Port Gaverne to Padstow: South West Coast Path Day 15 Guide

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With only a few other people in the campsite, hardly any wind, and no roads nearby, we’d had an unusually restful night’s sleep. The lack of breeze did make for a lot of dew on the tent, but you can’t have everything. Laying it out in the sun while we procrastinated getting started helped dry it out a bit anyway.

This was yet another morning that was better than forecast, where “sunny intervals” apparently meant “clear blue skies and bright sunshine all day”. Locals I’d spoken to about the weather (I mean, this is the UK, it’s a national pastime) had told me that forecasts on the Cornish coast were always pessimistic, and so far that was very much proving to be true.

Heading back to rejoin the path, we waved to a guy walking his dog who was the only person on the beach, and headed up and over the hill to Port Isaac. Famous as the setting for ITV’s “Doc Martin” TV show, this pretty fishing village is very popular with tour groups and other visitors. We’d visited once before, several years ago, and the place was absolutely heaving even then.

We were there before 9:00a.m., however, and got to enjoy what I suspect was a rare moment of peace on this August bank holiday weekend. Most of the cafes and all of the shops were still closed, which made for empty streets and a quiet harbourside.

Grabbing a good coffee from Cleaves Cafe and a less-good sandwich from Nicky B’s, we sat down beside the harbour to enjoy our breakfast in the morning sun. I could see the appeal of Port Isaac far more at this time of day before the crowds rolled in: it really is a beautiful spot, both from down at sea level and up on either side of the village.

Past Doc Martin’s supposed house we climbed, the path getting steeper and the views back over the harbour more impressive as we went. The paved road gave way to a walking trail shortly afterward, but it certainly didn’t get any flatter, dropping sharply down to a river at Pine Haven and even more steeply up the other side.

If you look up “undulating” in the dictionary, I suspect there’ll just be a photo of the next three miles of trail to Port Quin. The views were as spectacular as any on this part of the North Cornwall coast, and we had plenty of opportunity to admire them every time we stopped for a break at the top of yet another rise.

Two hours after leaving Port Isaac, we were more than ready for a drink and a snack as we approached the narrow inlet that marked the harbour at Port Quin. This used to be a busy port back in the 1800s, but the decline of fishing stocks soon led to the decline of the village, and hardly anybody lives there now.

We weren’t at all sure that there’d be anywhere to get food, but a quick poke around the village (it didn’t take long) unearthed a caravan behind the carpark with a sign saying it opened at 11:00a.m. Did I want to wait another 20 minutes for refreshments? Not really. Were my feet sad about the enforced rest? Absolutely not.

A couple of cans of drink and slices of cake later, we wandered past a bunch of people preparing for a kayaking trip and up the road out of town. Passing the optimistically-named Doyden Castle on the headland, the path climbed steadily past open fields along the cliff edge until we got to the start of Lundy Bay, the most scenic part of what had already been a day full of stunning landscapes.

The only-slightly-sketchy dirt path dropped quickly down to the beach at Epphaven Cove, where a small crowd of people were making the most of the weather. If only every August bank holiday weekend could be like this!

Dropping my bag on the rocks and running into the ocean seemed very appealing, but the idea of walking with sand in my socks and salt in my underwear for the next ten miles was less exciting, so onwards we trekked.

This whole section above the bay was a real treat, with perfectly clear water and pretty little sections of woodland as we made our way out towards the Rumps and the spectacular views from Pentire Point.

As we rounded the headland we got our first view of the expansive beach at Polzeath, a popular holiday spot all through summer but especially this weekend. Even from this distance we could see plenty of people on the beach and in the water.

It took about half an hour to make the easy descent down to the edge of New Polzeath, and longer to get into Polzeath itself: we were more than ready for lunch, and the walk along the length of the beach felt like a slog by this point.

All of the cafes and pubs looked extremely busy, and we were starting to see a pair of meal deals in our future when we glanced towards TJ’s, a cafe and bar up a rickety set of stairs on the main street.

