Bedruthan Steps

Get the app to guide you around the walk

App in iTunes Store

Download iPhone/iPad app from App Store

App in Play Store

Download Android app from Google Play Store

Download the (free) app then use it to purchase this walk.

The app will direct you via satnav the start of the walk.

The app leads you around the walk using GPS, removing any worries about getting lost.

Each time there is a new direction to follow, the app will beep to remind you, and will warn you if you go off-route.

A map shows the route, where you are and which way you are facing.

Detailed, triple-tested directions are also included.

Each walk includes lots of information about the history and nature along the route.

Once a walk is downloaded, the app doesn't need wifi or a phone signal for the walk.

The app counts down distance to the next direction and estimates time remaining based on your personal walking speed.

We keep the directions continually updated for changes to the paths/landmarks - the price of £1.99 for a walk includes ongoing free updates.

Directions

1. From the car park, follow the tarmacked track towards Pentire Farm. Continue to reach a gate on the right with "Footpath to Porth Mear and Park Head".
2. Go through the gate once and in the field, follow along the wall on your left. At the end of the wall, bear left to a gap in the left hedge.

   The number of cows in Cornwall has been estimated at around 75,000 so there's a good chance of encountering some in grassy fields. The Ramblers Association and National Farmers Union suggest some "dos and don'ts" for walkers which we've collated with some info from the local Countryside Access team:

   Do

   • Stop, look and listen on entering a field. Look out for any animals and watch how they are behaving, particularly bulls or cows with calves
   • Be prepared for farm animals to react to your presence, especially if you have a dog with you.
   • Try to avoid getting between cows and their calves.
   • Move quickly and quietly, and if possible walk around the herd.
   • Keep your dog close and under effective control on a lead around cows and sheep.
   • Remember to close gates behind you when walking through fields containing livestock.
   • If you and your dog feel threatened, work your way to the field boundary and quietly make your way to safety.
   • Report any dangerous incidents to the Cornwall Council Countryside Access Team - phone 0300 1234 202 for emergencies or for non-emergencies use the iWalk Cornwall app to report a footpath issue (via the menu next to the direction on the directions screen).

   Don't

   • If you are threatened by cattle, don't hang onto your dog: let it go to allow the dog to run to safety.
   • Don't put yourself at risk. Find another way around the cattle and rejoin the footpath as soon as possible.
   • Don't panic or run. Most cattle will stop before they reach you. If they follow, just walk on quietly.
3. Go through the gap and bear right slightly to cross the field in the direction of the sea to reach a kissing gate in the bottom corner of the far hedge.

   Blackthorn trees were planted as hedges to keep out cattle and they are still common in Cornish hedgerows today. In mediaeval times, blackthorn was associated with evil and a bad winter is sometimes known as a Blackthorn Winter. This may also tie in with the English word "strife" which has Celtic origins. The letter Straif used in Celtic Ogham script was originally the word for "sulphur". In late mediaeval times, a retrospective assignment of trees to letters in the alphabet used for Ogham that weren't already tree names became popular (sometimes known as the "tree alphabet") and blackthorn was chosen for Straif.

4. Go through the kissing gate and follow the path along the walkway. Continue along the path until it ends in a junction with the coast path at a waymark.

   On the path along the valley you pass what looks like a shipwreck. It warrants closer inspection as it is carved with a number of animals, some of which are inside.

5. Continue ahead onto the coast path and follow it uphill to a kissing gate.

   The cove ahead is Porth Mear and can be reached via the footbridge to the right.

   The name Porth Mear is easily confused with Porth Meor beach at St Ives and Porthmeor Cove near Zennor because all of these are from the Cornish for "big cove".

   Porth Mear has some excellent rockpools at low tide.

