Backways Cove
The shore of Backways Cove is covered in boulders from the slate quarrying that took place along the cliffs and the cove itself has been enlarged from its original natural shape by the quarrying. The cove is surrounded by high cliffs and the only access is a path cut into the rocks along side the stream. The stream percolates through the boulders on the beach and there's quite a bit of slippery weed on some of the boulders. Beyond this is a reef that stretches all the way to Gull Rock and rock platforms either side almost meet to make the cove a lagoon, leaving just a narrow opening. In winter, storm waves breaking over the reef create sea foam which is driven into the cove by the westerly winds where it collects, trapped against the high cliffs and caught in wind vortices created by the cliffs. The high cliffs also mean the cove is often in shade, particularly in the morning and in winter.
Possibly as a result of this and its bleak rocky shore, Backways Cove features in "The International Directory of Haunted Places":
"Backways Cove, a North Cornwall inlet just up the coast from Trebarwith Strand, is still haunted by many unidentified presences who are thought to be the spirits of shipwrecked sailors whose bodies washed up there after they drowned. Numerous ships were torn apart on the jagged rocks offshore, and the shadowy spirits of their crew are still trying to make it to shore."
It's theoretically possible that wreckage from a vessel grounded on the reef around Gull Rock might be trapped against Dennis Point and wash ashore at Backways Cove but historical accounts of this actually happening are thin on the ground.
Backways Cove is a small rocky inlet and beach at the bottom the the valley below Trebarwith Village, just south of Trebarwith Strand. It can only be reached on foot.
- Tide times
- Map
- Dogs: allowed all year
Walks visiting Backways Cove
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5.9 miles/9.5 km - Moderate
Trewarmett to Tregardock
Trewarmett to Tregardock
5.9 miles/9.5 km - Moderate
A circular walk to the remote sandy beach at Tregardock, returning along the coast path with panoramic views of Port Isaac Bay, through the wildflowers of Treligga Downs and via Backways Cove.
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2.2 miles/3.5 km - Moderate-strenuous
Trebarwith Strand to Backways Cove
Trebarwith Strand to Backways Cove
2.2 miles/3.5 km - Moderate-strenuous
A short circular walk from the long, sandy beach of Trebarwith Strand to the rugged rocky cove at Backways in which sea foam tornadoes form in windy weather, and returning over the massive headland of Dennis Point with panoramic views of Port Isaac Bay.
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4 miles/6.4 km - Moderate-strenuous
Trebarwith Valley to Backways Cove
Trebarwith Valley to Backways Cove
4 miles/6.4 km - Moderate-strenuous
A circular walk in Trebarwith Valley to beaches and the coastal slate quarries of Backways Cove and Trebarwith Strand, and Dennis Point, overlooking the bay and point opposite where the ships moored to be loaded with roofing slates which were also brought down the valley on a road covered with beach sand to stop the horses being flattened by runaway carts.
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9.7 miles/15.6 km - Strenuous
Port Isaac to Tintagel
Port Isaac to Tintagel
9.7 miles/15.6 km - Strenuous
A one-way walk from Port Isaac to Tintagel along towering cliffs, past the long, sandy beaches of Tregardock and Trebarwith, the slate pinnacles of the coastal quarries and via the mediaeval cliff-top church to the castle of Arthurian legend.
Download the iWalk Cornwall app and use the QR scanner within the app to find out more about any of the walks above.