Apparently those dozen steps had put enough other people off that there were a couple of spare tables, so we gratefully grabbed one, ordered hot food and cold drinks, and enjoyed not having to move for a while.

Given we were in a tourist town on a bank holiday, I didn’t really expect much from TJs beyond replenishing a few calories, but the staff were friendly, our meals were tasty, and the view over the beach was a delight. I’d happily walk 11 miles to have lunch there again.

We’d already considered staying in Polzeath that night, and after an hour of sitting down, were pretty tempted to just call it a day and see if we could get a pitch at one of the nearby campsites. In the end, though, we figured we had enough left in the tank to get to Padstow, so we grabbed our packs and bid farewell to the shanty town of windbreaks on the beach as we headed south.

Following the bank of the wide River Camel estuary, we enjoyed what turned out to be a fairly easy stroll along low cliffs to Trebetherick Point, around Daymer Bay and below Brea Hill. This was the flattest part of the day, and it came at the right time: it had been a hot afternoon, and we were both ready to stop by the time we got to the slipway on the edge of Rock.

Arriving just at the right time to walk straight onto the waiting ferry, we departed a couple of minutes. It took all of five minutes before we’d crossed the estuary and were deposited on the pier in Padstow.

The old harbour area was extremely busy; pushing our way through the crowds came as quite a shock after two weeks of mostly quiet, empty trails. We’d thought about grabbing an early dinner at one of the pubs but they were all far too full for that, so we just headed straight up the hill towards the campsite instead.

I was a bit surprised to discover that the campsite was nearly a mile from the harbour, and not surprised in the slightest to discover it was uphill the whole way. It was worth the climb, though: the expansive, grassy site had loads of empty space, and Jess was one of the friendliest campsite owners I met on the entire path.

“Where would you like to go?”

“Anywhere quiet would be great.”

“So as far as possible from kids, then?”

Jess knows where it’s at.

She found us a sheltered little spot under the trees and a short walk from the showers and toilets, asked if our power banks needed charging, confirmed that the only place within walking distance for dinner was the nearby Tesco, and left us to enjoy the evening sun.

The supermarket was an absolute madhouse: apparently every single person in the greater Padstow area had suddenly decided they were going to have a BBQ that night. Our dinner was a little more basic, consisting mostly of sandwiches, crisps, and jelly tots, but no less appreciated because of it.

Another fantastic day in the bag!

Planning

Started at:  Brooklands Farm (0.3 miles/0.5km off-trail)

Finished at: Padstow Campsite (0.9 miles/1.4km off-trail)

We really enjoyed our stay at this large family-run site: it had a friendly vibe and plenty of space to spread out. I’d called the day before to make sure they weren’t fully booked on this bank holiday weekend, but in the end it wouldn’t have mattered: there was more than enough room for a little tent like ours.

We paid £12.50 per person for our choice of spot, which ended up being on one side of the campsite, under some trees and as far as possible from the large family tents and caravans. It was the perfect location: quiet, close to the showers and toilets, and with some handy branches to hang our clothes up to dry.

Both the showers and the toilets were spotless: they’re apparently cleaned half a dozen times a day, and I have no trouble believing it. We really appreciated the offer to charge up our power banks as well: we’d often found that hard to do on this walk, especially being able to leave them plugged in for long enough to get a full charge.

The only place to get food and drink nearby is the Tesco, which is essentially next door: it’s huge, though, so you shouldn’t be short of options. If you’ve got more energy left than we did, you could also walk the mile or so back to the harbourside area of Padstow for dinner.

Transport and Parking

There are reasonable if not frequent public transport links between Port Isaac and Padstow via Polzeath, although you’ll need to change somewhere along the way. If you like the idea of a ferry ride, take the 96 bus from Port Isaac to the Clock Garage stop on the eastern side of Rock, then walk the mile or so down to the jetty to take the boat across to Padstow.

If you don’t care for the ferry or the walk to get to it, stay on the bus to Wadebridge and then change to the 57 or 57S to get to Padstow. It’ll take longer if you do it that way, but without the walking or potential sea sickness.