   Rockpool fishing is quite a popular childhood pass-time as a number of species can be lured out from hiding places by a limpet tied on a piece of cotton (leave a trailing end as if anything swallows the limpet, very gently pulling both ends of the cotton will cause it to release the cotton-tied limpet from its gullet). If you are intending to put the creatures into a bucket: ensure it is large, filled with fresh seawater and kept in the shade; ideally place in a couple of rocks for the creatures to hide under; do not leave them in there more than a couple of hours or they will exhaust their oxygen supply; ensure you release them into one of the rockpools from which you caught them, preferably a large one (carefully removing any rocks from your bucket first to avoid squashing them). Species you're likely to encounter are:

   • Blennies which are fish about 5-10cm long, often found hiding under rock ledges. They can change their colour from sandy to black within a couple of minutes in order to match their surroundings. They have strong, sharp teeth for crunching barnacles and will bite if provoked.
   • Shore crabs and sometimes edible crabs which can also sometimes be found hiding under rocks (carefully replace any rocks you lift up). Shore crabs have a fairly narrow shell which is almost as deep as it is wide. They vary in colour from green through brown to red (the redder individuals are apparently stronger and more aggressive). Edible crabs have a much wider shell which resembles a Cornish Pasty and are always a red-brown colour. Both have powerful claws so fingers should be kept well clear.
   • Shrimps and prawns - do you know the difference? Prawns are semi-transparent whereas shrimps are sandy coloured and generally bury themselves in sand.
6. Go through the kissing gate and follow the path up to the headland. Continue on the path along the cliff edge until you can see a bench on your right and a slate waymark on your left. Keep left to reach the waymark.

   The islands overlooked by the bench are the Trescore Islands.

   The Trescore Islands lie off the headland between Porthcothan and Porth Mear. The rocky islets are surrounded by a sandy beach which is exposed at low tide, creating a lagoon between the islands and mainland. It is shallow enough to wade across from the mainland at low tide.

7. From the waymark, continue on the path past another slate waymark and along the right side of a wall, past one more slate waymark, until the wall ends.

   The carpets of tiny blue flowers on the coast during April and May are the appropriately-named spring squill, which up close is a star-shaped pale blue flower with a dark blue stamen. They achieve their early flowering by storing energy over the winter in a bulb so they can be the first flowers out on the cliffs before they become overshadowed by larger plants. They thrive in locations which are beaten with wind and salt-laden spray which they are able to tolerate but other plants, which might otherwise out-compete them, cannot.

   During June and July, you might come across a plant on the coast with long and very bright yellow flowers, a bit like elongated gorse flowers. This is likely to Dyer's Broom (also known as Dyers Greenweed). As the name implies, the bright yellow flowers were used to dye clothing. As green was generally a more popular colour than yellow, the yellow fabric was often re-dyed with a blue dye such as woad or indigo to create green cloth. During Victorian times, there was so much demand for the dye that the plant was grown commercially. In West Cornwall, there is a variety of the plant that isn't found anywhere else in Britain.

   Oystercatchers are recognisable by their back-and-white bodies, their long, straight red beaks and loud, piercing call. In flight, the white markings form an image of a white bird towards the back of their otherwise black backs which may have evolved to confuse predators.

   The long beaks are adapted to open shellfish - mainly cockles and mussels - "cocklecatchers" would be a more accurate name. They also can also use their bill to probe for worms.

8. At the end of the wall, keep right on the path along the coast and follow it until you reach another slate waymark.

   The French fishing boat Le Sillon was at sea during the 2014 storms and was pounded by waves of over 30 feet. One of these smashed the glass in the wheelhouse and shorted the electrics, leaving the boat without power or steering. The RNLI lifeboat attempted to tow the boat to safety but struggled against the waves and eventually the tow rope snapped. The crew were forced to abandon ship and were all saved from the water by a Sea King helicopter from RNAS Culdrose. The remains of Le Sillon are on the rocks of Park Head.

9. At the waymark, turn left and follow the path to a waymark at the end of a wall with a bench on the far side.

   At the slate waymark, a path to the right leads out onto Park Head where the remains of an Iron Age hillfort can be seen.

   The low plateau is surrounded by ramparts which are believed to date from the first century BC.

   The purpose of enclosures within ramparts varied quite considerably. Some were built as forts to defend from marauding invaders such as the seafaring Scandinavians. Others were defences built around small villages either as a status symbol/deterrent or for the more practical purpose of preventing domestic crimes such as theft of property by occupants of neighbouring villages. There were even some which were probably just a confined space used to stop livestock escaping!

