Discover Scenery [Page 1]: The Official Guide to the South West Coast Path
SceneryClick for a slideshow of photos taken by entrants to our annual photo competition. Captions and a full size version can be viewed by clicking on the 4-way arrow.
 See
the Walks
for Everyone pages to find descriptions of Coast
Path walks which are especially good for scenery. You can search
for a walk that is known for its landscape as well as by area,
length and degree of difficulty.
Stunning coastal scenery goes hand in hand with the South West Coast Path. For no less than 74% of its length, the Coast Path journeys through protected landscapes – one National Park and five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and one third is owned and cared for by the National Trust. As you walk the Path you will recognise the distinctive character of different areas. The coastline between Exmouth in East Devon and Studland in Dorset has been designated a natural World Heritage Site; the coastal landscapes are as much a part of the story as the rocks themselves, and reflect the action of the elements on the varied geology over millions of years. Here are just a few Coast Path scenery highlights.
Exmoor and North Devon – A Diverse Coastline
In North Devon you’ll find an equally diverse landscape scattered with picturesque cob and thatch villages. Choose from wide sandy bays enclosed by broad headlands and the ever-changing salt marshes, dune systems, sand and mudflats associated with the Taw and Torridge estuaries.
 Dramatic and wild, this stretch of coastline is best experienced
in autumn and winter, when dark clouds and raging seas match
the scenery. Isolated trees are stunted by exposure to salt
laden winds. Just inland, the occasional tiny hamlets and
isolated farmsteads only enhance the strong sense of wildness.
Where the high coastal ridges meet the sea, sheer cliffs plunge to a striking wave cut platform of folded and faulted rocks. Numerous streams dissect the plateau, forming deeply incised valleys with small, tumbling waterfalls. The craggy coastline is punctuated with stacks and arches, headlands, blowholes and rocky coves. Along its length you will find small, characterful, fishing villages – Crackington Haven, Boscastle, and Port Isaac – always welcoming for the Coast Path walker.
 Beyond St Ives and Penzance lies the unique peninsula of
West Penwith. Natural forces dominate and the rugged mass
of granite exposed to the Atlantic often feels remote and
wild.
And yet there is evidence of human activity since the Neolithic period (4,000 – 2,500 BC). There are ancient sites like the Iron Age cliff castles at Gurnard’s Head and Bosigran and a pattern of tiny fields that has existed for at least 2,000 years. Fishing settlements developed in the south, while tin and copper mining around Pendeen and St Just has left a veneer of redundant engine houses and shafts. The changing hues of the coastal heathland are complemented by the remarkable quality of light. But it is the granite that remains dominant. Whether in the spectacular, jointed cliffs, the stone-faced hedgebanks or the church towers, West Penwith’s geology is constantly visible.
 The
windswept heathland plateau of the Lizard is edged by a magnificent
coastline of multi-coloured cliffs, open bays and sheltered coves.
The serpentine rock for which the area is known has given rise to
a very local quarrying and stone polishing industry.
The western coast is sea-battered with the single village of Mullion, while the eastern side is home to several fishing villages of white-washed cottages with slate or thatched roofs. Of medieval or post-medieval origin, they expanded in the nineteenth century for pilchard fishing.
 The huge expanse of the Fal estuary makes Falmouth the third
largest natural harbour in the world. It is one of the many
rias found along the southern coast of Cornwall and Devon
- estuaries that were ‘drowned’ as sea level
rose with the end of the last glaciation.
The Roseland Peninsula is softer than much of Cornwall, and provides a peaceful haven. On the coast of its gently undulating plateau there are many sheltered, south facing sandy beaches - Pendower, Carne, Hemmick – and the dramatic Bow and Great Perhaver Beaches with their sweeps of silvery, slatey sand. The major headlands are of harder rock. Dodman Point and Black Head have Iron Age fortifications, whilst off Nare Head, the turf-covered Full Rock is a dramatic feature with its colonies of nesting seabirds. The area has extensive coastal heathland and scrub, with oak and beech woodland in the valleys. Small villages, developed from fishing harbours can be found along the coast, Mevagissey being the largest.
 Often bypassed, the varied coastline of this area includes
distinctive headlands, magnificent bays, farmed landscapes
and wild coastal heathland.
Gribbin Head, with its beacon and daymark, provides magnificent
views eastward. You will see scrub-covered cliffs, with slatey
rocks projecting into the sea beyond the gently sloping coastal
fields. Fowey and Polruan are clustered on the steep slopes
of the Fowey estuary, their tiered houses reflecting the
bright coastal light. Further east you can immerse yourself
in the bustle of Polperro and Looe, villages founded on fishing
and now alive with visitors.
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