St Ives to Carn Naun circular walk

St Ives to Carn Naun

A circular walk from St Ives on the ancient churchway towards Zennor and returning along the rugged coast to Porthmeor, where a Victorian cargo ship and the St Ives lifeboat were both wrecked and the ship's boilers are still visible at low tide.

Get the app to guide you around the walk

Phone showing walk for purchase
Download the (free) app then use it to purchase this walk.
Phone showing Google navigation to start of walk
The app will direct you to the start of the walk via satnav.
Hand holding a phone showing the iWalk Cornwall app
The app guides you around the walk using GPS, removing any worries about getting lost.
Phone showing walk directions page in the iWalk Cornwall app
The walk route is described with detailed, regularly-updated, hand-written directions.
Person looking a directions on phone
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.
Phone showing walk map page in the iWalk Cornwall app
A map shows the route, where you are at all times and even which way you are facing.
Phone showing facts section in iWalk Cornwall app
Each walk is packed with information about the history and nature along the route, from over a decade of research than spans more than 3,000 topics.
Person looking at phone with cliff scenery in background
Once a walk is downloaded, the app doesn't need wifi or a phone signal during the walk.
Phone showing walk stats in the iWalk Cornwall app
The app counts down distance to the next direction and estimates time remaining based on your personal walking speed.
Person repairing footpath sign
We keep the directions continually updated for changes to the paths/landmarks - the price for a walk includes ongoing free updates.

either as a GPS-guided walk with our app (£3.29) or a PDF of directions (£2.79) Example of directions

The walk heads out through the Ayr mining district of St Ives and follows the footpaths of the Zennor Churchway to Trevalgan. Here, the route picks up an old miners' path and follows this to remains of the Brea Consols engine house and then meets the coast near Carn Naun point. The route then follows the rocky coast to Hor Point, where it departs onto a footpath around point before rejoining the path to Porthmeor beach used by the Revenue men to keep watch for smugglers. The final part of the route is past the art studios of Downalong and along the harbour front before returning to the car park.

Highlights

  • Rugged coastline between Zennor and St Ives
  • Spectacular views over St Ives, across the bay and along the coastline
  • Sandy beaches of Porthgwidden, Porthmeor and around Carrick Du
  • St Ives historic harbour and buildings
  • Tate Art Gallery and a myriad of small galleries

Considerations

  • The coastal path is quite rocky in places with some small boulders to negotiate.
  • The route includes stone stiles in a range of shapes and sizes. A couple of these consist of stone footholds over walls.
  • The route passes through farms that can get quite muddy in the winter months.
  • Route includes paths close to unfenced cliff edges.

Buy walk

Sign in to buy this walk.

This walk is in your basket. Proceed to your basket to complete your purchase.

My Basket Remove from basket

You own this walk.

Price: £

Buy now Add to basket

An error occurred while checking the availability of this walk:

Please retry reloading the page. If this problem persists, please contact us for assistance.

Reload page

Vital statistics

  • OS Explorer: 102
  • Distance: 6.8 miles/11 km
  • Steepness grade: Moderate
  • Recommended footwear: Walking boots, or wellies in winter
  • Pub: ✓
  • Café: ✓

OS maps for this walk

Click or tap on map for more info (blue=laminated)

Pubs on or near the route

  • The Hain Line
  • The Lifeboat Inn
  • The Sloop Inn

Adjoining walks

either as a GPS-guided walk with our app (£3.29) or a PDF of directions (£2.79) Example of directions

Please recycle your ink cartridges to help prevent plastic fragments being ingested by seabirds. Google "Empties Please" to get freepost bags.