10. Continue ahead on the path along the coast to reach another stone wall. Follow along this to reach a wooden waymark to Mawgan Porth beside a kissing gate.

    The "herringbone" style of walling built with tightly packed alternating diagonal slate courses, is unique to Cornwall's heritage.

    It is known locally as "Curzy Way" or "Kersey Wave", based on the Cornish word kersy which means "reeds", perhaps referring to a square weave pattern. It is also sometimes known as "Jack and Jill" which is likely to be based on the falling down part of the nursery rhyme.

    There is a nice view over the Bedruthan Steps rock stacks from the bottom of the grassy area to the right of the path.

11. At the Mawgan Porth waymark, continue along the coast to reach a kissing gate.

    The corn bunting is a small brown bird and as its name suggests, it has a preference for cereals. Consequently it has been living alongside humans since Neolithic times when our ancestors started to domesticate cereal crops. Its common name "fat bird of the barley" gives away its appearance, resembling a very portly skylark that looks like it would have trouble getting off the ground, let alone hovering. Its call is equally unglamorous, described as the shaking of a bunch of keys. Sadly, the once common and familiar bird has vanished from many areas and is now endangered. The rapid decline is thought to be due to industrialisation of arable farming methods. In Cornwall, the coastal land management provides an important habitat in which the birds thrive.

12. Go through the kissing gate and follow the path between the wall and fence to reach a gap in a wall.

    Skylarks are the most common member of the lark family in Britain are often known simply as "larks".

    Almost all European countries have reported a rapid decline in lark numbers over recent years. In Britain, two-thirds of the population has disappeared in 30 years. This is thought mainly to be due to intensive agriculture and particularly the autumn sowing of cereals. When cereals were sown in the spring, the fields of stubble that remained after harvest provided an environment where larks could nest during the winter.

13. Continue through the gap and follow the path along the bank on the left to reach a waymark.
14. From the waymark, continue to a fork in the path at another waymark.

    On the headland, ahead, are the remains of a prehistoric cliff castle, known as Redcliff Castle. Most of the headland has since fallen into the sea, but there are still remains of a pair of circular ramparts which have been cut into the bedrock.

15. At the fork, take the path to the right, along the coast, and follow the waymarks until you eventually join a cobbled path, at the base of a flight of slate steps.

    The name Bedruthan Steps is commonly used to refer to either this stretch of coastline, the beach or the series of offshore rocks.

    Bedruthan Steps is the name of a stretch of rocky coastline between Padstow and Newquay. The area lies in the parish of St Eval, just to the west of the hamlet of Bedruthan.

    There is no record of the name "Bedruthan Steps" before 1847, but it is thought to have originally referred to one of the two cliff staircases to access Carnewas mine (presumably the one nearer to the village of Bedruthan). The name later also became used for the name of the beach itself.

    The legend of Bedruthan Steps was invented for Victorian tourism, said to be taken from a mythological giant (Bedruthan) who used the rocks as stepping stones.

    The rock stacks were formed after the last Ice Age, when rising sea levels eroded the surrounding soft shales to leave the harder rocks as islands. Each of the 5 rock stacks has a name (Queen Bess, Samaritan Island, Redcove Island, Pendarves Island and Carnewas Island).

    More about Bedruthan Steps.

16. Bear left and climb the steps (or follow the "no steps" optional path), then follow the cobbled path to a waymark.

    If the tide is out, you may want to take a short diversion down the cobbled path to your right to reach the beach.

    The beach at Bedruthan Steps is only exposed as the tide starts to go out. Initially several small coves are revealed as the tide falls and towards low tide these join into a large beach.

    The beach is accessed by a long flight of steps which lead from a gate just below the viewing area. Note that the gates are closed during the winter when the National Trust café is not open.

    Since only one of these coves has a set of steps, care should be taken not to get cut off by the incoming tide (tide times are displayed on a board beside the gate on the way down). Due to the channels between rocky islets across the beach, there are strong tidal currents and swimming is therefore not advisable. It is also a good idea to avoid choosing an area to sit that is directly below the cliffs as these are crumbling in many places: as well as occasional landslips, loose stones may be disturbed by birds.

