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The Beach Path to St Ives (path description)

Walking the South West Coast Path – Padstow to St Ives

66 miles of North Cornwall’s best beaches and coves.

Trail Introduction

Travel along the South West Coast Path on a magnificent journey to St Ives wandering white glistening sands lapped by turquoise blue seas and backed by pristine unspoilt dunes, a seemingly endless run of some of the finest, longest and most golden beaches in the West Country.

Sand and surf may be a recurring feature but this route brings you much more,  breaking out of the beaches into dramatic rocky headlands,  tortured cliffs, deep sea caves and fantastic rocky stacks and arches as you travel Cornwall’s Atlantic Coastline.  The history of human habitation travels with you as you pass Bronze Age cliff top castles, hermit’s caves, abandoned mines, holy wells and smugglers coves.

From a historical angle this section offers an immersion into Cornwall’s proud and wild industrial past. In the St Agnes area alone over 100 mines clung to the cliff top and bored their holes out to sea in their heyday. Today you are left to stumble across the abandoned engine houses and ghostly chimneys that dot the landscape along the path and add to the atmospheric backdrop of the walking. Smuggling tales and Cornish Legends enrich the locations on route as you pass the likes of Hells Mouth, Stinking Hole and Deadman’s Cove all testimony to the shipwrecks and free trade that was practised in these parts.

On hot days lizards bask in the ruined engine houses and adders and slow worms enjoy the sunshine in the rolling cliff lands. Keep your eyes open and you will spot an array of butterflies, moths and dragon flies in the dunes and marshes. Out at sea grey seals are a common sight and there is always the chance of spotting a basking shark from high up on the cliffs whilst the rocky headlands and islands are the home of Peregrine Falcons, razorbills, kittiwakes, fulmars and occasional oystercatchers and puffins.

The Cornish Coast Path takes you through all this on an ever undulating trail carpeted with meadow flowers, purple heather and yellow gorse. Varied walking throughout, sometimes on the cliffs high above the crashing Atlantic rollers then down at sea level picking your way through superbly isolated and undamaged sand dunes or dodging the surf as you cross stunning sandy bays. You will climb and descend into hidden coombes and coves, each bay and panorama seeming to be better than the last. This section of path is less strenuous than the far west of Cornwall on a route graded as moderate walking but be assured it is still challenging enough in places and you are guaranteed to get plenty of undisturbed coastal isolation along the trail. At night you will rest in the handful of idyllic little fishing harbours or the larger habitations such as Newquay, Padstow and St Ives with their excellent restaurants and bars geared up and ready to welcome the weary walker. 

If you want more than just walking en route you can surf the legendry Cribber Wave at Newquay, take a day out to Cycle the Camel Trail , race sand yachts or try kite surfing, eat world class food at Rick Steins or Jamie Oliver’s restaurants, bathe in 18C seawater rock pools or take a torch into a sea cave to find a holy water grotto. For the rest of us we can look forward to 66 miles of stupendous coastal panorama and drama, to splendid isolation on a path which will rejuvenate all those who follow its golden trail from the calm of the Camel Estuary along the northern edge of Cornwall to end in the culture and art of St Ives.

Section 1.        Padstow to Porthcothan 13.5 miles

Grade:    13.5 miles Easy .  Average Walking Time 6 hours not including breaks

Click here for information about overnight facilities and accommodation in Padstow before your walk

Leaving bustling Padstow a gentle start to your walk as you pass the old fortifications at Gun Point on your path along the sheltered Camel Estuary heading for the brooding and foreboding coastline ahead.  As you cross the boardwalks through the orchid marshes at Harbour Cove across the Camel you glimpse  Betjeman’s tiny St Enodoc church peeping out from the sands beside the conical Brae hill..  If the tide is out you can shortcut across the golden sands and dunes to Hawkers Cove the site of the old Lifeboat station with its isolated row of pilot and coastguard cottages. This was the outpost for those who guided vessels in and out of the estuary trying to avoid the deadly Doom Bar which now sits on your right side. The Doom bar is a constantly shifting sand bank said to have been created by a dying mermaid who cursed the town after being fatally wounded by one of the fisherman. Cursed the town was with over 300 vessels lost here since records began. At Stepper point the estuary dramatically ends as you hit the open coastline a point marked by the lonely 40ft daymark tower built to prevent loss of life on the Doom Bar by the rather bizarre  association for preservation of life and property.

