6 Wild Cornish Coastal Hikes for Big Seas, Sea Mist, and Dramatic Clifftops
You have to know that the fundamental nature of this far-flung county is all about being on the edge. And, believe me, you really do know that when the Atlantic chucks the worst it has to offer at you while you tramp along a wind-blasted clifftop.
The luxury of a bright, docile summer’s day doesn’t quite afford the real spirit of the place. You absorb far more of that indescribable essence otherwise known as "Cornishness" when the weather rolls in from the ocean—whether that means an invigorating symphony in slate grey, a thick pot of coastal fog, or the crystalline, dancing light that bathes the granite when a sea squall suddenly scuds away.
If you are visiting somewhere dramatic and beautiful on this coast, I hold the firm belief that it is just about compulsory to lace up your boots and go for a stroll. Here are six of my favourite coastal loops across the peninsula, where the scenery is fierce, the history is deeply etched, and the sea is never tame.
1. West of St Ives: Clodgy Point and the Atlantis Coast
We were down in West Cornwall when my other half insisted on visiting the Tate Gallery in St Ives. "Fair enough," says I. "But don't expect me to trudge through those hallowed galleries." I had just returned from a few days out on the Isles of Scilly and wanted no truck with man’s humble take on the wonders of the world. So, leaving her to the art, I skedaddled west past Porthmeor beach to see the real thing.
Once past the grassy downlands of Carrick Du—where the casual dog-walkers thankfully drop away—the trail climbs over the low, grassy ramparts of Clodgy Point. Up here you gain altitude enough to look west along the great escarpment of the Penwith Moors as they roll towards Zennor. It is a bare coastal plateau of plain, stone-hedged fields set high above blind, tattered cliffs.
I love this section of coast between St Ives and Land’s End and reckon it ought to be granted National Park status. It is the most foreign place in mainland Britain—by which I mean it doesn't look British at all, but more like some forgotten outcrop from the lost land of Atlantis.
Follow the rim of the cliffs past Hor Point and Pen Enys Point, peering down into the foaming gloom of wild Polgassick Cove. From Brea Cove (or cutting inland just past Pen Enys if the light is fading on you, as it did on me), a network of old east-west field tracks and quiet farm lanes leads you back via Trevalgan and Trowan, depositing you safely above Porthmeor just in time to meet anyone emerging from the gallery.
Basic Hike: St Ives to Clodgy Point, along the coast path to Pen Enys Point or Brea Cove, returning via inland farm paths.
Distance & Going: 3.5 to 5 miles; easy going along the coast, though inland farmland can turn sticky in winter.
Recommended Map: Ordnance Survey Explorer 102 (Land’s End).
2. St Just to Sennen Cove: Wesleyan Temples, Mine Shafts, and Sea Fogs
St Just, dubbed Britain's first and last town, sits squarely in the land of fogs. It is also quite often in the land of intense, sea-borne light—but out here on the wild toe of the peninsula, you take pot luck. There is something wonderfully severe about St Just, with its huge Methodist temples and the forlorn chimney stacks of disused mines that nurture that unmistakable atmosphere you get when mankind has packed his tools and departed.
Leaving the town square via the Bosorne Road, you plunge down into the deep Cot Valley. While you can take the coast path out towards the Brisons—those offshore rocks whose name derives from the old Cornish word for prison, and what a grim offshore cell that must have made—taking the inland path south over the opposite bank avoids the unguarded mine shafts that perforate this headland like holes in a colander.
The trail crosses quiet pastures between the granite farmsteads of Trevegean Vean and Trevegean Veor, slips down into the magical little valley above Nanquidno, and traverses the downs before climbing gently along the crest east of Gurland Farm. Veering towards Trevedra and Escalls Cliff, you pick up the South West Coast Path proper, descending onto the broad, wave-thrashed amphitheatre of Whitesand Bay and Sennen Cove. If the saline sea mist decides to turn into honest Cornish rain, you can always jump on the returning open-topped bus back up the hill to St Just.
Basic Hike: St Just to Sennen Cove via Cot Valley, Nanquidno Downs, and the coastal cliffs.
Distance & Going: 5 miles; easy going along field tracks and coast path.
Recommended Map: Ordnance Survey Explorer 102 (Land’s End).
3. The Eastern Lizard: Serpentine Cliffs, Ancient Stiles, and Cadgwith Cove
It is a long journey down to the Lizard, England's most southerly tip, so you may as well make a proper day of it when you arrive. The eastern flanks of the peninsula offer a startling contrast to the west: where Kynance is a theatre of exploding Atlantic rollers and spilling spume, the eastern coombe down to Landewednack and Church Cove is a sheltered haven of nodding flowers and cottage gardens.
From the village of Lizard, pass through Britain's most southerly churchyard and strike north across the fields. You will need your wits about you near a thicket in the shallow valley—the path takes some seeking out—before you mount one of the finest walking features in Cornwall: the ancient, wide granite stone-walls that serve as elevated walkways to carry you bone-dry above the sodden fields.
Lanes and field paths at Prazegooth lead you down into humble, beautiful Cadgwith Cove. It is not so much a harbour as an indentation in the rocks, soaking up maritime light like nowhere else I know. Even rust looks handsome against the whitewash, the thatched roofs, and the ultramarine tackle of the fishing boats.
After pausing at the cove, take the coast path south past the Devil’s Frying Pan—a colossal, collapsed sea cave where high tide boils and seethes like a witches' cauldron. Continue along Gwavas Cliff and past the old serpentine quarries to the perched lifeboat slip at Kilcobben Cove, before rounding Hot Point and Bass Point to loop back to town via Hounsel Bay.
