St Ives to Porthcurno for standard walkers: 3 days

Distance: 31 miles

Av. daily distance: 10 miles

Difficulty: Moderate to difficult

Price: £290 for 3 days/ 4 nights*

This three day walking holiday covers a surprising distance and variety of landscapes as it rounds a good section of the Lands End Peninsula. Beginning in popular St Ives, the route soon passes along what is probably the most isolated section of the entire coast path. Between St Ives and Zennor there is little access and the going can be tough. The scenery however is spectacular with granite cliffs, jagged outcrops and narrow coves.

From Pendeen, the route continues through the former heartland of the Cornish mining industry, where industrial remains still haunt the cliff tops at every corner. The dramatic scenery continues along the majestic west coast cliffs and opens up into beautiful bays as you approach the south coast.

Day 1

Start: St Ives
Finish: Zennor

Distance: 7 miles
Time walking: 4 hours excluding breaks

Difficulty: Quite difficult. The distance is short but there are several steep hills and rocky sections.

Highlights: The Barbara Hepworth museum in St Ives, Porthmeor beach (and cafe), the view from Clodgy Point, Zennor Head and the mermaid chair in Zennor Church.

St Ives is a busy town of cobbled streets lined with art galleries, where summer time crowds converge on the harbour and shop keepers enjoy a swift trade. Zennor is a tiny village, with one pub, a hostel and little else. In between the two lies an empty stretch of coast, rocky, rugged and beautiful.

Here, following the edge of the Penwith moors, it is granite that dominates. There are inland hills crowned with strange granite formations, cliff tops where no soil or plant can cling on to the granite head and rocks and boulders litter the path for much of it length. It is a superb and remote region, distant and beautiful in its wildness.

Day 2

Start Point: Zennor
Finish Point: St Just/Cape Cornwall

Distance: 11.5 miles
Time walking: 5 hours excluding breaks

Difficulty: Moderate to difficult. Although there are few serious hills, the path is often narrow and up to Morvah, is littered with rocks, making the going much slower.

Highlights: Bosigran cliffs, Portherras Beach, Pendeen Watch lighthouse, Geevor tin mine at Pendeen (underground tour of the mine workings), the Corwns Mines at Botallack.

The coast path remains sandwiched between high cliffs and rocky moors as it passes ancient farms and field systems that date back to the Iron Age. This is a truly Celtic land that fires the imagination with its hard beauty.

Just ahead however lies a different scene, one equally as important as the ancient Celts in Cornwall’s history; tin mines. Abandoned workings perch on high cliffs while clear waters wash down below. The remains at Geevor, Levant and Botallack are impressive; a sudden tale of humanity after miles of empty coast path. This really is a beautiful section of the coast, and a favourite with artists from across the globe.

The days walking ends at Cape Cornwall where the Atlantic currents split; north towards the Irish Sea and south towards the English Channel. Walk out to the Cape for great views down the West coast, or even better, enjoy one the UK’s finest sunset from the solitude of the summit.

Day 3

Start Point: St Just/Cape Cornwall
Finish Point: Porthcurno

Distance: 11.5 miles
Time walking: 5 hours 30 minutes excluding breaks

Difficulty: Moderate with a little bit of scrambling required in one or two places.

Highlights: The raised beach and 'dinosaur egg' rocks at the Cot Valley, surfing at Sennen Cove, the sea arches around Lands End, the view from across to Treen headland and the Minack Theatre. To watch a performance on a summer’s night at the open air Minack Theatre is a magical experience.

Beginning on the West coast, the walk heads round Lands End and on to the spectacular southwest coastline. High empty cliff tops with only a sparse covering of low grass and hardy gorse give way to open bays and sheltered valleys on the south coast; green and luxuriant in an otherwise rugged landscape.

The waters are the clearest you will find in Cornwall and the few beaches en route are just as spectacular. Porthcurno and Porthchapel are real gems and worth stopping off in. It is a common part of the coast to observe seals and basking sharks (summer time only) so keep your eyes open.

Well known spots such as the outdoor Minack Theatre and Lands End are surpassed by the natural beauty and it is with confidence that we say this one of the best 3 day walking holidays in Cornwall available.

*Price per person based on two people sharing a room. A supplement may apply for those who require a room for one person only.

*Price includes: bed and breakfast, baggage transfers, information packs, advice and support, inital and ultimate transfers.

If you want a St Ives walking holiday, or a 3 day walking holiday in Cornwall,this is perfect. But if you want to make it even better, add on a day to explore the inland moors and ancient monuments.

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