Great South West Walk

Monday August 20

Section 31. PADSTOW TO PORTHCOTHAN. Miles: 13.6. Grading: Easy

Start time and location
Could you please report for registration at the RNLI station in Padstow at 8am.
The walk will commence at 8.30am.

Parking
Plenty of parking avaialble at start points.

BUS SERVICES
The Western Greyhound Ltd 556 bus runs between Padstow and Newquay via Trevone, Harlyn Bay, Constantine stores and Porthcothan, but not very often.
Confirmation of any bus service should always be confirmed by contacting Traveline on 0870 608 2608 www.traveline.org.uk

TAXI SERVICES
Telephone the National Taxi Hotline on 0800 654321, and you will be put through to the nearest participating cab firm.

TRAIN SERVICE
The nearest railway station to this area is Bodmin Parkway, which is on the Penzance to Paddington main line, so you can reach the rest of the country from here. You can catch a bus from outside the station to Padstow. For more information, please telephone National Rail Enquiries on 08457 484950.

MAPS
Ordnance Survey Landranger series (scale 1:50 000) Number 200 Newquay and Bodmin.
Ordnance Survey Explorer series (scale 1:25 000) Number 106, Newquay, Padstow, Wadebridge and Port Isaac.
Maps and drawings in this path description were drawn by Mark Richards and the South West Coast Path Association acknowledges his assistance with this work.

GENERAL
PADSTOW: accommodation, shops (including a chemist), pubs, cafés, toilets, car parks and public telephones.
TREVONE: limited accommodation, pub, seasonal café, parking and toilets.
HARLYN: limited accommodation, pub, seasonal café, parking and toilets.
CONSTANTINE: limited accommodation, seasonal café, parking and toilets.
TREYARNON: hotel, parking, toilets and seasonal shop in car park.
PORTHCOTHAN: limited accommodation, seasonal shop, pub and toilets.

TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE
Red Brick Building, North Quay, Padstow, PL28 8AF. Tel: 01841 533449.

The Route
The path from the harbour is signposted at the public toilets ‘Hawker’s Cove 2 miles’. Further on is the War Memorial, which has a fine setting and remembers not only the fallen but also says ‘In grateful appreciation of the services of those who returned’.

Gun Point is the setting for some old fortifications. Note the view forward; Pentire Head on the other side of the estuary, Newland is the island out to sea and the top of the daymark on Stepper showing ahead. Harbour Cove was once, as its name suggests, a harbour, but is now silted up. At Hawker's Cove is the old lifeboat station, now a holiday home called Lifeboat House; the new one we shall meet further on. There are two rows of cottages and the first is the more usual coastguard row. The second row is interesting because these were pilot cottages and here, in the great days of Padstow as a port, lived the men who guided the vessels in and out.

The path after Hawker's Cove becomes a track for a while, a reminder of the not so distant time when quarries were worked nearby.

It has been a pleasant walk out from Padstow but there is a dramatic change in scenery just after The Narrows.

On Stepper Point is the 40 foot (12 m) daymark that has been in view so long. Before you reach the daymark, it is worth turning left at the stile as you turn the corner to visit the National Coastwatch Institution hut – this reopened in September, 2002 and is operated by volunteers daily. They are always pleased to see you and will give you the latest weather forecast. It is one of only two operational watch facilities on the north coast of Cornwall. On a clear day shipping movements can be seen as far afield as Lundy Island. It is the only station in the British Isles using solar and wind power generation.

Then go back to the daymark which was built as an aid to shipping by an association formed in Padstow to try and prevent the loss of life on the Doom Bar. They also had capstans erected on the point to winch in vessels. The island out to sea and forward is Gulland Rock.

Leaving Stepper there is a good view back to the Camel estuary and do not miss Pepper Hole. From the named pole on the path go right and forward a few yards. Butter Hole, as you might guess, has lovely yellow sands.

Foxhole is not exciting but there are a series of rocks and islets; one with a cairn, alongside Gunver Head. It is a good place for seabirds.

Porthmissen is interesting for rock formations, including the spectacular multi-arch which is called Porthmissen Bridge. Note the cliff just west where the rock strata is in a great series of very close contrasting bands of grey slate and yellowish limestone. Someone described it as looking like a giant humbug; he must have been very hungry!

After Porthmissen stay on the coast because before Trevone is the spectacular Round Hole.

ROUND HOLE

These holes are caused by sea erosion, and they occur when a thin vertical band of harder rock protects a softer rock behind. The sea eroding fastest at low level breaks through the harder band at some point. Afterwards because the material behind is much softer, a cave is formed behind the narrow entry which grows bigger with time. Eventually the top of the cave falls in and a round hole is exposed. Last, the pierced outside wall is finally worn away and a small bay is formed. It is difficult to believe that the great volume of material from the hole has all passed through the narrow outlet to the sea but this is exactly what has happened.

