Notes from the South West Coast Path; in this blog series we document the short stretches we've done with the aim of helping others to enjoy it piece by piece. If there is any useful information that we’ve missed out, let us know in the comments!
Zennor to St Ives - 6.5 miles / 10.5 km one way, with a lot of hills!
Starting – Zennor village car park, TR26 3DA
End point – Tate St Ives, St Ives, TR26 1TG
View from Zennor Headland looking west towards Gurnard's Head.
Ease of walking
This is one of the toughest stretches we've done so far, it feels like you're always either climbing or dropping steeply so good footwear is a must. Some of the climbing is up and around boulders too so be prepared for some scrambling. We did the walk in January and whilst it was a dry day, the paths were incredibly wet and muddy, some were outright streams. Most of the paths were very narrow, with lots of rocks and slippery mud, you definitely have to pay attention to where you place your feet.
Wildlife
We spotted ten seals over the whole walk which made for a fun game, aside from the seals we saw very little else although perhaps this was due to the time of the year. I expected there to be far more birds but the clifftops were very quiet.
Refreshments
Zennor to St Ives is a pretty wild stetch of coastline, the only hint of civilisation along the way was the Merry Harvesters stone circle. We would recommend a backpack full of snacks, drinks and lunch, there are many beautiful spots to stop and picnic. Once you reach St Ives you're spoilt for choice. If you want to do the walk in the opposite direction and end in Zennor, the Tinners Arms pub is supposed to be brilliant, although we didn't try it on the day.
Toilets
This was definitely a wee in the wild walk with no facilities between Zennor and St Ives, luckily the valleys and rocks gave lots of shelter for anyone needing one! There are public facilities plus lots of restaurants, cafes and pubs in St Ives if you'd rather wait.
Parking
We parked one car in the village car park next to the Tinners Arms in Zennor. It has an honesty box with a suggested donation of £2 and was really easy to find. We left the other car in St Ives in one of the council car parks so that we could finish in St Ives and then drive back to Zennor to pick up the other car.
Time to spare?
At the end of the walk it was lovely to stroll around St Ives and sit in the sunshine next to the harbour. After all of those hills it was good to refuel, watch the very bold starlings and also the mix of people and dogs walking by.
The end in sight! The view over to St Ives