St Michael’s Mount Review, National Trust
St Michael’s Mount located in Marazion, Cornwall, is a rocky island crowned with a medieval church and castle, with the oldest buildings onsite dating from the 12th century.
We visited this National Trust property during our week in Cornwall, and spent about 2 hours exploring some of the things it had to offer.
If you’re interested in visiting St Michael’s Mount but would like some more information before you go, then I hope this St Michael’s Mount review helps you decide if it’s a family day out you’d like to do.
In this review I’ll cover:
I hope you find this St Michael’s Mount review helpful.
If there is anything you think is missing from this review, or anything you’d like more information on, then I’d love to hear from you.
St Michael’s Mount location
St Michael’s Mount is located at:
Marazion, Cornwall
TR17 0EG
Things to do
Here’s what there is to do at St Michael’s Mount:
The castle
To get to the castle on top of the island you have to walk up a steep, cobbled pathway, that also has many uneven parts to it, and there aren’t handrails the whole way up.
This means the pathway is unsuitable for buggies, so if you’re visiting here with little ones, you’ll need a baby carrier, or if you’re game you can carry them up the path.
I ended up carrying Thomas up the path, which took about 20 minutes, and at 3 years old carrying him was quite the workout!
Once we finally made it up the path, we went inside the castle, which wasn’t large, so it was easy to see everything in a short amount of time.
There are some interesting items inside the castle, including a piece of Napoleon’s coat worn at the Battle of Waterloo, and of course the views of the surrounding landscape and sea are amazing.
Subtropical garden
There’s a subtropical garden you can walk around, which we didn’t do on our visit, but from what I could see from the castle, the garden has a lot of flowerbeds wedged into cliff sides, and contains a walled garden.
Church
The Church of St Michael’s and All Angels has some beautiful details on the windows, an organ that was built in 1786, a Lantern Cross, and the Bronze of St Michael’s.
Harbour and village
It took us a really long time to find where we had to board the boat to get to St Michael’s Mount, and much of this time was spent walking through the surrounding village.
As we were walking I noticed many different shops and a lot of food options that sadly we didn’t have enough time to visit once we finished at St Michael’s Mount.
Shops
There are two shops at St Michael’s Mount, which are:
The Mount Shop
Here you can buy exclusive design-led products, artisan gifts, Cornish food and drinks, toys, and books.
The Island Shop
Here you can buy alcohol, food, sweets, crafts, homewares, artist materials, jewellery, accessories, and bags.
Food options
Food options at St Michael’s Mount are:
Island Café
The Island Café sells hot and cold drinks, light meals, sweet treats, kid’s meals, and has indoor and outdoor seating.
Ice cream kiosk
On the day we visited there was an ice cream kiosk selling ice cream at the top of the stairs near the toilets.
Picnic areas
There is a large open space of land, as well as tables and chairs located around the ice cream kiosk, where you can have a picnic.
Family friendly facilities
Family friendly facilities at St Michael’s Mount include:
- Baby changing facilities
- Buggy storage
- Highchairs at the Island Café
Opening times
St Michael’s Mount is open at various times throughout the year.
For up to date opening times please visit the website.
Ticket prices
Ticket prices for St Michael’s Mount are free for National Trust members, but for non National Trust members, ticket prices for the castle / garden / castle and garden combo are:
- £15 / £11 / £26 adults
- £7.50 / £6.50 / £14 children (5-17years)
- £22.50 / £17.50 / £40 family (1 adult, 3 children)
- £37.50 / £28.50 / £66 family (2 adults, 3 children)
- Free under 5s
If visiting St Michael’s Mount during high tide, you’ll need to catch a boat.
Boat tickets need to be paid for whether you’re a National Trust member or not.
You can buy boat tickets before boarding, and the ticket prices for one way are:
- £2.80 adults
- £1.50 children (5-17 years)
- Free under 5s
Parking
The best parking is at The St Michael’s Mount and Long Stay Marazion Car Park TR17 0EG (it may be come up as Folly Field).
This isn’t a National Trust car park, so everyone who parks here needs to pay.
The costs are:
- Up to 1 hour £1
- Up to 2 hours £2.50
- Up to 3 hours £4
- Up to 5 hours £5
- Up to 10 hours £7.50
Tickets can be purchased from the ticket machines onsite.
My thoughts on St Michael’s Mount
There were parts of my visit to St Michael’s Mount that I enjoyed, and parts that I didn’t, and unfortunately there were more parts that I didn’t enjoy compared to what I did.
As our visit was during high tide, we had to catch the boat to reach it, which was the highlight of our time here, especially for Thomas who loved being splashed by water, and having the experience of being in an open top boat.
However, trying to find the boat was a big struggle, and it took up a lot of our time. We struggled because there wasn’t a lot of signage directing us where to go.
Another thing to consider if visiting here is that the walk up the pathway to the castle isn’t enjoyable if you’re carrying small ones, or have kids who want to walk up it on their own.
You really need to watch yourself as well as your kids to make sure no one falls.
Getting a boat to the castle was a lot of fun and something different, and the surrounding village had a lot to offer, but this day out isn’t one I’d take again.
I hope you’ve found this St Michael’s Mount review helpful, and that it’s helped you to decide if it’s somewhere you’d like to visit.
What days out have you been on lately?
