Padstow to Porthcothan

August 13, 2025 - From the itinerary: Difficulty rating - EASY!! This section of Coast Path offers a day of easy walking along low cliffs, with beautiful, tempting beaches below. The path leaves the attractive town of Padstow behind, passing the sheltered beach of Hawker’s Cove, before leading you out to the Atlantic Coast. The path can become narrow in places and is quite rocky around Constantine Bay.

Walking round Trevose Head, one of Cornwall’s most prominent headlands, provides spectacular views of the sandy bays ahead and if you can resist the beaches on your journey you will have more time to enjoy the sheltered dune-backed beach of Porthcothan at the end of your walk.

Distance: 13.88 miles. Weather: Overcast, breezy and low 70s. A few spits of rain

Highlights:

• Gun Point: featuring on maps dating from 1801, here you will find the remains of fortifications thought to date back to the time of the Spanish Armada.

• Orchids and reed buntings in the marshes of Harbour Cove.

• Views from Stepper Point with its navigation station. Much of this area is farmed under the Countryside Stewardship scheme, which means that the land is farmed in an environmentally sensitive way, banishing chemical fertilisers and encouraging wildlife and flowers. There was also a folly here

• Nesting birds on limestone layers of Marble Cliffs, Porthmissen. Nope - didn't see it

• Round Hole near Trevone: a collapsed sea cave. Nope - didn't see it

• Harlyn: an Iron Age cemetery was discovered buried beneath the Harlyn Inn. It contained over 100 coffins with human remains and bronze and iron ornaments. These are now in the museum in Truro. Keep a look out for seals around Harlyn Bay.

I didn't see any of these things because I was distracted by more beach walking

• The Old Fish Cellars above Harlyn Bay which were once used for processing pilchards. Carved into the lintel are the ironic words “Lucri Dulcis Odor” or “Profit Smells Sweet”. No doubt the smells were far from sweet when the building was a working fish cellar and the profit itself far from sweet due to the 16th-century Curse of Mother Ivey! 

Nope - didn't see these either, but there were nice views and more beaches

• Padstow's Lifeboat Station in Mother Ivey’s Bay, open to visitors Mon-Fri 10.00-16.00 (including weekends during the summer).

• Trevose Head Lighthouse opened in 1847 and is available for holiday hire. Yes! the photo is in the video section, below.

• Enjoying the wonderful names, such as Big Guns Cove, Cat’s Cove and Stinking Cove.

I didn't see these, but did see Booby's Bay

• Watching the surfers and having a picnic at Constantine Bay: a beautiful beach of golden sands backed by dunes. Yes, I saw this beach, but just more sand.

• The marine life of Treyarnon Bay is exposed at low tide. I did see people looking through the tidal pools....sand and salt don't go well with leather boots, so, nope, I didn't go down.

• Resting on the beach in Porthcothan Bay. Nope - I caught the bus here

Breakfast was a nice early 7:30. Said goodbye to Ellie/Jan as they will stay 2 nights at the Olde Custom House. I saw them later by the folly

I saw the outside of the Doom Bar....and another view of the ferry. At least on this side of the Estuary there is a sign showing where to board the ferry at the different tide

Met Martin who is planning retirement from the radio broadcasting industry. He has a daught in her mid-20s who is still having fun instead of finding a job....He is mostly camping and has little cartilage in his knees. We both had problems going over the stiles, but for different reasons - mine is my legs are too short to easily get them over the top of the stile. Here's a photo of his back on the way up to a cross and a view of the Camel Estuary

The folly was by the navigation station and there Martin and I fell into step until Harlyn Bay where I was able to escape.

I stopped for a break and noticed a new trend (for me) along The Path - pet remembrances

When you hear tell of British holiday homes, these are a typical example - what Americans would call a trailer park right along beautiful coastline - so ugly

Am at the Esplanade hotel in Newquay for 2 nights, so had to take the 56 bus from Porthcothan to Newquay - about 11 miles that took an hour. The bus was scheduled for 3.12pm and I was waiting there with a Polish family with 2 kids. It never came. They decided to go somewhere to keep their kids entertained as the next bus wasn't scheduled until 4:22. You guessed it, the bus was running 45 minutes late. This is a shot of Porthcothan where I caught the bus

Newquay is an ugly beach town. The Esplanade is a bit sad and, unfortunately, child friendly. It was about another 15 minute walk from the bus, but at least it was downhill

Dinner was amazingly expensive - paid £30+ for 3 appetizers and a bottle of water. The tomato salad had about 1.5 tomatoes. Winter squash soup was good. Crayfish roll was mediocre. Children were running wild throughout the hotel and restaurant. I can't do anything about the children, but I can eat somewhere else tomorrow.

I could see the lighthouse shining in the evening

Here are some video memories of this section of The Path