Explore the secrets of West Cornwall with twelve of the most unspoilt secluded beaches and coves this week set along the hauntingly beautiful coast. They are almost a secret but not quite if you are armed with a well thumbed ordnance survey map and a pair of walking boots to follow Cornwall’s dramatic cliff top walks and lush valleys to the sound of the sea. So shh don’t tell and I will tell you some of my favourite spots to enjoy an idyllic day away from the tourist spots in unspoilt secret West Cornwall. Continue reading “Secret Cornwall – twelve secluded beaches” »
Tag Archives: cornish coves
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Memories of Sennen
As the winter days stretch out before us I’ve found myself looking fondly back on our autumn beach adventures and realised I hadn’t shared our memories of Sennen. Sennen was one of the last beaches that we visited before settling down to working life and routines of a winter farm.
The storm crested waves tore across the cove at Sennen that day, trailing plumes of spray that day and yet when we walked up towards the sheltered honeyed granite harbour with sea worn walls the sea lay surprisingly tranquil. What a timeless memory of a visit to sennen Cove to see my photo album
Continue reading “Memories of Sennen” »
We’ve made the most of the balmy autumn days to explore some of the pretty coves and villages and made a visit to The Lizard on a beautiful autumn day to seek out the intriguingly named Gunwalloe Cove and Dollar Cove that are separated by the romantically named “The church of Storms” before travelling on to the popular beach of Poldhu just around the point.
This AONB (the area of outstanding natural beauty) that has the same protection as a national park and flanks the Helford River and it encompasses The Lizard Peninsular as well as the coastline all the way through Perranuthnoe to St Michael’s Mount near Penzance.
I had another reason to visit too because the ley lines cross at Gunwalloe as they do at St Michael’s Mount and so it has a very special place in local heritage. Continue reading “Explore Gunwalloe, Dollar and Poldhu Coves” »
This autumn we’ve set out to explore the beautiful hidden beaches of West Cornwall that are within easy reach of Ednovean Farm. This week we visited the secret sandy bay just beyond Prussia cove, known as Kennegy Beach a beautiful cove of pristine golden sands framed by heathland with farmland dipping down to the cliffs edge
As we scrambled across the rock to the great sweep of golden sands, ours were the only footprints on the beach and our only company the seagulls preening at the waters edge. Continue reading “Kennegy Beach – a secret sandy bay beyond Prussia Cove” »
We set out last week to discover the hauntingly beautiful Portheras Cove of silvery white sands, and found it was a perfect walk for an autumn day with the magic of summer still lingering in the air.
Portheras Cove is set between Pendeen and Morvah and it can only be reach on foot along the coastal path. But it is so worth taking the walk to this quiet and secluded cove that attracts only the dedicated locals who look after the beach, passing walkers along the coastal route around West Cornwall and seals resting on the sands Continue reading “Discover the hidden silver sands at Portheras Cove” »
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Land’s End to St Ives
Cape Cornwall from the air
The final part of the Penwith tour will take you from Land’s End to St Ives and surely this drive must be Cornwall’s own route 66. The road contained by ancient banks twists through farmland flanked by tiny fields whose boundaries date back to the bronze age. with the sea an eve present backdrop it is not surprising it has been voted one of the nation’s favourite drives. Expect to pass through tiny hamlets and farmyards; to see remnants of the Cornish mining industry romantic now in their decay; to see villages flanked by towering moorland cairns on a winding road that will almost transport you back to an earlier era.
I am indebted to Mike McNally photography for the aerial views I am about to share with you. Mike and his wife took a scenic flight from Lands End when they stayed with us at Ednovean Farm and kindly sent us a disk of snaps of West Cornwall.
Just east of Perranuthnoe, a hidden slipway leads to Trebarvah Beach reached by a hidden slipway or walk along the sands from Perran at very low tide.
There is something so evocative of the memories Cornish holidays of spending the days wandering around the coastal footpath before finally settling in a secluded cove to picnic and then later, much later, driving around the Bay to find a traditional harbour side pub for supper. It has to be Fish and Chips of course anything else would be sacrilege to tradition!
This bank Holiday the weather has been so kind to Cornwall and we have basked in the sunshine and we were tempted to walk again down to the coastal footpath to see the last of the spring flowers with the tide lapping the rocks below us. Continue reading “Coastal walks and harbour pubs” »
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A spring walk to the sea
The May is slow to flower this year but Perranuthnoe’s sandy beach had just been exposed by the tide and St Michael’s Mount was framed by Penzance
Everybody has their spring rituals I’m sure and for us, it is a walk down to the sea again, that stretch of blue that frames our horizon The sea so close that it frames our days and yet with winter jobs to do in the stables, it is so very so very far away. But with the weather set fair on Saturday we set off to walk across the couple of fields that leads to Trebarvah and then follow the narrow lane down to the fork to towards the coastal footpath in what has become our own spring ritual – the first walk to the sea for the year! Continue reading “A spring walk to the sea” »
A spring walk to Gurnard’s head along an unspoilt coastline
Spring time is a wonderful time to explore the coastal footpath and immerse yourself in the new life coming to the coastal stoop and yet still see the historic surviving traces of man’s activity exposed before it is enveloped by the cocoon of summer vegetation hides them for another year. A few years ago now we had the opportunity to walk the coast footpath from the pretty atmospheric village of Zennor on a glorious spring day and below you will find some snaps from our walk around to the great jutting granite headland of Gurnards Head. Continue reading “Coastal footpath Zennor to Gurnard’s Head” »
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A visit to Cot Valley
Porth Nanven
The lure of the heath lands vivid now, with purple heathers and bright yellow gorse proved too much today and we set out beyond Penzance to follow the road towards St Just. I mentioned in my last blog the lure of the fabulous autumn on the sweep of the Penwith moors is not to be missed now and I’d heard of a spot, quite near to Cot Valley with an amazing depth of colours. Well that shouldn’t be hard to find should it? Continue reading “A visit to Cot Valley” »