Short answer: Two very different answers: Jelbert's in Newlyn sells only vanilla — with a flake and clotted cream on top if you like — and has done for generations; Willy Wallers on the Wharf does the opposite, with around 32 flavours plus waffles.
Jelbert's is a short walk along the prom from Penzance in neighbouring Newlyn, and it's a pilgrimage for Cornish ice cream people. The rule is simple: vanilla is the only flavour. The family recipe has been passed down since the early twentieth century — milk, cream, sugar — and the local move is to add a flake and a dollop of clotted cream on top. It sounds excessive. It isn't. It's a traditional counter, so bring an appetite rather than a wish list; the shop is also known for being helpful on gluten-free needs, with pots in place of cones.
Willy Wallers Ice Cream Factory on the Wharf is the other extreme: around 32 flavours made fresh, from the classics to fudge brownie and coffee-pecan territory, plus waffles and coffee for the colder days. The one for indecisive children and anyone who wants a second scoop to be different from the first.
The promenade joins them: start at the Wharf end in Penzance, walk the flat mile past Jubilee Pool along Mount's Bay to Newlyn, and let Jelbert's be the reward at the far end. It's the best-value afternoon in west Cornwall, and step-free the whole way — our accessible cafés guide covers the same flat run.
Hours shorten from autumn and traditional counters can close for winter — check before making the walk specifically for one. On a wet day, the rainy-morning plan takes over. More in the Penzance guide.
Small independents change hours with the seasons, and some close for a winter break — if one place is the whole plan, check before you go. Spotted something we've got wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.
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