Sennen Cove to Land's End Walk | The South West Coast Path

Lands End - The South West Coast Path
The South West Coast Path is a National Trail and England's longest waymarked footpath. Around 630 miles long it follows the coastline running from Minehead in Somerset all the way to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Some of the key spots on the route are:

North Devon & Somerset: Minehead, Lynton, Ilfracombe, Barnstaple, Bideford, Hartland Point
North Cornwall: Bude, Tintagel, Padstow, Newquay, St Ives
South Cornwall: Land's End, Penzance, Lizard's Point, Falmouth, Looe
South Devon: Plymouth, Salcombe, Dartmouth, Torbay, Teignmouth, Exmouth, Sidmouth
Dorset: Lyme Regis, Chesil Beach, Isle of Portland, Weymouth, Swanage, Poole

It is a superb coastal walk with stunning scenery along the way. According to the South West Coast Path guidebook, it takes most people 52 days to walk the path and as such the guidebook has been split into 52 sections each containing detailed itineraries for the day with useful information like places to sleep, eat & drink, tide timetables, points of interest along the path etc.

While in Cornwall recently, we did small sections of the coastal path around the places we stayed at. One such walk was from Sennen Cove to Land's End.

Sennen Cove to Land's End Walk


1. We parked at Sennen Cove Harbour Car Park (TR19 7DA). Parking charges were £1 for up to 2 hours, £2 for up to 4 hours and £3.50 for all day parking. From the car park, we started the walk with a moderately steep and long climb to Mayon Cliff. As we reached the top (the headland is known as 'Pedn-mên-du') there were stunning views over Whitesand Bay.

Sennen Cove

View of Sennen Cove from the Coast Path (above)

Mayon Cliff - The South West Coast Path

Mayon Cliff - The South West Coast Path

Mayon Cliff - The South West Coast Path

2. At the top is an old coastguard lookout which has now been refurbished by National Trust and contains information about the local area.

Mayon Coastguard Lookout - The South West Coast Path

Mayon Coastguard Lookout - The South West Coast Path

3. As we continued the walk along the granite clifftops we noticed the remains of a ship on the rocks below. A little further there was an information board and we got a better view of the shipwreck. It was the debris of a German cargo ship called RMS Mulheim that was wrecked at Land's End (In March 2003) when the chief officer fell unconscious while on watch. Later that year, in heavy seas, the ship was broken into two pieces and the wreckage lies there since then.

RMS Mulheim Shipwreck - The South West Coast Path

RMS Mulheim Shipwreck - The South West Coast Path

RMS Mulheim Shipwreck - The South West Coast Path

4. The walk continues past the site of an Iron Age cliff castle called Maen Castle. A mile and a half further out to sea is the Longships Lighthouse which is unmanned remotely monitored from Harwich.

Maen Castle - The South West Coast Path

The South West Coast Path

5. We continued walking along high cliffs and windswept heath and reached Land's End, mainland Britain’s most south-westerly point. There is a visitor center, refreshments kiosks and other facilities here. And a lot of tourists as well who drive down to Land's End directly. We just spent a short time here taking in the scenery and continued walking.

Lands End - The South West Coast Path

Lands End - The South West Coast Path


6. A little further is a beautiful stone arch called Enys Dodnan Arch. The arch is not visible until you have passed the rocky outcrop. The best viewing point for the arch is the next headland on the route.

Enys Dodnan Arch - The South West Coast Path

Enys Dodnan Arch - The South West Coast Path

7. Just a short walk along the headland is Greeb Farm, a charming farm park home to sheep, goats, rabbits, pigs, miniature ponies, alpacas etc. There is also a craft workshop on the site.

Greeb Farm and Cottage - The South West Coast Path

Greeb Farm and Cottage - The South West Coast Path

8. From here we started to make our way back. We took the same path back down to Sennen Cove.

It was a moderately challenging walk and was around 5 miles (to and back). We loved the walk along the high cliffs. The rugged terrain, the fantastic views of the sea and the tranquility of the place; it was all fabulous. If you love nature/outdoors and enjoy walking, this is not to be missed.

The South West Coast Path

The South West Coast Path


7 comments:

  1. Land's end seems truly remarkable! I would love to take a long walk along the road and would love to stop in between to breathe in the fresh air. Isn't this pretty romantic, by the way?

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  2. Wow, the view from the trail is so cool. It's worth the fatigue :) Your shots are so well-captured.
    Great work

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  3. That lookout is stunning! Definitely looks like it was worth the effort. I haven't heard of this spot but now I definitely want to go!

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  4. Fantastic. Looks like you had perfect weather for it as well! I haven't been to Lands End since I was a child so it bought back loads of memories. I'm trying to remember if we did this hike - it sounds like exactly the sort of thing my dad would have made us do on family holidays but I honestly can't remember. Will definitely put it on the list to head back there though.

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    1. Yes, the weather was fabulous. It was our first visit to this part of Cornwall and we loved it. Would love to go back to do more of the South West Coast Path.

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  5. Wow! What an inspirational post! Your photos are absolutely stunning. Us mainland Europeans always joke that it’s always raining in England 😊 but you seem to have had some beautiful weather in Lands End. Especially Enys Dodnan Arch looks amazing. I gotta go there one day as well

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  6. SHYAMALENDU COOMAR15 June 2022 at 22:01

    We just completed the Land"s End Tour but completely unaware of the coastal Trek.Your description along with the photographs specially The Enys Dodnan Arch are mindblowing.Will follow your path surely in our next trip.

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