TREVONE TO PORTHCOTHAN

Annual Guide Section 20 (7.9 miles – 12.7 km) Grading: Easy

Trevone is mostly modern in origin and there are toilets, a café, a pub and accommodation.

The old path beyond generally runs outside the field walls; the new one in places, inside.

At Harlyn Bay there is a refreshment caravan open in season and on dry days called ‘Food for thought’, where you can buy good value food and drinks, and sit out and watch the surfers. On the other side of the beach on the road is a large pub which has a restaurant, accommodation and a shop with a take away.

From Harlyn Bay you have to go along the beach for a few hundred yards. It will only be at very high tides when the beach route is unavailable. Watch carefully for the path to return to the low cliffs, it is hidden at the back of a little cove.

Hereabouts was an ancient burial ground which was discovered in 1900 AD when the foundations were being dug for a new house among the sand dunes. Its remains cover an enormous time span from 1900 BC to 300 BC; it was an important find of more than two hundred burials and some of the material went to Truro and some to the British Museum in London. Many of the skulls were fractured, and it is assumed that this was done after death with the idea of releasing the soul. Sometimes a frog was buried, either as food or as a talisman. A little girl had two mice, possibly for the same reason, or could they have been pets? We can only speculate. Perhaps the saddest burials are of three who may have been sacrificed to dedicate the cemetery.

At Cataclews Point were medieval quarries. The dark stone here was excellent for carving and was much used in old churches in Devon and Cornwall. The font at Padstow Church is a nearby example.

From Cataclews Point the path continues until you arrive at an abundance of caravans where a stretch of path is hemmed in by a double fence until you arrive at Mother Ivey’s Cottage. From here you will have a good view of Merope rocks and the lifeboat station. From the cottage continue along the path until you reach Polventon House. The house is listed and has an unusual feature of a winding staircase within a glass turret. Here you turn left and immediately right along a narrow track which leads you to the road leading to the lifeboat.

The lifeboat has only been here since 1967; before then it was based at its old station in Hawker's Cove. There was a lifeboat at Padstow for 140 years from 1827 because it was a busy port and the Doom Bar particularly dangerous. Known wrecks total more than 300 vessels. It is on record that over the years nearly 400 lives have been saved. At the end of the 19th century within one sad month two lifeboats were lost and eight crew drowned.

After the lifeboat you will soon arrive at Cat’s Cove, where it is worth stopping and looking back at the magnificent views of North Cornwall as far back as Hartland Quay on a good day. Soon you will arrive at Trevose Head and the lighthouse.

The lighthouse which is 69 feet high (21 m) was built in 1847. Look at a map showing the whole length of the North Cornish Coast; that will show why a lighthouse was so necessary here. Trevose Head projects further north than the average for the coastline, and so if conditions are good, views will be first class.

Dinas Head is a necessary diversion for those who do not like to miss a good seascape. It is a wonderful place to be on a fine but windy autumn day with the sea breaking on The Bull below your feet and The Quies beyond. There is another good example of a round hole to the left of the path just south of Dinas Head.

Booby Bay is sandy at low tide; Constantine Bay all the time. The path has become eroded at the latter in recent years and you have to use the curve of the beach, regaining the path up a slope just before the first house.

Of interest at Booby’s Bay, just South of Trevose Head, the remains of the Carl, a german-built vessel of some 4000 tons, have become very visible at low water due to the shifting sands. She was wrecked there in 1917 while on tow to Cardiff.

Unfortunately neither of the beaches is really recommended for bathing; those wanting a safer swim should press on to Treyarnon Bay, but even here heed the notices. There will be seasonal cafés and there is a hotel at Treyarnon Bay which has a public bar and a restaurant.

Do not be confused by the name Constantine - there is another better known Constantine in South Cornwall, that other one lies between Falmouth and the delightfully named Gweek. This one's only claim to fame is the ruined chapel, a little inland, probably dating from the 14th century.

The path at the beginning of this section negotiates a series of inlets in a heavily indented coastline. The headline between Warren Cove and Pepper Cove has another cliff castle, and two of the ramparts, and the intervening ditches, are quite apparent.

The view from the north side of Fox Cove is a good seascape, with the rock stacks and the jagged outline of cliffs. Look for the remains of a wreck below. This was Hemsley I, once a naval auxiliary and later a merchant ship. She was going from Liverpool to Portsmouth for breaking up, but went ashore here in 1969. Parts of the ship were salvaged and the rough track on the cliff top is the remains of the road made and used for this purpose. The rest was abandoned and left as you see.

Minnows Island and the cove behind is another view to delight the eye, but take heed and keep to the coast path waymarks – a large chunk from the cliff between Minnows Island and Rowan Cove fell recently taking a piece of the coast path with it.

The path goes right back to the road. The Post Office - the only shop - is right on the path where it rejoins the beach and provides sustenance for hungry walkers.

If you have any question on any of the above please do not hesitate to contact one the event organisers found on the Contact us page click here

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