On the coastline now Razorbills, guillemots, kittiwakes and fulmars accompany you as you walk above a series of serrated holes and inlets. Pass  Pepper Hole, said to refer to a smugglers cave used to store the spice, the multicoloured rock strata of Butter Hole and the dark caves at Fox Hole. The dark rocks and inlets are broken up by steep crossings of small coombe's and valleys before reaching  the strange stack formation at Chimney Rock and the spectacular and vertigo inducing double arched Porthmissen Bridge cliff formation. Beyond this the rather sinister Round hole set back from the coast is a huge meteor like depression in the ground which is the top of a collapsed sea cave. Gaze down hundreds of feet to see the crashing booming blow hole below you.  

Reaching your first run of sands at Harlyn bay enjoy good refreshments as you sit and watch the surfers. With a pint of “Doom Bar” in hand at the welcoming inn here you can ponder that you are sitting on the site of a 5000BC Burial ground where over 200 crouched skeletons including 3 sacrificial offerings were unearthed, the bodies buried with frogs and mice which were thought to be good luck talismen. The old cellars are a reminder of the days when Harlyn Bay was yet another successful Pilchard Seine, the Latin inscription over the doorway here translating as “Sweet is the smell of riches”

Into the afternoon and you climb another series of serrated zawns and inlets to round Mother Ivey’s Bay named after a witch who cursed the local fields here. Trekking a heavily fractured coastline you approach the jagged Merope rocks a dramatic home to flocks of ravens and since 1967 Padstow's lifeboat station (open for visitors) which over the years has saved over 400 lives from the Doom Bar.

At Cat’s Cove magnificent views reach as far back as Hartland Quay 7 days walking away to the east and onwards to Cape Cornwall close to Lands End,  a good 100 miles in all. The trail meets the striking 60’ lighthouse at Trevose head and then leads you into the ominously dark sounding Stinking Cove. At Booby’s bay (a boobie is another name for a gannet) and just beyond another round hole look for the remains of the Carl a German ship visible at low tide and wrecked on route to Cardiff in 1917.  From here you cross the back of another superb sand and surfing beaches at Constantine Bay and Treyarnon Bay before crossing the run of three coves, Pepper, Warren and Fox cove to descend to the hidden little beach at Porthcothan.

Section 2.       Porthcothan to Newquay 11 miles

Grade:    11 miles Moderate Average Walking Time 5 hours not including breaks

Superb coastal scenery with easy walking today as your trail hugs the edge of the cliffs high above a seemingly endless procession of rocky coves, craggy stacks and sea carved caves.

Before reaching the Iron Age Fort at Trescore Island you pass man made caves in the cliffs still displaying huge iron spikes and hoops a legacy of the “free trade” gangs that cleaned up the wrecks in the area. A short steep drop brings the lovely Porth Meor Valley, a little rock pooled cove with reed beds and small ponds before a steady climb back up the cliffs to the National Trust protected heath land at Park View, stay observant, this wonderfully open space is Peregrine Falcon and oystercatcher country.

Beyond it you reach the wild and tortured rocky stacks of Bedruthan Steps the iconic Victorian Cornish Postcard image popular with the arrival of the first travellers via the new railway at nearby Newquay. The rocks retain their stunning panorama  the name referring to the exhilarating flight of steps that lead you down through the cliffs to the beach below.  Local legends tell of The Giant Bedruthan who was said to have used the stark offshore islands as stepping stones. Whilst the Queen Bess stone no longer resembles Queen Victoria after a vicious winter storm took off part of her head she remains a prized climb for the countries best rock climbers. Another gigantic stack, the Samaritan rock refers to The Good Samaritan a ship wrecked here in 1846 at the time of the potato famine,  its plundered goods seen as a godsend by scores of hungry locals though many of them paid for their scavenging with a spell in the fearsome Bodmin Jail. When the tide is out descend the steps as this a great beach for exploring the caves, stacks and rock pools below the cliffs.