17. Follow the cobbled path to the National Trust shop, tea room, toilets and car park (via the diversion if still in place).

    The buildings which now house the National Trust shop and café at Bedruthan Steps were once the offices and outbuildings of Carnewas mine. This operated for just over 20 years from the mid 19th century. Initially it extracted lead, antimony and silver but later much larger amounts of iron ore. The ladders and steps to the beach were probably originally built to access the mine workings.

18. At the car park, double back but take the left-hand path at the first fork. Keep left at any junctions to follow the path along the fence and emerge through a gap in the bank onto the coast path beside a waymark.

    Betony is a grassland herb, common on the coast, with pretty purple anthers that stick out from the plant. The name is derived from the ancient Celtic words bew (meaning head) and ton (meaning good) as it was used as a cure for headaches. From Roman times onward, it was believed to be a cure for a number of things (the Romans listed 47!) including drunkenness; even as late as the 1800s, Richard E. Banks stated that you should "Eat betony or the powder thereof and you cannot be drunken that day" and John Gerard (1597) said that "It maketh a man to pisse well". Betony was also used to ward away evil spirits (hence it is planted in a number of churchyards) and also to make a dark yellow dye for wool.

    The National Trust now has over 4 million members and is the largest voluntary conservation organisation in Europe. In the UK, the National Trust has more members than all the political parties combined and the only organisation currently larger at the time of writing is the AA.

19. Turn right onto the coast path and follow it past some junctions to the right to where it forks.

    To the left, the coast path runs for about half a mile to Mawgan Porth beach so you can optionally extend the walk at this point, returning here to continue on the main route.

20. Take the left-hand path along the fence to where the two paths rejoin just in front of a waymark, then turn left onto the cobbled path and retrace your steps to where the unsurfaced path departs to the right at the bottom of the steps.

    Thrift is a tough plant, able to withstand salt-laden winds and high levels of copper in the soil from mining. The name "thrift" has been suggested to arise from the plant's tufted leaves being economical with water in the windy locations where it is found. It's common all along the Cornish coast and in April-June produces pale pink flowers, hence its other common name: "Sea Pink". The plant grows in dense circular mats which together with its covering of pink flowers gives rise to another less common name: "Ladies' Cushions".

    The Herring Gull is the gull most commonly encountered in Cornwall and is an example of a "Ring Species". In Europe, the Lesser Black-backed Gull and Herring Gull are distinct species, yet as you circumnavigate the globe, the populations become more similar until they merge in the middle as a single species.

    Despite a growth of urban populations inland, particularly around rubbish tips, the Herring Gull population has dropped to half its size in 25 years. It has been driven inland in search of food and roosting sites due to declining fish populations and lack of undisturbed coastal nesting sites. In urban areas, streetlights allow gulls to forage by night and there is no longer competition from Red Kites, which scavenged the rubbish tips in the Middle Ages.

21. Follow the path up the steps to reach a waymark then continue a short distance further past one gap in the wall on the right to a second gap in the wall on the right opposite the wooden fence on the left.

    Birds of prey, particularly kestrels and sometimes peregrine falcons, can be seen hunting along the coastline.

    The peregrine falcon can reach over 322 km/h (200 mph) during its hunting stoop (high speed dive) making it the fastest member of the animal kingdom. In 2005, a peregrine was measured at a top speed of 389 km/h (242 mph). The air pressure at this speed could damage a bird's lungs. However small bony tubercles on a falcon's nostrils guide the powerful airflow away, enabling the bird to breathe more easily while diving. In Cornish dialect, these falcons are known as "winnards" and local expressions include "shrammed as a winnard" (meaning chilled) and "rumped up like a winnard" (meaning huddled).

22. Turn right and follow the path through the gap in the wall into the parking area. Follow the track leading from it to the huts just before the road. After the last of the huts, bear left onto the grass and follow it to a stile.

    Kestrels are the most common bird of prey in Europe although in Britain numbers have declined in recent years. They are easily spotted when hovering, watching their prey. Whilst hovering, they have the extraordinary ability to keep their head totally still, even in strong winds. They feed mostly on mice, voles and shrews, but will also take birds as large as starlings, and will feed on insects if larger prey are not available.