The ferry runs every day (details below), as do the route 57 buses, but the 96 doesn’t operate on Sundays or bank holidays.

Free parking is essentially non-existent in Port Isaac or Port Gaverne, so plan on paying for your stay if you’re leaving a car there. There are several carparks between Port Gaverne and the harbourside area in Port Isaac, but the ones further out of town on the B3267 are cheaper.

There’s likewise no free parking around the harbour in Padstow, but if you’re happy to walk further to/from the trail, you’ll likely find something in a residential street away from the action. Failing that, there are several paid parks closer to the harbour, although none of them are particularly cheap for longer stays.

There are also a couple of paid carparks in Rock, along with limited free on-street parking. Likewise you’ll find a few paid carparks in Polzeath and New Polzeath, and there’s also a small amount of free on-street parking back from the beach.

River Crossing

Today you get the pleasure of the first of many water crossings on the South West Coast Path, the ferry across the Camel estuary between Rock and Padstow.

The little boat runs continually from 08:00 a.m. each day, with the last one departing anywhere between 5:00 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. depending on the time of year. We paid £3 each by card as we boarded, and it took all of five minutes to get across to the other side.

Note that it operates from different piers at low tide (map): the affected times are posted on large boards nearby and on the website.

Waymarking and Navigation

This was a pretty easy section to navigate, with not too many places to go wrong. When there were multiple paths to choose from, the one closest to the water was usually the Coast Path. There were a few exceptions, though, especially around Doyden Point and The Rumps where other paths take you on a detour out onto the headlands.

I used AllTrails as my main navigation app for the entire South West Coast Path, and it worked well throughout. You can find the Port Isaac to Padstow route here: it’s 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

I had no service in Port Gaverne with O2, and not much in Port Isaac either. Things improved a bit up on the cliffs afterwards for a while, but got patchy again on the more isolated section to and after Port Quin. I had much better service once we could see Polzeath after rounding the headland at Pentire Point, and from there all the way to Rock and Padstow.

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 throughout my time on the Coast Path: whenever I needed data service but couldn’t get it on my usual SIM, I’d switch to the eSIM and choose a different network. EE was better than the rest in both Port Gaverne and Port Isaac.

Facilities

There’s nowhere to eat or drink in Port Gaverne except the (excellent) pub, which isn’t open for breakfast. Most of the places in Port Isaac also open relatively late, but you’ll be able to get a good coffee and a pastry at Cleave’s Cafe from 8:30 a.m. onward.

There’s nowhere to eat or drink after that until you get to Port Quin, which has a seasonal refreshment van in a small grass area behind the carpark. As we found, though, it doesn’t open until 11:00 a.m., so don’t feel the need to rush if you’re planning to get something there!

After that, you can take a short detour to a National Trust cafe at Pentireglaze (it’s signposted from the Coast Path) or wait for a bit over an hour until you get to New Polzeath. There are endless options all along the beach: we had a good meal at TJ’s.

There’s also a cafe and a couple of restaurants behind the ferry pier at Rock. Assuming you’re taking the ferry over to Padstow, you’ll have far more choices of places to eat there: some of them aren’t even owned by Rick Stein.

Port Isaac has a Co-op supermarket and Polzeath has a Spar. Padstow also has a Spar close to the harbour area, as well as that large Tesco I mentioned beside the campsite.

Accommodation

If you’re planning to camp on this section, you’ve got a few options. Polzeath has several campsites in and around town: the closest one to the trail is Valley Caravan Park, with Southwinds and Robbie Love’s Campsite a little further away.

In Padstow, as well as Padstow Campsite that we stayed at and really liked, there’s also Denis Cove Campsite just south of town. It’s slightly further from the trail, but with a much flatter route to get there.

Polzeath and Padstow all have lots of other accommodation available as well, although some of it is of the holiday cottage variety that requires more than a single night’s booking in summer. Start with Polzeath Beach House or Oystercatcher Apartments in Polzeath, and Tidal Heights or Harbour Hotel in Padstow.