Pendeen Watch to Land’s End: South West Coast Path Day 23 Guide

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The wind and rain had died off as I went to bed the night before, but came back in full force in the early hours. With no shelter from what were now pretty strong gusts, my tent was having a hard time of it: the poles were bending so much that they were hitting me in the head as I lay there!

They didn’t break, and I didn’t get wet, but unsurprisingly I didn’t get a lot of sleep.

The forecast for the next day wasn’t much better, and although I wasn’t putting a huge amount of faith in the Cornish weather predictions by this point, I took advantage of a short break between showers to leap out of bed, pack my stuff, and pull the tent down before the rain returned.

If the cows that were now milling around the campsite were surprised by my sudden appearance, they did a good job of hiding it.

The sun disappeared and the clouds returned as soon as I left the campsite, dumping rain on me for five minutes until the weather headed inland. That set the scene for much of the day: mostly sunny, with regular short downpours just to keep things interesting. I’m not sure I’ve ever taken my jacket on and off more frequently in my life.

Lost in my thoughts as I stomped through the puddles above Boscaswell Cliffs, my reverie was interrupted by a couple of trail runners approaching quickly from behind. The older of the two slowed to pick his way through the mud, mentioning that the two of them did this run every week, rain or shine. They’d had both already today, despite only starting out a few minutes earlier.

Even more than the rest of the West Cornwall coastline, the section between Pendeen Watch and Botallack is riddled with mining history: it feels like there’s a stone chimney or ruined engine house around every corner. The first of those, the Levant Mine and Beam Engine, showed up just a mile down the road.

There before opening time, and with the weather still unable to make its mind up, it’s no surprise I had the place to myself as I briefly wandered around the site. I’d like to come back to check it out in more detail one day, as the back story seemed particularly interesting.

For now, though, there was a more pressing requirement: breakfast. With nowhere on the trail to eat this morning, I spontaneously decided to follow the signposted route half a mile inland to the Geevor Tin Mine Museum. This former mine has been converted into an impressive visitor attraction: most importantly for me, there was a cafe there as well.

Greeted with a warm welcome and a hot coffee, I really liked the Count House Cafe, and not just because it gave me a chance to get out of the wind for a bit. The Full English was filling and tasty, the staff were friendly, and the price was reasonable. I couldn’t have asked for more.

After slipping and sliding back down the footpath to rejoin the main trail, it didn’t take long until I got to the Botallack mines. There are plenty of old stone buildings stretched along the top of the cliff here as well, but the most interesting part for me was the Crown Mine engine houses. These two stone buildings are balanced precariously on the rocks towards the base of the cliffs: they look for all the world like they’ll one day just topple into the ocean, but so far, so good.

Shortly afterward I got my first view of Cape Cornwall, a scenic headland dominated by a small hill with a stone chimney on the top. It looked deceptively close, despite still being a couple of miles away: I was just glad to be able to see it, since that meant it wasn’t (currently) raining.

Other than the showers, I’d been thinking about how the walking today had been relatively easy so far, with fewer rocky trails and less up and down than yesterday’s slog from St Ives. That, of course, was the cue for the trail to plunge down off the cliffs as it turned inland into the Kenidjack Valley.

This was a lovely little section, the lush green woodland and fern-covered valley floor a stark contrast to the rugged clifftops I’d just left. Crossing the river at the bottom and starting up the other side, I had just enough time to think that it was suddenly getting quite dark before the heavens opened again. Of course, I’d just left the shelter of the trees two minutes earlier.

Dripping my way back up onto the cliffs, the weather gods rewarded my perseverance with a perfect rainbow framed over top of a nearby cottage. Was it worth getting soaked for? Well, maybe.

Descending steeply again down onto the start of the Cape Cornwall headland, I was weighing up whether to stop for a drink at the little cafe when the rain started up again. That made the decision easier, so I spent the next few minutes sipping my coffee while pressed firmly up against the side of the building. Glamorous, no. Noticeably drier, definitely.

Note that if you also decide to stop for refreshments here, don’t do what I did and continue on down the road afterwards. The path actually heads over the stone wall and into the field at a stile just before the cafe: I was glad I had a map on my phone, else I could easily have missed the circuit of the headland entirely. That would have been a real shame.

After crossing the field and passing the ruins of an old stone chapel, I took the short but steep path up to the stone chimney at the top of the hill, at which point I was attacked by a flying hat.

As it turned out, the hat belonged to an older guy standing on the other side of the chimney, who’d just had his headwear blown clean off by one of the wind gusts that had suddenly got a whole lot stronger. I returned his hat to him, took a few photos of the view while trying not to be blown down the hill myself, and hightailed it down the other side towards the coastwatch building.

