Start: St Ives
Finish: Hayle

Distance: 6.5 miles
Time walking: 3 hours 30 minutes excluding breaks

Difficulty: Easy. A short first day with only one steep hill.

Highlights: Porthminster beach, Carbis Bay, the Barbara Hepworth Museum in St Ives.

An easy first day that takes you from some of Cornwall’s finest beaches to the copper lined streets of Hayle (not literally but this is a town famous for its nineteenth century copper mining and smelting industry). In between the scenery varies from the sublime to the dull, so prepare to be surprised.

St Ives is a busy little town of cobbled streets, artist studios and beautiful beaches. Across the bay lie 3 miles of golden sand (the next day’s walking) and there are 2 or 3 secluded beaches that you pass en route. It is a sheltered and charming landscape where light blue waters lap the shore and Cornish palm trees put you in mind of the Bahamas.

The walk into Hayle however is along busy roads and the beaches are replaced by estuarine mud (this is unaviodable for any north coast St Ives walking holiday). There is however great bird watching here and the pasties in Hayle are some of the best in Cornwall!

Start Point: Hayle
Finish Point: Portreath

Distance: 12 miles
Time walking: 5 hours excluding breaks

Difficulty: Moderate. There are only one or two hills (towards the end) but the sand dunes/beaches at Hayle can be tiring.

Highlights: 3 miles of golden sand, Philp's pasties, Godrevy Lighthouse, Hell's Mouth cliffs, seal spotting.

A sandy start to the day takes you either along the beaches or through the sand dunes that back this side of St Ives Bay. It can be tiring, but walking along the beach is never disappointing and almost immediately you are out of the town and back on to wild coast line.

The harsh nature of the following section makes it largely inaccessible and it is consequently absent of buildings and industry. There is only one harbour and one coastal settlement throughout this entire section and it is a windswept region with little shelter from the elements. The heights can be dizzying as the path runs right up to the edge of vertical cliffs, where gulls circle above tiny inaccessible beaches.

Despite the lack of visible mining remains on the coast (until Portreath), there is something of an industrial feel to the weather worn uplifted and twisted sediments exposed in the cliff faces. This rugged beauty is reflected in the heath leading off inland and the obvious remains of the working port at Portreath.

Start Point: Portreath
Finish Point: Perranporth

Distance: 12.5 miles
Time walking: 5 hours 30 minutes excluding breaks

Difficulty: Moderate. The hills become more frequent (one or two very steep ones) and there is loose gravel/rocks on the path but it remains mostly flat.

Highlights: Blue Hills tin streaming, Driftwood Spars own brewed beers at St Agnes, Wheal Coates tin mine.

Much of this section is spent walking along high cliffs and past knife like stacks that reach out from the wild blue seas. Again it is a rugged landscape that offers great views and a sense of isolation. For much of the walk however, this isolation is merely an illusion. The North Coast road runs parallel to the coast path and a decent size town is never far away. In a few parts however, you really will be out on your own, giving a great opportunity to soak up the solitude and haunting atmosphere.

The remains of Cornwall’s long closed mines can be seen regularly from Portreath to St Agnes, almost on a scale with those further West in the Pendeen/St Just district. The harsh beauty of Wheal Coates amid broken rocks and delicate coastal flora is certainly thought provoking. Further on, there is the opportunity to stop and see tin streaming in action at the Blue Hills, just after St Agnes.

Porthtowan, Chapel Porth and Trevaunance Cove all provide a little sandy relief from the high cliffs, but not from the North coast waves. Catch them on a good day and they will full of surfers braving the Atlantic swells.

Start Point: Perranporth
Finish Point: Newquay

Distance: 12.5 miles
Time walking: 4 hours 30 minutes excluding breaks

Difficulty: Moderate. Hills are again few but sand dunes at Perranporth and Holywell can be tiring.

Highlights: Holywell sand dunes, Porth Joke, Crantock, Penhale cliffs.

Threading the 12 miles between two of Cornwall’s busiest resorts, this is a walk that takes you through some unexpectedly wild landscapes with magnificent views back west along the coastline already covered, and past some of the North Coast's best beaches.

Leading at first through the windswept dunes that back the golden two-mile expanse of Perranporth Beach – named for Cornwall’s patron saint, St Piran – the path soon reaches the craggy black cliffs of Penhale Point.  Here there are sea-carved arches, a profusion of wildflowers, and a westward prospect of the wide Atlantic and the coastline all the way back to St Ives.

Beyond the sheltered shell sands of Holywell Bay, and the hidden cove at Porthjoke – a fine spot for a dip or a lunch stop – a last stretch of rugged cliffs and open grassland gives way to more golden sands at Crantock and the gentle final approach to Newquay along the tree-lined banks of the Gannel River.

Start Point: Newquay
Finish Point: Porthcothan

Distance: 10.5 miles
Time walking: 4 hours 30 minutes excluding breaks

Difficulty: Moderate to easy. There are climbs out of the coves at Watergate Bay and Mawgan Porth but these aren't too severe.

Highlights: Trevelgue Head Iron Age cliff castle, Watergate Bay, Bedruthan Steps and Porth Mear Cove.

It doesn’t take long to escape the Newquay crowds and get back to the high cliffs and striking headlands of the North coast. And once again the dramatic scenery is softened at regular intervals by long (and popular) beaches. With a blend of interesting geology, archaeology and stunning views, this is an easy walk that never becomes dull.

Only just out of Newquay town centre, Porth already takes you back to a quieter, more Cornish scene and the mighty  Trevelgue Head and Iron Age cliff castle really signals the end of this popular resort. It is then back to sheer cliffs and jagged stacks without a car or guesthouse in sight.

With two popular resorts (Watergate Bay and Mawgan Porth) en route, the beautiful Bedruthan Steps, dozens of small islands and thousands of sea birds, the miles seem to slip by with a great ending at the charming Porthcothan Bay.