Getting to Truro (Updated 09/02/2026)

Cornwall's only city is a lovely place to explore.  I think my favourite way to get to Truro would be by boat.  I have only done this trip once because it comes from Falmouth.  The Fal River is a beautiful ria, a river valley that has been flooded by the sea.  It's network of wooded creeks are lovely.  Enterprise Boat Trips run boat trips up the Fal from Falmouth to Malpas, a small village just outside Truro.  There are also some boats that stop at Trelissick Gardens on the way to Truro.  

The Fal is not as it once was with regards to shipping.  Its hard to believe boats used to come all the way in to the heart of Truro.  Lemon Quay and Back Quay have long since been filled in to create the Piazza.  The river is tidal and frequently an expanse of mud is what you find if you follow the river out of the centre of Truro.  This is why the boats dock at Malpas.  In 2025 the boats had a connecting bus service in to Truro.  

There is a schedule of high tide trips offered though, that dock instead at Truro Town Quay.  These can only happen when the tides are high enough so require planning ahead and booking.  All of these are offered by Enterprise Boats but they do not run through the winter.

Truro does suffer a little with traffic and because of it's geography, there isn't much that can be done about it.  Traffic is all coming from the North or South.  From the North, it's from the A30 via the A39 and Trispen or from St Austell via the A390.  From the South, it's from the A30 via the A390 and Penstraze or from Falmouth via the A39.  There is one other option from the A30 inbetween the other two options, coming in via Shortlanesend.  That's it, every other route uses lanes and really shouldn't be used except for access as they are very slow routes in to Truro and most are difficult to access with the A30 now being a dual carriageway.

There are two Park and Rides.  Langarth is to the South West near Threemilestone and is a great way in to Truro with stops at Truro College, Treliske Hospital, County Hall and the Train Station.  Its a great way in as it uses bus lanes and skips some of the queuing traffic as a result.  From the North there is Tregurra which is sat by where the A39 and A390 join.  Its a shorter trip in to Truro from here.  An adult ticket is £2.50 currently for a day so it is considerably cheaper than parking in Truro itself.  There are also family and group tickets available.  If you are going to use it repeatedly, you can buy a 5 day, 20 day or 60 day ticket.

There are car parks in Truro but prevision is less generous now due to the closure of the multi-storey section of the Moorfield Car Park.  This has resulted in the loss of 236 spaces while the Council works with Civil Engineers to see what can be done.  Finding a parking space on busy days can be tricky, but also expensive.  Parking for between 4 and 24 hours is currently £11.10.

The only time we would use one of the car parks in the centre of Truro would be for an evening visit, when parking is reduced to £2.20.  We typically use Garras Wharf for the Hall for Cornwall or Old Bridge Street for Truro Cathedral.

I would recommend getting the JustPark app as it allows you to pay quickly and update your parking before it runs out if you take longer than expected.  You can buy weekly tickets to some car parks.  If you want to park regularly in the same car park, a season ticket is better.  Monthly season tickets are available for Moresk, Garras Wharf and Edward Street car parks at a cost of £105.74 for a month. 

Another option is to buy a Rover Ticket.  At £66.78 for 7 days, they are not especially cheap but they allow you to park in many different car parks for those 7 days.  This makes them great for people who want to park in different car parks every day for 7 days, possibly several different car parks over the course of a day.  In Truro, only Moresk and Edward Street Car Parks are included and only Council Car Parks are included.  

None of these options guarantee you a parking space at busy times however.  On street parking is very limited and short stays of 30 minutes only.  With the very centre of Truro being either Pedestrian only or limited to buses and taxi's, there really are not a huge number of spaces available.

Other options include buses and trains.  Truro is a busy mainline station connecting south to Penzance via Redruth, Camborne and Hayle and north to Plymouth, Exeter, Bristol Reading and London via St Austell, Bodmin, Liskeard, Lostwithiel and Saltash.  It is also the final stop for the Falmouth branch line.  If you are going to use the train regularly, I would recommend looking at the different ticket options.  The train station is close to the town but it is an uphill walk back to the station.

Buses are also available and they are definitely the cheaper public transport option, with a single fare currently capped at £3.  There is a small bus station Just off the Piazza, by the river, but many buses also stop on River Street by the Museum.

If you get the train to Truro, but don't want to walk in to town, there are bus stops just outside the station.  Buses are very frequent with many routes passing the station.  Not all of them are going through the town centre though.  I recommend getting the transport for Cornwall app and you can use the journey planner to see which buses are coming that go where you wish to go.  You can use the general map to identify the names and placement of bus stops.

To go in to town, the bus stop by the station is called Railway Station (E-bound) and to stop by the museum you will want Museum (E-bound), or a little further in to town you have Boscawen Street (E-bound) and then the Bus Station.  Both Boscawen Street and the Bus Station are great for the Hall for Cornwall but I would choose River Street or Boscawen Street for the Cathedral.  For the cathedral, the shortest walking routes from the bus stops take you up little alleyways, but you don't need to, you can walk up King Street.

To get back from town you need to go to either the bus station or Victoria Square.  Victoria Square is just round the corner from the Museum and the closest to the Cathedral.  The bus station is great from the Hall for Cornwall.  The stop by the train station is Railway Station (opp).  It cost £5 to go both ways for the Hall for Cornwall and it's pretty easy.  You can either talk to the driver and then pay by tapping your card or you can just tap the machine by the driver.  If you just tapped on, you just tap off by tapping the second machine on your left just before you get off.

You can also get taxi's from outside the station but these will be more expensive unless there is a larger group of people traveling together.