Travel distances

Newquay to Truro

Newquay to Truro on the map

Start and finishThe route by roadSee the stops along the way on their own map ↓

Open this route in Google Maps ↗ for live traffic and turn-by-turn directions.

Distance

14 miles

by road

By car

About 30 minutes

in normal traffic

By bike

About 1 hour 30 minutes

steady pace

By foot

About 4 hours 40 minutes

estimated at a 3mph walking pace

Before you set off

Peak-season rule of thumb: between mid-July and the end of August, add 19% to the drive time above[[cite:editorial]] and you will rarely be late. On this route the delay collects in two places — the pull out of Newquay on the A3075 and the Chiverton Cross roundabout — and it is worst on Saturday mornings, when the holiday changeover traffic is moving in both directions at once.

Which way to go

The fastest route

A3075 south out of Newquay through Rejerrah and Goonhavern to Chiverton Cross, then the A39 straight down into Truro.[[cite:osm]] Half an hour on a clear run, and the only decision you make is at the roundabout.

The scenic route

Come out of Newquay over the Gannel and follow the coast south through Crantock, Holywell and Perranporth before cutting inland at Goonhavern. Cliffs, dunes and three beaches, and it roughly doubles both the distance and the time[[cite:editorial]] — a route for an afternoon, not for a meeting.

Caravans and motorhomes

The A3075 handles caravans and motorhomes without difficulty. The coast road does not: the Gannel crossing is tidal and the lanes above Holywell are narrow with blind bends. Larger vehicles heading east should use the A30 from Carland Cross instead.[[cite:osm]]

Stops along the way

Stops along the way — tap or hover a pin for a photo, the detour and a link to its guideStart and finishThe route by road

Start
Newquay
Perranporth
2.9 miles off the main route, adds roughly 8 minutes
Three miles of sand, and the only bar in Britain actually built on a beach.
St Agnes
5.2 miles off the B3288, adds roughly 16 minutes
Engine houses standing on the cliff edge, in the heart of the mining World Heritage Site.[[cite:cornish-mining]]
Crantock Beach
1.8 miles off the main route, adds roughly 11 minutes
Just across the Gannel from Newquay, and far quieter than anything on the town side.
Arrive
Truro

Practical information

Parking

Truro's Park & Ride at Langarth sits right on the A39 as you come in and is much the easiest option — the bus drops you in the city centre in ten minutes. If you must drive in, Moorfield and the Garras Wharf multi-storey are the largest car parks and both are a short walk from the cathedral.

Train and bus

There is no direct train: the Newquay branch line runs inland to Par[[cite:gwr]], so by rail you would go Newquay to Par and then west to Truro, which takes the best part of two hours[[cite:nationalrail]]. The bus is far better — First Kernow run a regular service into Truro bus station in about an hour.[[cite:firstkernow]]

The best time to travel

Early morning or after 2pm. Cycling rule of thumb: our cycle times assume a steady ten miles an hour on the flat, and Cornwall is not flat — most riders should add 16% to the time shown above[[cite:estimates]], and rather more if you are carrying luggage.

About the Newquay to Truro journey

This is the commute, the hospital run and the shopping trip rolled into one road, and for a fortnight each summer it is also the way out of a holiday town. Fourteen miles from the surf to the cathedral[[cite:editorial]]: Newquay is all weather and open sky, Truro is sheltered, Georgian and built around a spire you can see from three valleys away. The A3075 does it in half an hour for most of the year. In August, leave yourself the extra nineteen per cent and stop at Perranporth on the way.

What to do in Truro

Truro is Cornwall's only city and wears it lightly. The cathedral is Victorian but convincing[[cite:truro-cathedral]], and the Royal Cornwall Museum on River Street[[cite:royal-cornwall-museum]] is the best single account of the county you will find. Lemon Street is the finest Georgian street west of Bath. There is a Wednesday and Saturday farmers' market on Lemon Quay, and the shopping is the broadest in Cornwall by a wide margin.

Read the Truro guide

Going the other way: Truro to Newquay

Truro to Newquay is the same fourteen miles in reverse[[cite:editorial]], and we have written it up separately with its own stops and timings. The summer queue runs north on Saturday mornings, so heading out of Truro at that time is the slower direction.

Related journeys

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Truro to Newquay

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Truro to Newquay is 14 miles and about 30 minutes by car. The fastest A3075 route, the coast road alternative, buses, parking and the best time to travel.

24 miles

Truro to Padstow

45 mins by car (About 45 minutes)2hr 15mins by bike (About 2 hours 15 minutes)

Truro to Padstow is 24 miles and about 45 minutes by car. The A39 route, the creek-side alternative, the Camel Trail, buses, parking and where to stop.

11.5 miles

Truro to Falmouth

25 mins by car (About 25 minutes)1hr 15mins by bike (About 1 hour 15 minutes)

Truro to Falmouth is 11.5 miles and about 25 minutes by car. Compare the fastest and scenic routes, the Maritime Line train, parking and where to stop.

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Article Sources

Road distance and drive time: measured between the two town centres by the Cornwall.co.uk editorial team and reviewed against local knowledge of the route.
Road network, road classifications and place names: OpenStreetMap contributors. Available at: https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright (Open Database Licence 1.0).
Route shape on the map, and the detour figures for each stop along the way: Open Source Routing Machine (OSRM), derived from OpenStreetMap road data. Available at: https://project-osrm.org
Position of each town, village and beach on the map: OS National Grid references published on that place’s own guide on this site. Available at: https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk
Live traffic and turn-by-turn directions, linked from the route map: Google Maps. Available at: https://www.google.com/maps
Cycling times are given at a steady touring pace, and walking times are calculated at 3mph on mixed terrain. Both are planning estimates rather than measured journeys, and are labelled as estimates on the page.