The path then passes over the remains of an ambitious but doomed attempt to build a sea canal before it drops to the dunes and beach at Mawgan Porth a popular spot with its acres of sands and welcome facilities. It’s nothing however compared to the next jewel at Watergate Bay a fantastic sweeping section of beach with over 2 miles of golden sands, caves and rocky cliffs.  Surfing and other extreme sports including sand kites and sand buggies are the modern additions to the striking scenery here. For those wanting some luxury consider an overnight stop at the fabulously positioned Watergate Bay Hotel next door to Jamie Oliver’s new Fifteen restaurant, currently the most sought after food and views in the County. If you can’t afford the evening meal you can at least consider stopping off for lunch.

High cliffs end the day as you follow the tops to Trevelgue Head where a short detour allows you to cross the footbridge onto the exposed island headland which boasts the most fortified iron age castle on this coast with a series of seven ramparts protecting it. Search here as well for the huge cave known as the Banqueting Hall and a dramatic blow hole well worth seeing when the waves pick up. From the headland Newquay beckons and it’s easy walking, the path taking you alongside the first of the 9 beaches that cushion the town.

 Click Here for information about overnight facitilies and accommodation in Watergate Bay including Jamie Olivers Fifteen Restaurant.

 Click here for information about overnight facilities and accommodation in Newquay

Section 3.          Newquay to Perranporth 11 miles – Std Route

Grade:    11 miles Moderate    Average Walking Time 6 hours including river crossing but not including breaks

Leaving the harbour bustle behind you head out towards the attractive headland of Towan Head past the white washed 14 Century Huers hut. Huers were the pilchard spotters who gazed out to sea to alert the town’s fishing fleet as soon as a shoal was spotted. You can see the launching ramp here for the old Newquay lifeboat which must have been some sight when it returned from rescues to the town beach as it required 8 horses to haul it back through the streets on its return from sea. Walking round the headland you arrive at legendry Fistral beach,  the last of Newquay’s nine beaches but without doubt its best, home to The Cribber a wave of up to 9 metres high that attracts the country’s top surfers and international competitions – this is the Cresta Run of UK Surfing.

You now need to turn your attentions to crossing the fast flowing River Gannel which charges into the Atlantic here guarded by flocks of wading birds. Cross the estuary by ferry or one of four possible footbridges depending on the tide height. If you have to take the more inland route be philosophical – you get to cross some excellent salt marsh dotted with ancient quays and mooring chains dating back to a time when the Gannel was the main source of incoming trade. The Cornish Coast Path now takes you back to the coast below the village of Crantock , click here for more information about facilities and overnight accommodation in Crantock. Choose from the mass of trails winding coastward through the grasses of Rushey Green and alongside the broad sand dunes of Crantock Beach.

Click here for information about overnight facilities and accommodation in Crantock

At Pipers hole look out the cave which if entered bares the inscription

“Mar not may face but let me be secure in this lone cavern by the sea, let the wild waves around me roar, kissing my lips for evermore” Also here listen out for the legendry Gannel Crake a noise “like a thousand voices in pent up misery with one long drawn wail dying away in the distance”. Perhaps it’s the noise of a coast walker who missed the last Gannel Ferry, either way no one has managed to work out its source yet !

Back on the coastline now after the dark inlets at Vugga Cove you round Pentire Point with its collapsed sea cave surrounded with pretty sea lavender and sea pinks and background views back over Newquay Town. Porth Joke is a special place, a sheltered cove known as Polly Joke locally with its little pool and sprays of corn marigolds,  poppies and cowslips in summer.

At Holywell bay you drop down to one of Cornwall’s most stunning beaches with its powder white sands and rock pools, the twin peaks of Carters Rocks offshore and the mountainous sand dunes and grasslands behind you. Its most recent claim to fame being its use for the opening scenes of the James Bond Film Die Another Day.  Holywell’s name refers to its narrow sea cave which can be visited at lower tides. This spot has been a pilgrimage in the past for healing the sick who were brought here to be dipped in the grotto like steps of red and brown stained calcium deposits inside the cave that hold the pools of holy water.  At the southern end of the beach a magnificent rock stack dominates in front of huge pristine sand dunes whilst those wanting a break from the beach can rest up at the thatched medieval pub The Treguth. The next climb brings Penhale Point its surprise being the Army Camp and rifle ranges on one side of the trail with fantastic views out to sea and the Gull Rocks on the other. Don’t be caught looking too closely however as Penhale Sands below remains a hot spot for naturists.

