chapel House was built for Admiral Samuel Hood Linzee, one of Nelson’s key players; his ship was portrayed in JMW Turner’s 1838 painting, The Fighting Temeraire.
