A walk in this area has been on the back burner for a while, when looking at the map I was struggling to put together a loop that got me where I wanted to go. The initial idea was to walk from around Porthpean down to Mevagissey from somewhere just inland which allowed me to link either end of the coastal path. I then found Kings Wood, which had parking spots and the walk was complete. The only problem was, I wasn’t expecting the up and down involved from Pheobe’s Point to Gamas Point, it wasn’t huge rises but each one was 40, 50, 60 metres up and back down and there were lots of them. They were also very steep, so much so that most had steps inserted by the National Trust to help stop the erosion and help the walker. The end result was that I cut short the walk at Pentewan as I was walloped. However this was fine with me, this was the first time I had been to Pentewan in probably 30 years. As a family we used to come to Pentewan Sands (from St Helens in the north west) at least twice a year, it was always my mum, dad, brother, sister, me and our grandparents. My gran would be on the phone to Pentewan Sands, on the day the new season booking went live, to book a prime spot on the front row by the beach. As I came over the hill at Gamas Point and saw Pentewan Sands for the first time in ages all the memories flooded back. Playing matchstick races down the streams on the beach, playing football on the beach, bowls with those plastic balls filled with water, slots in the arcade and Liverpool’s first ever European Cup win in 1977, when my dad took me to watch it in the club on site. This was the right place to stop and head back to Kings Wood, in order that I can come back again and start the next walk from here.
| Start – Kings Wood |
| Route – Towan – Lobb’s Shop – Porthpean Golf Club – Lower Porthpean – South West Coastal Path – Trenarran – Black Head – Gamas Point – Pentewan – Kings Wood |
| Distance – 8 miles Start time – 9.30am Time taken – 5hrs Highest Point – Lobb’s Shop 108metres |
| Weather – Sunshine and very warm |
© Crown copyright 2020 Ordnance Survey FL 2020 SF
Early morning, well early ish. Cloud is down at about 9.30am on the hills and clay workings inland from Towan
That’s Kings Wood in the near distance with the backdrop filled with cloud over the clay workings
There was a fair bit of dew about on a chilly morning, these spider webs had picked up a fair bit of it
I’m not good on spider types but there were 3 of these size webs in a row with the same spider type sat in the centre, poised. I think its a standard garden spider, the web was fantastic
This photo was taken quickly with my phone, I wasn’t trying to blur the background, it came out that way. However this is the Cornwall Croquet ground, with two players having a game. Fancy
Porthpean church, I head down the road to the right next
As I reach Higher Porthpean having passed around the golf course I get glimpses of the sea and this fine sailing boat
Lots and lots of these today, Speckled Wood butterflies. The info board in Kings Wood said there were lots and they were right, although I saw more by the coastal path than in the woodland
Gribben Point across St Austell Bay. I was over there a month or so ago.
Another Speckled Wood
I guess this is a watch tower which is just north of Porthpean beach
And the view out to sea
Porthpean beach, there is a toilet and cafe here, that is Gerrans Point ahead
There are lots of ups and downs after Porthpean Beach, the good side to that is the plunging views down to hidden coves, which are only accessible by water, some of them look glorious
The first climb away from Porthpean gives a great view across St Austell Bay with Carlyon Bay and Par Sands over on the right
One of those coves, it was pretty warm by this point and I’d have done anything for a Star Trek type transport device to get me down there for a swim and back up to carry on the walk. The water by the sand was pure azure and it doesn’t do it justice on the photo. There are two people down on the sand, I think they have come from the boat moored offshore.
Lots of the coastal path here is within woodland, with the odd gap to take in the view, as you get nearer to Pentewan the hawthorn and trees thin out and the views are more expansive
Black Point is ahead after plenty of ups and downs
St Austell Bay, now there were plenty of black dots in the bay, which I guess had some sort of fishing role. The boats all went around either side, but the number of dots in the bay was huge
Black Point and a stone memorial to A.L.Rowse
Another up is coming as I round the corner towards Hallane
A lovely small copper. They always seem to rest on the ground for photos
Down at Hallane, there is a house to my right which seems to have access to a little beach below that patch of mown grass
Having climbed through the woodland after Hallane I get a great view down to Gamas Point and across Mevagissey Bay
Heading along the coast towards Gamas Bay lots of the paths are hemmed either side by farmland and hawthorn, however you get some great views back to Black Point and beyond that to Gribben Point
Another cove, the path down looks overgrown on the right
Moooo, they are the right side of the fence for my liking
A second break was taken here (the first was just after Porthpean beach). The water looked fantastic, Black Point was across the bay and all was fine, behind me I had another short climb but for now I could ignore it!!
Pentewan Sands comes into view and my brain picks out a 30 year old memory of my grandad walking across hot sand towards the beach, going oooo, aaar, eee, ooo, aah, eee until he reached the cooling water. By this point I was shattered and decided to not push on to Mevagissey. I worked out that I could could follow a good path back to Kings Wood from Pentewan
Many a time have we camped, front row on that site. Easter in a howling gale when the car and caravan got sandblasted and baking hot summers
This would be my route back to Kings Wood. This is a good cycle trail, walking trail and some car parks as well
Its lots of this, nothing too difficult to walk along. There are some boggy sections either side of the paths and it will lead you to a river
This is the river/stream with more bikes, walkers and dogs on it, taking advantage of the good paths
The car park nearest to Pentewan in Kings Wood (there are more car parks in Pentewan). Mine is the next one and can be reached by taking a left after London Apprentice (yes that is a Cornish village name), after the Kingswood restaurant.
treksandtors 
Stunning, those coves looked idyllic if only you could get to them. Pentewan Sands is very popular in the FB group for my trailer tent. A campsite right by the beach is a rarity in the UK
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I could tell them which is the best spot on the camp site, on the front row nearest pitch to Mevagissey!! My gran drilled it into us that is where she wanted each time we went. So many memories from that place. We went one Easter in a storm and we woke to find all the caravans along the front had 4 foot deep sand piled against the front of them and the cars had scratched windscreens from the debris and sandblasting
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Beautiful coast and beaches. The water is so turquoise.
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There are some great beaches along that stretch of coast, shame that they are only accessible by boat
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