The remaining route to your overnight stop at Perranporth gives you a choice, if tide allows follow three miles of magnificent sand along Perran beach, if not the inland route where you can watch the sand yacht, kite surfing and body boarding from the safety of unspoilt and magnificent sand dunes. On the inland trail you pass the last resting place of St Piran buried under the sands three holed granite cross being all that remains above the dunes to mark the spot.

 Click herefor information about overnight facilities and accommodation in Perranporth

Section 4.          Perranporth to Portreath 12.5 miles – Std Route

Grade:    12.5 miles moderate – 4 miles strenuous   Average Walking Time 6 hours not including breaks

Enter mining country today and a fascinating section of path taking you on an another high level cliff traverse, through a rich vein of tin, copper, zinc, lead and even silver mines that were worked from the middle ages to the mid 1980’s.  Cliffs here sport colourful shades of red, orange, blue and green stained by the traces of copper and iron running through the stacks and crags.

From the headland at Cligga Head today you find the cliffs punctured by mine adits, tunnels and shafts which were often entered by rope walkways suspended down the sheer cliffs. Today the shafts are covered with strange conical mesh grills preventing walkers tumbling down the gloomy holes whilst allowing colonies of bats access to roost. Rock Climbers are often spotted scaling the impressive sea cliffs as you pass the remains of the British and Colonial Explosive Company who produced dynamite here, one unplanned explosion in 1902 so big it made the windows and doors in Truro rattle some 20 miles away. 

The path skirts the historically significant World War 2 Airfield at Trevallas still with its bunkers, ditches and gun placements now a ghostly quiet backdrop to the handful of gliders that take off here to take advantage of the thermals created by the cliffs. A brief turn inland is needed to negotiate the Blue Hills Tin Steams crossed by the old engine house. For those who want to know more about mining here a member of the current owner’s family takes visitors on a fascinating 1 hour tours of the old and new mining landscape with demonstrations of the tin extraction process from ore to finished ingot.

At Trevaunance cove you pass a few remains of the quays and ore bins of what in its heyday was one of the area’s busiest harbours, abandoned after being ravaged during the great war by the Atlantic waves. Inland for those wanting a lunch break is the welcoming town of St Agnes - don’t miss the Driftwood Spas pub which brews its own beer on site. There is also the excellent and free entry St Agnes Museum with a mindboggling variety of exhibits as well as a handful of well thought of art galleries and shops.

 Off shore now are the dramatic Bawden Rocks or “Man and his Man” with colonies of guillemots, kittiwakes, razorbills and the odd puffin. Listen quietly and you may hear or spot some of the grey seals that use the caves to breed here in what is now a Voluntary Marine Conservation Area. Along the whole of this section keep an eye out for adders and slow worms as well as the occasional lizard basking in the gorse on the cliff tops.

After rounding St Agnes head with its stupendous views in all directions arrive at Wheal Coates mine and itsTowanwrath shaft and engine house. Clinging to the cliffs this is one of the most atmospheric and iconic images of Cornwall’s mining past, the trenches and pits around it are even older medieval opencast tin workings following the tin bearing veins to the sea. 

Two more stunning beaches arrive in quick succession at Chapel Porth and Porthtowan climbing back through some fantastic meadowland close to the coast with rarities such as Sea holly, wild geraniums and white bell heather and small pools holding damsel and dragon flies.

At Nancekuke Common a bizarre section of the path takes you alongside the perimeter fence of the now decommissioned Chemical warfare Research Centre which developed and processed the nerve agent Sarin as well as CS gas - these days thankfully the strange looking dome is nothing more sinister than part of the Atlantic Early Warning Radar Defence System.

Pass a coastal waterfall just before the aptly named Diamonds Rock and you finally arrive at The Pepper Pot an atmospheric white daymark above Portreath harbour and the end of the days walking.

