10 Lovely Walks Around St Ives Cornwall
St Ives is the perfect starting point for lots of scenic, coastal walks. None of them are very flat, none of them are really pram friendly. But all of them are very scenic with some amazing views!
Here are 10 of our favourite walks to do (okay, we haven’t done the really long ones yet, but we will!).
1. St Ives To Zennor
Pick up the South West Coast Path at the far end of Porthmeor Beach. Walk past Man’s Head and along the cliffs. The path is fairly clearly marked, but it is tricky in places. You need to be steady on your feet and wear good walking shoes.
The bit we like about this walk is that you can stop off in Zennor at The Tinners Arms. A lovely pub for lunch on a sunny day. You can either walk back through the countryside, retrace your steps. Or get the bus back into St Ives.
Walk length: 6 miles there, 12 miles there and back.
2. St Ives To Carbis Bay
Pick up the path at the end of Porthminster Beach. Walk up through Hain Walk and along the cliff down to Carbis Bay beach. This is a fairly easy walk, manageable by most, including my children. It isn’t pram friendly though as there are steps over the railway.
To return you can retrace your steps, get the bus from Carbis Bay Road (a steep walk up from the beach), or get the train back into St Ives.
Walk length: 2 miles there.
3. St Ives To Knills Monument & Steeple Woods
Take the main road out of St Ives towards Carbis Bay. Turn right after the Cornish Arms pub and take the left hand fork up the road. Right at the top of the road you will see an information board and sign posts. Turn left and follow the path up to Knills Monument. The hill is called Worvas Hill and the land below is Steeple Fields Nature Reserve. The woods to the right are Steeple Woods and are lovely to walk through, but do take care of dogs with mine shafts!
Walk length: depending on your route at the top, about 2 miles there.
4. St Ives To Lelant (and beyond!)
Pick up the path in St Ives at the end of Porthminster Beach. Walk to Carbis Bay and then continue on, over Hawkes Point and down to Porthkidney Sands.
To return, you can retrace your steps, get the bus from Lelant Village, or get the train back into St Ives.
You can also continue to Hayle, round the bay and over to Godrevy and Hell’s Mouth. This follows the South West Coast Path and is a full days walk.
Walk length: 5 miles there.
5. St Ives To Carnstabba Hill (Halestown)
Walk up The Stennack from town right to the cross roads by the round house and Tom’s yard. Walk (very carefully) along the road to Halsetown Inn. Go through the gate on the left of the Inn and follow the path up the hill.
Walk length: about 1.5 miles there.
6. Trencrom Hill
You can walk to Trencrom Hill from St Ives, but I will be honest I have not done this. We drive to the free parking at the bottom of the hill and walk up.
7. Rosewall Hill
Again, you can walk to Rosewall Hill from St Ives but we always park.
8. Buttercup Hill
Ditto Buttercup Hill – worth driving to.
9. St Ives To Penzance (The St Michael’s Way)
This is the longest walk and one we have not yet done. Walk up to Knill’s Monument and pick up the St Michael’s Way footpath there. It is about 10 miles long (12 miles from Lelant) and takes you to St Michael’s Mount in Marazion.
Walk length: the way is 12 miles long from Lelant, so it is about 10 miles from St Ives.
10. Round The Island
This is a walk we do pretty much every week. We walk around town and then loop around the Island. Starting from the harbour, follow the Wharf Road round to Bamaluz Beach and then onto Porthgwidden Beach. Walk in front of the beach huts on Porthgwidden and up the steps at the far end. Walk up the slope and to the top of The Island. There are steps leading down the the back of the Island where it can get a bit blowy. Walk round to Porthmeor Beach, up Porthmeor Hill and back down the steps to The Digey.
Walk length: about a mile circular.
Do you have a favourite walk around St Ives? Let me know – I’d love to hear of any new ones too!
