Independent Trails: Fact File.FWC2
Total distance:
40 miles (64km)
Duration: 5 nights, 4 days walking (hiking)
Minimum/maximum daily distances: 7 miles (13km)/11 miles (17.5km)
Average daily distances: 910miles (16km)
Waymarking: The route is very clearly waymarked with South
West Coast Path National Trail acorn waymarks and is very easy to follow
Season: All year
Starting point of holiday: St Ives
End of holiday: Penzance
Code: FWC2
Itinerary
Day 1: Travel
to St Ives, where your first nights accommodation has been booked.
St Ives is a captivating little town with steep, winding streets lined with
fishermen's and miner's cottages, narrow cobbled alleyways, hidden corners and
a picturesque harbour.
Artists have been drawn to St Ives since Turner visited in 1511. By the beginning
of the 20th Century it had a vibrant artist's colony. St Ives Tate Gallery is
the showcase for this famous School of Art. The Barbara Hepworth Museum is also
worth a visit. One of the 20th Centuries greatest sculptors, Hepworth lived
in the building until her death in 1975. Her sculptures are beautifully displayed
in the house and garden. The St Ives museum of local history is also fascinating.
Day 2: St
Ives to Zennor. 7 miles (11km)
From the harbour the path winds around St Ives Head past a little chapel dedicated
to St Nicholas, Patron Saint of Seafarers. Beside the chapel is the Huer's Hut
where the look-out would watch for pilchards and then cry 'Hevva' to the waiting
fishermen when he saw a shoal. Headland follows cove as the path weaves it's
way above the sea to the picturesque little village of Zennor, where D H Lawrence
wrote 'Woman in Love'. The church contains an interesting old bench end with
a finely carved mermaid clutching a comb and mirror. Legend relates that the
mermaid lured the local squire's son to his death in the sea at Pendour Cove.
Opposite the church is the Tinner's Arms, so old that its origins are unknown.
Nearby is the Wayside Museum, dedicated to Cornish life from Prehistoric times.
Above the village, the rolling moorland is littered with quoits, standing stones,
stone circles and other mysterious ancient remains.
Day 3:
Zennor to St Just. 11 miles (17.5km)
The path continues around some beautiful little coves to Gunnard's Head, topped
by an Iron Age fort containing the remains of round houses, to the Geevor Tin
Mine Heritage Centre which has an interesting museum and offers tours of the
mine. At Pendeen Watch the lighthouse can be visited in the afternoon. From
Pendeen Watch the path follows the cliff top past a series of evocative ruins
of the lead and tin mines and passes through the grounds of Levant Mine with
its beautifully restored beam engine and engine house. Soon after the path passes
the Crowns Mine at Botallack perched on the rocks above the sea and then continues
to Cape Cornwall, where the path heads inland to St Just-in-Penwith. Once a
bustling tin-mining town, St Just is a sleepy backwater with rows of neat miners
cottages, and a sturdy little church. Near the clocktower is a grassy arena
or plen-an-gwery where medieval mystery plays were staged.
Day 4:
St Just to Porthcurno. 12 miles (19km)
The path continues from the village of St Just, to the golden sands of Whitesand
Bay and the attractive little fishing port of Sennan Cove. Soon after Sennan
Cove the path arrives at Land's End, the extreme western tip of England, which
provides spectacular views of the Irish Lady, Armed Knight, Doctor Syntax's
Head and the rest of the Land's End islets, beyond which you can spot the Long
Ships lighthouse, Wolf Rock lighthouse and sometimes the Isles of Scilly. From
here exhilarating walking past the hamlets of Porthgwarra and St Leven ends
at the spectacularly located open-air Minack Theatre perched on the edge of
the cliffs overlooking Porthcurno Bay. From the theatre steep steps lead down
to the beach and the village. Porthcurno Bay is one of the most beautiful coves
in Cornwall - golden sands backed by rugged cliffs face a wonderful bay where
the sea varies in colour from deep purple to jade green and Mediterranean blue.
Day 5 :
Porthcurno to Penzance. 11 miles (17.5km)
From Porthcurno the cliff top path goes to the Logan Rock, an 80 ton rockable
boulder. In 1824 a Lieutenant Goldsmith pushed the boulder of its perch causing
considerable local outrage and was ordered by the Admiralty to replace it at
a considerable cost in money and beer! From Logan Rock the walk continues past
several inviting coves to the attractive village of Lamorna with its delightful
cluster of cottages hugging the harbour and a well-known pub, the 'Lamorna Wink'
originally an illegal beer house. The nickname arose from the time when, for
£20 anyone could open an alehouse. Spirits were banned but a wink could
produce a smuggled brandy. After rounding Penzer Point, which provides breathtaking
views over Mount's Bay, the path arrives at the delightful old fishing village
of Mousehole, which takes its rather curious name from the narrow gap between
its harbour walls. From here the path continues through Newlyn to the old port
of Penzance. Newlyn was the centre of a community of artists in the late 19th
Century; their work can be inspected in the Newlyn Museum and Art Gallery. The
Pilchard Works, the last vestige of the Cornish pilchard fishery is also worth
a visit, in the works you can sample traditional cured pilchard and learn how
the pilchard gave 'meat, money and light, all in one night'. Penzance is an
attractive small town that is worth exploring. Places of interest include the
Market House, the extraordinary Egyptian House, the Maritime Museum and the
National Lighthouse Centre.
Day 6: Depart from Penzance after breakfast.
Extra nights/Rest days
An extra night gives you a chance to explore some of the villages on the path, catch up with writing postcards or just relax. The delightful town of St Ives with its narrow streets and alleyways that invite exploration, its fascinating museums and galleries and its beautiful beaches is a good choice for an extra night. If you wish to visit some of the prehistoric remains on the moors inland or walk to the fascinating Iron Age village of Chysauster, Zennor is an ideal base. An extra night in Porthcurno would enable you to see a play at the spectacular open-air Minack Theatre. Penzance with its interesting museum, fine old buildings and art galleries is another good choice for a rest day.
What's included
Travel Information
Detailed instructions on
how to get to the start of the holiday and back from the end of it are sent
to you on booking. A summary is given below.
Most convenient International airport: London
Outward journey from London to St Ives: St Ives is easily
accessible by train from London Paddington via Exeter (6 hours)
Return journey to London at the end of the holiday: There is
a fast and frequent rail service from Penzance to London Paddington (5 ½
hours)
Travelling by car: Penzance is only 8 miles from St Ives. Your can return to
your car in St Ives by train, bus or taxi.