After an unexpectedly-steep climb up the road out of Cape Cornwall and a by-now-totally-expected steep drop down a lane into the pretty Cot Valley shortly afterward, I crossed a small footbridge and passed the remains of another old mine building before heading back up the other side.

This was one of the most remote and wild sections of the day, with large rocks along the trail and tumbled down into the ocean, and large waves smashing into the cliffs below. I’d seen a few people out exploring the Cape Cornwall headland, but after that, there was absolutely nobody else around. It felt like I was at the end of the world, and with Land’s End barely five miles away, I guess in some ways it was.

After another drop and climb to cross a stream near Nanquidno, I had a great view from up on the cliffs across Whitesand Bay towards Sennen Cove, a decent-sized village in the distance. I was glad to see it given my lack of both second breakfast and lunch today, even if it would take another hour to get there.

There hadn’t been much in the way of golden Cornish sand today, but Gwynver Beach fixed that minor problem: even with the wind, there were several people out for a bracing stroll in the sunshine. The path meandered through the dunes at the back of the beach all the way into Senna Cove, where I gratefully fell into a chair in the beer garden at the Old Success Inn.

A pint of cider and a ham roll later, I was in a much better position to tackle the last part of the day, starting with a walk through the rest of Senna Cove and up a stone path to a lookout point. Land’s End was clearly visible from here, along with the lighthouse just offshore. Having seen hardly anybody else all day, I was suddenly joined by dozens of other people on my clifftop walk.

There are a few parallel paths that run from the lookout to Land’s End: I stuck to the official route, but it really doesn’t matter if you end up on a different one. Believe me, it’s not like you’re going to get lost.

I’d been to Land’s End once before, several years ago, and remembered it as a bit of a tourist trap. That memory turned out to be correct, with hundreds of people milling around eating ice-creams, buying souvenirs, and trying to find somewhere out of the wind.

I didn’t feel the need for either ice-creams or souvenirs right now, so after taking a photo of the famous sign (and learning that Steve ❤️ Julie), I bade farewell to the most westerly point on the English mainland and started up the road towards my campsite for the night.

At almost a mile inland, Land’s End Camping was a bit further away than I might have hoped, but it was worth the walk. After calling the owner as directed by the sign at the gate, he wandered up, showed me to the most sheltered spot on the site behind a large barn, gave me tokens for the shower (clearly I needed one), and wished me well on my walk.

Dinner that night was a short walk up the road at the First and Last Inn, a cozy 17th-century stone pub that served up a remarkably good vegan burger. Entertainment was provided by the guy at the next table who ordered burgers for both himself and his dog. The dog finished his first, but not by much. I can only assume he didn’t go for the plant-based version.

Once men and beast had all finished their meals, I strolled back to the campsite for an early night. Tomorrow, I’d have officially turned the corner: after 3½ weeks of walking southwest, the rest of my journey would see me heading east. It felt like a milestone, and it was, but my celebrations were short-lived: I wasn’t even at the halfway point yet. There was still a very long way to go.

Planning

Started at: Old Coastguard’s Campsite, Pendeen Watch (on-trail)

Finished at: Land’s End Camping and Glamping (0.9 miles/1.5km off-trail)

After my pretty miserable experience the night before, Land’s End Camping was such a welcome surprise. Other than having to walk a bit further than wanted to get there from the trail, everything about it was exactly what I hope for in a family-run campsite.

The guy who met me was friendly and personable, and without even having a conversation about it, he showed me to the most sheltered spot on the site. It was a flat stretch of ground behind a large barn, close to the toilets and showers, and cost me £13 for the night.

Even though one edge of the campsite runs along the A30, my tent was nowhere near it, and I couldn’t hear any traffic noise at all.

The shower block felt almost brand-new and was super clean, and although the showers required tokens, I was handed a couple of them without needing to pay extra. Whether that was generosity or a hint about how bad I smelled, I couldn’t possibly say.

I was very glad to find a little room on the side of the shower block with a microwave, kettle, and outlets so I could plug in my phone and power bank. It had been more of a challenge than expected to find somewhere to charge my gear at campsites along the path, but not here!

If you aren’t camping or just fancy an upgrade, the “glamping” part of the name refers to a few self-contained wooden pods that looked absolutely lovely: they even had their own little roof terraces to enjoy the sunset! I spent quite some time jealously admiring them from beside my tent.

The closest place for dinner was the pub I went to, the excellent First and Last Inn just down the road in Sennen village. There’s also a fish and chip shop a bit further along, and the easiest way to get to either of them is to exit the campsite through a gate at the back directly onto the A30. It’s much quicker than going back the way you (probably) came in.

My biggest disappointment was having to leave the next morning before the coffee kiosk opened: a local roastery operates (seasonally) out of a shipping container at the campsite, and I really wanted to try them out!

Transport and Parking

This part of the Cornish coast isn’t well-served by public transport, and today’s section is no exception.

