Travel

If you are looking for a short break to really stimulate the senses then Cornwall’s Atlantic coast is spectacular enough on a good day but, when the weather is rough, it becomes even wilder and more romantic.

It’s no surprise that 2 particular clifftop walks keep cropping up on lists of Britain’s top coastal walks.
The two stretches of the South West coast path are the Hartland Quay to Hartland Point section and the Tintagel to Widemouth Bay section. Here you will find the ocean crashing into towering cliffs interspersed with magnificent sandy beaches.
The Tintagel to Widemouth Bay walk comes in at just over 15 kilometres. The start is relatively easy, and the grassy cliff path along the back of the beaches from Bude to Widemouth Bay should not mislead you into imagining the whole day will be like this. The path soon proves challenging as it becomes rough and narrow in places and plunges into steep valleys, including Scrade which is one of the deepest and steepest valleys on the Cornwall section of the Coast Path. This walk provides you with wide, open views of the Atlantic from high cliff top paths where you are always conscious of the force of the sea and winds due to the uneven ground and crumbling cliffs below you. This part of the North coast is quite sparsely populated so the best place to stay is probably somewhere like the Camelot Hotel at Bude, a popular seaside town sitting very handily between the two aforementioned pieces of shoreline.
The beauty of staying in Cornwall is that is long, narrow shape makes it easy to switch from one coastline to the next so, if you are in the mood for something less energetic, the Lost Gardens of Heligan, the Eden Project, Padstow and ” Doc Martin’s ” Port Isaac are all well within reasonable driving distance.
If you are after an easier walk try the Bude Coast & Canal walk starting at the Falcon Hotel, Bude.
With one of the most scenic, and longest (over 300 miles) stretches of the South West Coast Path, and an inland path network of over 2,400 miles no walker could ever get bored in Cornwall.

The South West Coast Path has been named as one of the world’s greatest tourist attractions by Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel guide. The route covers five areas of outstanding natural beauty, two world heritage sites and a national park in 630 miles, which means no two days are alike!
The Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is separated into 12 sections, covering a total of 958 sq km. These areas include ten stretches of Cornish coastline, the Camel Estuary and Bodmin Moor.