Saint Agnes Beacon

Note that all maps on this site are only indicative. You should never set out without the correct OS map.

St Agnes Head on the North Cornish coast has been in the news recently having been handed over to the National Trust by Carrick District Council. The authority has gifted the coastal site the to organisation so that the land can benefit from enhanced management and promotion, whilst enabling public access and enjoyment of the areas to continue.

Basic Walk: from Trevaunance Cove just under the village of St Agnes, west along coast path to St Agnes Head, south to Wheal Coates Mine and then inland over the Beacon and back to the village.

Recommended map: Ordnance Survey Explorer 104 - Redruth and St Agnes.

Distance and going: five miles fairly easy going. Can be windy and exposed.

Getting there: St Agnes is one of the easiest villages to get to on Cornwall’s north coast – simply take the B3277 from the A30 roundabout at Three Burrows and it’s a four mile drive.

What it is about St Agnes that’s so alluring? Maybe it's something to do with the place being called Badlands. The nickname refers to the rough and tumble left by the miners of yesteryear - there is much slag and waste to be seen. The hilly area in the immediate vicinity of the village is as torn asunder as any in the West Country. The tin hauled out of these hills was reckoned to be the best in Cornwall. Throughout this walk we see the remains of the mine working - slag-heaps, quarries and weird conical cages that cap the dangerous shafts.

The route takes us around the flanks, then right over the top of St Agnes Beacon. This mighty hill could be called the Roof of West Cornwall. From its peak you can see half the county - all the way from the north of Cornwall around to a large portion of Penwith.

To find the beginning of the walk we take the road that leads down past St Agnes church and turns sharp left to Trevaunance Cove. No matter what time of year you visit, there's always a compliment of surfers sitting about on boards waiting for waves, like so many vertical seals. There used to be a small port tucked away in the corner of the cove, but most of the harbour was washed away in the storms of 1915-16.

We'll join the coast path that climbs away to the left of the beach, past a few cottages into the old quarries that have ripped this salty corner apart.

Up and up goes the path until it reaches a sufficient altitude to skirt the great cliffs that march all the way to St Agnes Head. This is coastal walking at its most spectacular - seabirds of all shapes and sizes cruise up and down the vertiginous littoral – you may see razorbills, guillemots and gannets.

This clifftop region is one of the last remaining areas of what was once a huge tract of heathland that once spread right across West Cornwall. Over the centuries farming eroded this great heath, until there were just a few coastal zones left. The mines around St Agnes meant that farming didn’t get much of a foothold. Fierce salty winds blowing in off the Atlantic also discouraged agriculture. Oddly enough, the heathers which grow on the heath actually seem to thrive on mine waste.

The writer JRA Hockin called the Beacon's cliffs: "The crimped and wave-laced flounce to its stiffly spread skirts." He added: "Everywhere there are slag heaps and slums and broken engine houses and all the unlovely paraphernalia of our industrial past."

As we continue west along the coast path around the corner of St Agnes Head we are able to see how the coastal scenery is dotted with old mines. These include the National Trust-owned, Wheal Coates mine and Towanroath engine house which clings to the cliff in such a way that it almost defies logic. In fact Wheal Coates was enormous and, preserved as it is by the Trust, you can still remains of the various engine houses and other buildings that once oversaw the extraction of tin. Further south there’s the Wheal Charlotte, the Great Wheal Charlotte, the Charlotte United and the Wheal Freedom mines.  

Rare Horseshoe bats use the old shafts and adits as roosting and winter hibernation sites.

From the Wheal Coates, continue along the coast path to descend into Chapel Porth. Here’s there’s a welcoming café (and public conveniences) and you can take a turn on the delightful sandy beach.

Now head inland, up the footpaths that follow the bottom of the combe, until you reach a public path on your left which heads north, up the hill towards St Agnes Beacon. Turn left along the second path near the hamlet of Goonvrea, then walk right along the lane for a few metres before turning left again on the path that will take you to yet more trust owned land which covers the top of the beacon. Then it’s a matter of climbing the heather-clad slopes to reach the summit.

You probably won't see legendary Giant Bolster who is supposed to have filled a huge hole up here with his blood to prove his love for the beautiful St Agnes (with the consequent result of his death) but may see the red streak in the stone which is supposed to have been coloured by the incident. You will also be able to look down upon half the ancient land of Kernow as you will be standing 629 feet (193 metres) above sea level – a high point indeed in this part of the county.

Now take the path which descends east towards St Agnes. It passes through the hamlet of Higher Bal and continues across meadows down to the village.

Stroll through the little alleys to find the warm and friendly St Agnes Hotel where they'll tell you all about the legend of their local giant. From there you turn left outside the door and left again at the corner of the street to find the footpath that threads its way down to Trevaunance Cove.

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