The high cliff top of Godrevy Head gives you an excellent view over Gwithian Towans, Hayle Estuary and St. Ives on a clear day, and provides the northern boundary of St. Ives bay.

A right turn off the B3301 at a small bridge will take you to a National Trust car park (free if you’re a Trust member, £2.50 – summer 2005 if you’re not), which is the start of an excellent walk over the cliff tops.

The National Trust volunteers are only too pleased to advise you of various points of interest around the coast line, such as seal pups (so take your binoculars), cormorants and wild flowers etc.

The coastal path starts just after the car park and meanders to the right. Firstly you’ll see Gwithian Towans, a vast predominantly sandy beach. Numerous surfers and body boarders take to the water here, in specially patrolled segregated areas of the beach.

Further around the coast, you will come across Godrevy Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1859 and was an inspiration for Virginia Woolf’s book ‘To the Lighthouse’. The Lighthouse has been unmanned since 1934.

Onwards to Navax Point, you may be lucky enough to spot some little seal heads bobbing up and down in the swell, before they return to the sea to hunt for food. 

The rocky outcrops and the cliffs of the area are magnificent - true Cornwall. They conjure up images of smugglers descending the cliffs to pick through pieces of wreckage that have been smashed upon the rocks.

A good basic cafe can be found a little further on at Hells Mouth. The cafeteria will also provide you with shelter a warm cup of tea and a bacon butty on a blustery day..

Back at the National Trust car park there’s a very modern café which is licensed and provides good seating both inside and out. There you can treat yourself to a nice drink at the end of your walk.

LGTs KJ visited Godrevy Head in August 2005
(Seal Tip – the winter months are the best time to see the seals and their pups)