Park Head, Cornwall

Park Head is one of the countless spectacular, rocky headlines along the north Cornwall Coast, lined by a typical mix of sheer cliffs and small sandy coves. The location is 8 miles north of Newquay; the place is owned by the National Trust and served by a small car park just off the B3276, on a lane that continues a short distance to a residence, Porth Mear Cottage, then narrows to a track that soon meets the coast path and forms part of a 2.6 mile loop all around the headland - along the rim of the coastal cliffs, returning up a valley and across a field.

The shoreline is readily accessible at two places, either side of the headland; at Pentire Steps Beach to the west, a sheltered, sandy bay with a big sea stack (Diggory's Island) on one side, and Porth Mear to the east, this a shallower inlet with some sand and extensive rock pools at low tide. All the clifftops are very densely covered with wildflowers in summer and this section of the coast path is not too busy, so the headland is an ideal place to spend a few hours.

The Headland

The track from the National Trust parking place reaches the coast above Pentire Steps Beach, and a much narrower trail branches off, winding steeply down the hillside to the sands, which are covered at high tide. The main path continues south towards the Bedruthan Steps, while in the other direction, it runs along the west side of Park Head, soon rounding another, inaccessible beach centred on a big sea stack, The Saddle, followed by the narrower inlet of Mackerel Cove, beyond which the land constricts to a slender promontory, the furthest part of the headland. Along the way are several fields, divided by ancient stone walls, built in the traditional Cornish herringbone style, and blanketed in colourful lichens and wildflowers such as wall pennywort.

Porth Mear

The trail then turns north, passing above several other coves, all rather inaccessible and including four with a name - High Cove, Higher Butter Cove, Lower Butter Cove, and Totty Cove, after which the path descends to sea level at Porth Mear, an inlet at the mouth of a small stream; a very pretty place with a small area of sand giving way to extensive, shallow rock pools, flanked by low cliffs. From here the return route is inland, alongside the stream, through a patch of woodland and across two fields, rejoining the track to Porth Mear Cottage near the parking place.