Newquay to Perranporth Walk - Best In Cornwall

The Newquay to Perranporth walk follows the South West Coast Path for approximately 22.5km. It is a one way route rather than a circular walk, maintained as part of the National Trails network.

Leaving Newquay harbour, the path passes the tiny white Huer’s Hut perched above the bay. It once housed a lookout whose job was to spot pilchard shoals from the cliffs and raise the alarm, a role that gave Cornish fishing its distinctive cry of “hevva” down the generations.

Huers Hut Newquay — The famous Huer’s Hut.

From here the route crosses the famous sands of Fistral Beach before reaching the River Gannel, where the crossing itself takes a bit of planning. Depending on the season and the tide, you can take a summer ferry, cross via one of the tidal bridges southeast of Pentire, or head inland on the main road through Trevemper. Whichever route you choose, the estuary is worth lingering over. Thousands of birds shelter here through the winter, among them ringed plover, greenshank, dunlin, curlew, and teal.

Beyond the Gannel, the path climbs onto West Pentire, a headland recognised as a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its wildflowers, with June bringing swathes of poppies and corn marigold across the fields above Crantock Beach. Further along, keep watch offshore for the twin outcrops known as Carter’s Rocks, popular with seabirds, before the path drops onto the dunes of Holywell, home to a wide range of insect life and, occasionally, dolphins offshore.

The route then climbs to Penhale Point, where the earthworks of an Iron Age promontory fort are still visible in the ground, and the views stretch out to St Agnes Head, Godrevy, and St Ives beyond. From Ligger Point, you look south along the full two mile sweep of Perran Beach, and from Droskyn Point, a natural rock arch offers one of the best vantage points to watch the surfers below. Right at the point sits a curiosity worth pausing for: the Millennium Sundial, which reads not Greenwich Mean Time but Cornish time, running a full twenty minutes behind the rest of the country.

Crossing the dunes towards Perranporth can be tiring underfoot, though at low tide it is often easier, and faster, to walk the final stretch along the beach itself instead.

Those wanting a shorter day can stop at Holywell, around 13km in. For a longer walk, the path continues beyond Perranporth to St Agnes Head, a further 8.9km.

Parking is available at Newquay, Towan Head, Fistral Beach, Pentire, West Pentire, Holywell, and Perranporth.

Plan The Walk

Places along this walk

Places to stay

Crantock Bay Hotel
Goose Rock Hotel
Treheveras Guest House
Hotel Sunnyside
Headland Hotel
Atlantic Hotel
The Esplanade Hotel
St. Christopher's Inns Newquay
Bee & Bee Newquay

Beaches

Fistral Beach, Newquay Passes nearby

Where to park

Crantock Beach Car Park
Mount Wise Car Park
The Manor Car Park
Droskyn Car Park
Perranporth Beach Car Park
Wheal Leisure Car Park
Sainsbury's Car Park
Newquay Golf Club Car Park
Bowgie Inn Parking
Harbour

Pubs

The Bowgie Inn
The Fort Inn
The Seiners Arms
The Green Parrot
The Deck
Perranporth Inn
Sailor's Arms
Rattler Beach House
The Red Lion
The Watering Hole
Tywarnhayle Inn

Cafes

Little Italy
Cafe Blu
No.4 Breakfast & Bistro
Rick Stein Fistral
Beachcomber
The Stable
Gilmore's
Harbour Fish and Grill
C-Bay Cafe, Bar & Bistro
Fistral Beach Cafe/Bar
Fistral Beach Pasty Shack
Fistral Fish House
The Pavillion
Bush Pepper
12 Beach Road
The Boathouse
Toast
Box & Barber
Fore St Cafe Bar
The Waterfront
Costa
Piran Thai
Sushea
The Stepping Stones
Roots Cafe
Swell Cafe
Jaipur Indian Cuisine
Massala Tandoori Perranporth
The Filling Station Cafe
Dolphin Cafe
The Summerhouse
Alcatraz
The Cove
Marigolds
Ralph's
Kook
Caffè Nero
bank st kitchen
Milk
Fernpit Cafe
Concho Lounge
Sea Spray
Lakeside Cafe
Del Mar

Attractions

Newquay Water Sports Centre
Newquay Harbour Slipway
Olla Hiki Sauna
Newquay Water Sports Centre
Perranporth Museum
Admiral
Newquay Golf Course
West End Bowling Club
Miniature Golf
Chapel Rock Sea Pool
Newquay Water Sports Centre
Trenance Gardens
Disused Old Lifeboat Slipway

Shops

Premier
Co-op Food
The Cornish Bakery
The Works
Londis
Cornish Pantry
Joy
OCEAN Perranporth
Sloth Studios
Nile's Bakery
Spalls of Newquay
Card Factory
Millets
Warrens Bakery
Rowe's
Mountain Warehouse

Toilets

Fore Street Car Park
Esplanade Toilets
Fistral Beach
Newquay Harbour Toilets

Take A Walk Around The Newquay Coast

A winters day with a summer feel shot back in 2022.

Plan The Walk