23. Cross the stile and turn left onto the road. Carefully follow it until you reach a small lane on the right with a gate for Bedruthan Farm.
24. Turn right down the lane to Bedruthan Farm and follow it through a sequence of gates until it eventually ends in a T-junction.

    The name "Bedruthan" was first recorded in 1335 and is thought to be a corruption of the Cornish Bodrudhen (meaning something along the lines of "red dwelling"). It is thought this may refer to the iron ore deposits which were extracted at Carnewas mine. Red Cove, Red Cliff and Redcliff Castle are all likely to have similar origins.

25. At the junction, turn left and follow the lane between the houses until you reach a gate with a public footpath sign on the left, just past Tregona Cottage.

    The settlement now known as Tregona was first recorded in 1327 as Tregonou. The name is thought to be from the Cornish word goon which is roughly equivalent to the English "downs" (low moorland) so the gist would have been along the lines of "farm on the downs". The surrounding land has all since been cultivated but the name reflects how the landscape would have appeared in early mediaeval times.

26. Go through the gateway on the left, marked as a public footpath, and head downhill to a waymarked stile roughly 30 metres after the gateway in the middle of the left hedge.

    In the middle of the field there is a standing stone, known as Treburrick menhir. It is formed from white quartz and is over 6ft tall.

    Large upright standing stones are known as menhirs due to the Celtic words men meaning stone and hir meaning long. The reason for their construction is unknown; currently the most popular theories are ceremonial. Excavations at some of the menhir sites in Cornwall have found evidence of postholes and pits, and areas of quartz paving. Also beneath some of the stones, charcoal and cremated human bone have been found.

    These charcoal deposits have been radiocarbon dated and found to be between the Late Neolithic and Middle Bronze Age and, until recently, menhirs were thought to associated principally with the Beaker people who inhabited Europe during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze age (4-5 thousand years ago). Some recent research has suggested an older origin (perhaps 6-7 thousand years ago, at the very start of the Neolithic period in Britain). There is also evidence that some stones continued to be erected, or re-used, much later in the post-Roman "Dark Ages" (early mediaeval) period when some were also inscribed.

27. Cross the stile and bear right, across the field, to the bottom corner with the far hedge, where there is another stile.

    If there are sheep in the field and you have a dog, make sure it's securely on its lead (sheep are prone to panic and injuring themselves even if a dog is just being inquisitive). If the sheep start bleating, this means they are scared and they are liable to panic.

    If there are pregnant sheep in the field, be particularly sensitive as a scare can cause a miscarriage. If there are sheep in the field with lambs, avoid approaching them closely, making loud noises or walking between a lamb and its mother, as you may provoke the mother to defend her young.

    Sheep may look cute but if provoked they can cause serious injury (hence the verb "to ram"). Generally, the best plan is to walk quietly along the hedges and they will move away or ignore you.

28. Cross the stile and footbridge into a riverside meadow. Bear right, along the meadow, to a stile in the far left corner.

    Electric fences are typically powered from a low voltage source such as a car battery which charges a capacitor to release a periodic pulse of high voltage electricity. This is often audible as a quiet "crack" which is a good indicator that a fence is powered. As with the high-voltage shock caused by static electricity, the current is not high enough to cause serious injury but touching an electric fence is nevertheless unpleasant. If you are answering the call of nature in the vicinity of an electric fence, be mindful of the conductivity of electrolyte solutions!

29. Cross the stile to reach the road. Turn left and carefully walk a short distance along the road until you reach a junction to the right with a sign for Park Head.
30. Turn right onto the lane to Park Head and follow it back to the car park.

Help us with this walk

You can help us to keep this walk as accurate as it possibly can be for others by spotting and feeding back any changes affecting the directions. We'd be very grateful if could you look out for the following:

• Any stiles, gates or waymark posts referenced in the directions which are no longer there
• Any stiles referenced in the directions that have been replaced with gates, or vice-versa

Take a photo and email contact@iwalkcornwall.co.uk, or message either IWalkCornwall on facebook or @iwalkc on twitter. If you have any tips for other walkers please let us know, or if you want to tell us that you enjoyed the walk, we'd love to hear that too.