Click here for information about overnight facilities and accommodation in St Agnes

Click here for information about overnight facilities and accommodation in Portreath

Section 5.          Portreath to Gwithian 7.5 miles – Std Route              

Grade:    12.5 miles moderate.    Average Walking Time 5.5 hours not including breaks

A steep climb this morning takes you up to Western hill with grand

views back to St Agnes Beacon and Kelsey Head. From here this morning you wander above the crashing tumultuous breakers on cliff tops and high meadow full of primroses and dog roses in season.

At the oddly named Ralphs Cupboard you will find an awesome chasm, a deep cave whose roof has collapsed. Locally depending on who you ask, Ralph was either a wrecker who used the cave for securing and storing his ill gotton gains or instead a Giant known as “Wrath” who lay in wait for passing ships and towed them back to the cave to devour the sailors – either way a place to avoid for those out at sea !

The path switchbacks into the Carvannel Valley passing the waterfall at Porthcadjack Cove before reaching the high level Reskajeage Downs which give great views of the Crane Islands offshore that were once linked to what is left of Crane Castle another headland hill fort.

The names get more dramatic as Deadpan’s Cove leads you through the gorse to Hells mouth. The latter well named with its 200’ sheer drops to the sea far below. It’s a veritable cauldron of relentlessly attacking and crashing waves and gloomy sea caves that boom loudly as the air is forced out of them by the waves far below you.

Your first views of St Michaels Mount on the other side of Cornwall now appear as you climb on past groups of semi wild Shetland ponies to the Trig Point at Navax point. This area is famous for its seals and Mutton Cove beach is one of the best places for spotting them in Cornwall. Below you the cliffs are peppered with caves used by the seals giving birth and it’s often easy to spot them basking in the sun as you walk on towards Godrevey Point.

Offshore now the exposed and dramatic Lighthouse at Godrevey built in 1859 guards the deadly reef known as the Stones and frames fantastic views across to the end of the trail at St Ives that looks tantalisingly close until you realise you need to walk round the great sands at Hayle to reach it. Virginia Woolf spent her childhood holidays at St Ives staring back at this spot and from it took the inspiration for her book “To The Lighthouse”. Inland Gwithian is a pretty thatched village with one of Cornwall’s best beach cafes for lunch.

Click here for information about overnight facilities and accommodation in Gwithian

Section 6.          Gwithian to St Ives 10.5 miles – Std Route

Grade:    5.5 miles Moderate.    Average Walking Time 3 hours not including breaks

This morning start by crossing the wild west sounding Red River named here after the red iron oxide that turned it this colour from the mines inland, the colour extending out from the mouth of the river to create a mini red sea. From the Red River enjoy the end of day walk with a fabulous 3 miles of sands to Hayle. At low tide you can walk the golden stuff all the way to Black Cliff at other times take the way marked route through the maze of tracks across the pristine Towans (dunes). Watch for a huge variety of butterflies such as the meadow brown, six spotted burnet moths, glow worms and if you are lucky the odd lizard. The bunkers on route were part of a huge explosives factory giving the dunes the local nickname of Dynamite Towans.

From the back of the bay in Hayle the path joins the road along the Causeway but is enlivened by the surrounding mudflats managed by the RSPB and home to an astonishing figure of over 250 species of birds. With plenty of time today you can make use of the RSPB hide at Ryan’s Field which has lots of information for those not too sure what they are watching out in the marsh.  Your walk continues alongside Hayle lagoon to round the bay walking out to the St Ives headland past the popular Badger Inn and then the Lelant Church - the start of the St Michaels Way footpath across Cornwall. The Churchyard and Cemetery here are worth a quick stop housing 4 old granite crosses and at the right time of year a stunning display of meadow fauna. After crossing the Golf Course it's back into more dunes behind Porth Kidney Sands with pleasant views back towards Godrevey Lighthouse and yesterdays efforts.  From Carrack Gladden the Knill monument dominates the skyline inland, a 50 foot obelisk which still hosts 5 yearly festivals where ten girls and two widow’s dance round the monument to the music of a fiddler. A gentle end to the beach path runs through Carbis Bay where you can drop down to the beach once again if desired and take a gentle walk onto St Ives and the chance to explore the artistic “capital” of Cornwall.

Click here for information about overnight facilities and accommodation in Hayle

Click here for information about overnight facilities and accommodation in St Ives

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