Basic Hike: Lizard Town to Church Cove, north across country to Cadgwith, returning south along the coast path.
Distance & Going: 5 miles; easy walking with a few short climbs.
Recommended Map: Ordnance Survey Explorer 103 (The Lizard).
4. Pedn Vounder and Treryn Dinas: Cornwall’s Best Beach and the Logan Rock
If anyone were silly enough to run a competition for the single finest beach in Britain, little Pedn Vounder would get my vote every time. Snuggled beneath the mighty granite bastions between Porthcurno and Penberth, it achieves a rare perfection with its golden shell sand, luminous green-blue water, and secretive caves.
The adventure begins in the hamlet of Treen. An ancient track bordered by massive granite boulders leads down to the coast path on Treen Cliff. Directly opposite, a tiny path snakes steeply through the gorse towards Pedn Vounder. Be warned: this is not a stroll for the faint-hearted or infirm. It involves a steep scramble down rock faces for the final 50 feet, but the reward at the bottom is an unspoilt sun-trap of absolute seaside majesty.
Once you've clambered back up to the coast path, head east past Kite’s Carn to Treryn Dinas, a magnificent headland whose natural boulder stacks resemble a fairy fortress. Here you will find the celebrated Logan Rock, a massive 70-ton block of granite that rocks on its pivot. In 1824, an over-enthusiastic naval lieutenant, Hugh Goldsmith, tipped it off its perch for a lark—and was subsequently forced by the Admiralty to spend a ruinous £130 hauling it back into place.
From the headland, follow the cliff edge down into the picture-book fishing slip at Penberth Cove, before turning inland through the wooded valley and strolling back across the hilltop fields to Treen.
Basic Hike: Treen to Pedn Vounder beach, east to Treryn Dinas and Logan Rock, down to Penberth Cove, and back via inland woods and fields.
Distance & Going: 3.5 miles; moderate walking, but requires a steep, hands-on scramble if descending to the beach.
Recommended Map: Ordnance Survey Explorer 102 (Land’s End).
5. Penhale Sands and Perranporth: Sunken Shrines and Immense Dunes
I first fell in love with the immense dune system of Penhale Sands while looking down from the air aboard the Scilly Twin Otter. Seen from above, the endless sandy hollows and grassy trails make the dunes look like an irresistibly beguiling labyrinth.
Starting from Perranporth beach, skirt Chapel Rock and head north across the dunes of Reen Sands. After crossing the golf links (keeping an ear cocked for the cry of "Fore!" from behind the dunes), you cross the B3285 and strike into the magical hinterland of Penhale Sands. This is one of the grandest sand-dune complexes in Britain, offering open roaming across a wilderness of marram grass and undulating hollows.
Tucked within this desert landscape lies a site of extraordinary antiquity: the remains of St Piran’s Oratory. Built in the early Celtic era, this lost shrine once drew medieval pilgrims from across Europe before being overwhelmed and swallowed by the drifting sands around 1500. Nearby stand the ruined walls of the Norman church and a weathered 10th-century stone cross. There is something deeply romantic and haunting about holy places buried beneath the sand.
To complete the loop, simply head west over the sandy crests down to the sweeping shore and turn left. At low tide, the walk back along the hard, sea-washed sand towards the distant scent of Perranporth’s fish-and-chip shops is pure, bracing joy.
Basic Hike: Perranporth to Reen Sands, north through Penhale Dunes to St Piran’s Oratory, returning south along the wide beach.
Distance & Going: 6 miles; easy walking, though plodding through soft dune sand gives the calves a healthy workout.
Recommended Map: Ordnance Survey Explorer 104 (Redruth & St Agnes).
6. Porthtowan to Chapel Porth: Savage Cliffs and Arsenic Mounds
The high coastal plateau stretching north from Porthtowan towards St Agnes Beacon represents quintessential, elemental Cornwall. This is the severe, industrial littoral celebrated in the 1930s by the travel writer J.R.A. Hockin—a landscape forged not by polite tourism, but by hard graft, Methodist chapels, and the deep copper and tin mines that once kept Cornwall truly Cornish.
Setting out from the great golden bowl of Porthtowan beach, take the high cliff path north towards Mulgram Hill. (You can walk along the beach to Chapel Porth only at dead low tide, but the cliffs offer far superior vantage points and keep you well clear of the surging Atlantic surge). The National Trust owns much of this dramatic tract, preserving the iconic stone engine houses—like nearby Wheal Coates and Great Wheal Charlotte—in all their stark, un-prettified grandeur.
From Mulgram Hill, look down into the steep, rocky combe of Chapel Porth, where waves dump spectacularly onto the shingle. Instead of tackling the Beacon in thick mist, strike inland across the heath towards the old workings of Great Wheal Charlotte. Here you will pass weird, bare yellowish mounds—spoil deposits poisoned by copper and arsenic where, in high summer, lizards come out to bask.
From the mine track, follow the path out to Towan Cross, turn down past Towan Farm, and descend the zig-zagging hillside path straight back to the cove. It’s an exhilarating loop, best finished by watching the die-hard wet-suited surfers taking on the crashing Atlantic swells.
Basic Hike: Porthtowan north along the clifftops to Chapel Porth, returning inland via Great Wheal Charlotte and Towan Cross.
Distance & Going: 3 miles; easy walking with moderate clifftop gradients.
Recommended Map: Ordnance Survey Explorer 104 (Redruth & St Agnes).
Read about great places to stay in North Cornish coast here
Chapel Porth