The only real option involves two buses, and even then it doesn’t necessarily start or end where you might want it to. The number 17 bus runs from Lower Boscaswell, about a mile from the Pendeen Watch lighthouse, through to St Just. From there, you’ll need to pick up the number 7 bus to Sennen Cove and then walk along the Coast Path to Land’s End.

To make matters worse, while the 17 runs daily and regularly, the 7 does not. As I write this, it only operates three services a day, Monday through Friday, with the last bus departing Sennen Cove at 2:40pm.

There’s also a stop for the 17 bus on the road outside the Geevor Tin Mine Museum, so you could start or end your day there instead, walking along the signposted track for half a mile to join the Coast Path.

Speaking of the Tin Mine Museum, it could also be a good place to leave your car if you were planning to spend time there anyway. Parking is free there all day for visitors: entry tickets for the museum are £22 per adult.

For more traditional choices, you’ve got the free parking lot beside the lighthouse at Pendeen Watch, another free lot in Pendeen village, and National Trust carparks at both Botallack and Cape Cornwall.

There’s also an inexpensive private carpark just back from Gwyvner Beach, three carparks in Sennen Cove that get pretty busy in summer, and a large carpark at Land’s End that costs £7.50 for anywhere between 20 minutes and the entire day.

Waymarking and Navigation

Although waymarking was mostly pretty good and I didn’t find it hard to navigate this section, there was the odd exception.

Like I said earlier, I very nearly missed the loop around the headland at Cape Cornwall. The marker showing that I needed to cross the stile into the field was less than obvious, and because there’s another sign pointing off down the coast from where the loop finishes shortly afterward, I wouldn’t had known I’d missed a chunk of the trail until much later.

Other than that, I generally found the path pretty easy to follow, especially on the single-track sections along the cliffs. There are many different paths around the old mine sites, and between Sennan Cove and Land’s End: the official Coast Path is waymarked, but you’ll end up in the right place regardless of which one you take.

I used AllTrails as my main navigation app for the entire South West Coast Path, and it worked well throughout. The Pendeen Watch to Sennen Cove section is covered here, while the last mile and half from Sennen Cove to Land’s End is here. The app is free to use, although I pay a couple of pounds a month for a subscription so I can download maps to my phone in advance.

Phone Service

Phone service was relatively poor for the first half of the day along the coast, although it improved when I went inland to the Tin Mine museum for breakfast. Once I got within eyeshot of Sennen Cove, and from there to Land’s End, it was noticeably better.

As a backup, I’d also paid a few pounds for a data eSIM from Instabridge that let me swap between all three UK networks, EE, O2, and Vodafone/Three. It worked really well as a fallback option all along the Coast Path: if I didn’t have service with my usual provider (O2), I’d just switch to another. As long as there were any mobile phone towers in range, I’d have service.

Facilities

Due to the lack of on-trail food and drink options for most of the day, I ducked inland for breakfast at the Count House Cafe at the Geevor Tin Mine Museum, and was glad I did. I’d recommend doing the same if you’re in need of sustenance: it’s well worth the half-mile walk each way.

After that, your next on-trail option is the seasonal Little Wonder cafe in the carpark at Cape Cornwall. It’s good for drinks, ice creams, and snacks, but hot food options are limited to things like pasties and sausage rolls. You could also veer inland to Botallack a little way beforehand: the Queen’s Arms pub is about half a mile off the trail.

There’s nothing near the trail after that until you get to Sennen Cove, where there are cafes and restaurants stretched along the main road, as well as the Old Success Inn where I enjoyed my bread roll and pint in the sun.

Finally, there are some pretty expensive and underwhelming food options at Land’s End if you’re desperate, as well as the pub and fish and chip shop in Sennen village if you’re staying at the same campsite I did.

Accommodation

If you’re camping, you’ve got a few options today, although none of them are directly on the path. In Botallack, the closest one to the trail is Treveylor Campsite: there are a couple of simpler pop-up farm sites nearby as well.

Head further inland at Cot Valley to find Kelynack Caravan and Camping Holidays: it’s a bit under a mile off-trail, in a secluded little spot beside a stream. The camp shop is open for a couple of hours a day, otherwise you’ll need your own food.

There’s a campsite inland from Gwyvner Beach, Sennen Cove Camping and Caravanning, which accepts walk-ins. After that, you’ll be staying where I did at Land’s End Camping.

If you’d prefer to stay in something with walls, Land’s End Camping has that as well, in the form of glamping pods and a converted wagon. There are also private rooms at the Land’s End Hostel next door, and you may be able to get a basic cabin for the night at the Seaview Holiday Park just up the road.

Finally, the Old Success Inn in Sennen Cove has several rooms available, and they looked pretty good from where I was sitting in the beer garden.