Porthcothen to NewQuay

August 14, 2025 - From the Itinerary - Difficulty rating: Moderate.

This stretch of coast, with its vicious rocks and wild seas, was once particularly hazardous for ships and responsible for many wrecks before the lighthouse was built at Trevose Head. The Coast Path leads you in and out of little coves and headlands with generally fairly easy walking, with some steep steps to climb in places.

Some of this stretch is quite populated, especially as you approach the busy holiday resort of Newquay, however you can also feel a sense of escape when looking out to sea from one of the many headlands, such as the windswept Park Head which also offers fantastic views of the famous Bedruthan Steps. Local legend, fed to the Victorian tourists who loved this area, told of the Cornish giant Bedruthan who used the stacks as stepping-stones to cross the bay. If you feel like a picnic break and the tide is out, you may be tempted to take the long flight of steps down (unlikely) to explore the stacks as well as the many pools and caves on the beach.

Distance: 12.79, Weather 70s, overcast with periods of sun, breezy

Highlights:

• Looking out to Trescore Islands and maybe seeing bottlenose dolphins.

I didn't see any dolphins, but the area was beautiful and blue

• Walking out to enjoy the fantastic views from Park Head: a prominent windswept greenstone headland which is the site of an Iron Age cliff castle. You may see oystercatchers from here.

I didn't see the castle or birds

• The Bedruthan Steps, owned by the National Trust, are pillars of rock which rise from the sands of Bedruthan Beach. This was a popular holiday location during the Victorian period. One of the stacks is named The Samaritan after the cargo ship of the same name which was wrecked here in 1846, providing the locals with barrels of food and silks.

yes, this was quite an interesting area. Unfortunately, the steps down to the beach were closed due to cliff erosion - darn it....

• Griffin’s Point Iron Age cliff castle.

Nope - didn't see this either

• The 3 miles of sand at Watergate Bay, backed by huge cliffs alive with bird life.

I didn't see either this, or the next one - I must have been hiking with my eyes closed

• The hillfort on Trevelgue Head with Iron Age earthworks still visible despite heavy erosion.

• Barrowfields: this stretch was clearly important to our ancient ancestors as many barrows or tumuli have been identified here.

Yes! I saw the Tumuli

• Enjoying refreshments at the end of your day and maybe watching the famous surfers of Fistral Beach. Fistral Beach is a big surfing area where they even have competitions.

I forgot to show you my view from the room and where the hotel is situated along the Fistral Beach area

I saw this tide chart in the elevator, which looked alot like a sine wave...

Breakfast was yogurt, poached eggs, toast and a sausage. The food was pretty good.

Decided to walk from Newquay back to Porthcothen and take the bus back to Newquay since I already understoond the nuances of that mode of public transport (meaning it does NOT run to the timetable). All of the above were reversed for me and I saw some things that aren't on the schedule until tomorrow, like the Huer's Hut. The tiny white Huer’s hut overlooking Newquay Bay. The Huer was a lookout who had the important job of alerting the fishermen when shoals of pilchards were spotted in the bay. He would also direct the boats via sign language as he saw the schools of fish move.

There was some rain in the night....but the rest of the day was lovely

I walked out through Newquay which is an ugly city, the biggest in this area (in Cornwall?) until I got to The Headland area, when things started to open up

I passed by The Headland Hotel which was a big Edwardian or Victorian type of architecture - it looked quite grand and seemed to have a lovely view. This is a scultpure that was near the entrance. Out at the tip of The Headland was a folly - I didn't bother to go out to see it.

The Fistral Cross reminded me of The Camino de Santiago, as did some interesting trail markers (see below)

The Newquay Harbour

I liked some of the area names, like the Lusty Glaze Beach and Whipsiderry, which, other than their names, had not much to recommend them.

There was a lot of cliff walking

and a bit of sand walking

and some imaginative Coastal Path markings

About half way I stopped for a snack and had one of the biggest scones I've ever seen.

One beach had quite a flock of seagulls - just sitting on the sand

Returning to the hotel was an interesting experience. I was waiting for the bus and the couple I saw several times along the trail - Maria and Matt Trafford from Wells - offered me a ride back to Newquay. Very kind of them. Unfortunately no photo, but we are invited to come to Wells (near Bath) and stay with them... He has summited Everest and they both do a lot of hiking. She is Scottish and teaches English (I know someone will have an editorial comment about this). He is a writer, but somehow does things with different universities as he was in Riyadh not too long ago.

I also saw the 2 German girls - first seen yesterday around the big folly - and Ellie and Jan. Everyone was walking opposite of the way I was, so was funny. They thought I was lost. I didn't see Martin - he might have taken a big shortcut - seems he likes to do that sometimes....

I ate at the Fistral Hotel - the sister hotel to where I am staying. I decided to go there because they don't cater to children and my hotel does. Last night there were children running all over the restaurant. The food was quite good, but the service wasn't.

The local tomato salad and wyago burger were very tasty, but expensive