Sennen Cove-Land's End-Penberth-Sennen Cove 22 km

This beautiful hike takes you from Sennen Cove along the South West Coast Path to Penberth Cove, and then along an inland route through Penberth Valley back to Sennen Cove. On the way you see beautiful cliffs, the famous landmark Land’s End, secluded beaches, sweeping bays, and rolling countryside. I observed sea birds such as gannet, fulmar and manx shearwater, raven, as well as seals and dolphins, so do not forget to take binoculars. Hiking times: Sennen Cove – Land’s End 30 minutes; Land’s End – Mill Bay 50 minutes; Mill Bay – Porthgwarra 70 minutes; Porthgwarra – Minnack Theater 40 minutes; Minnack Theater – Logan Rock 40 minutes; Logan Rock – Penberth Cove 20 minutes; Penberth Cove – Sennen Cove 110 minutes. These are times without bird observation, lunch, taking a dive, and taking pictures.
The hike starts at the pay&display parking lot at the end of the road in Sennen Cove, near the harbour (do not forget to take sufficient coins, all day parking was £3.50 in July 2014; there is also a bus stop close by). From here you climb to Mayon lookout, the former coastguard lookout point above the village (see waypoint), with sweeping views of Whitesand Bay to one side and Land’s End to the other side. From there you walk on the the ‘First and Last house’ (see waypoint) at Land’s End, and then on to the famous signpost at Land’s End (see waypoint). I was early enough to be alone here, but later in the day it can be very busy. From Land’s End you continue south along the coast towards Mill Bay (see waypoint). Here you can descend on stairs to Nanjizal Beach or the boulders (beach not visible at high tide) on the shore. A small stream cascades onto the beach here. From Mill Bay you continue further south towards Gwennap Head (see waypoint), the most southern point of the Penwith peninsula. The coastguard lookout station is an excellent point for sea bird observation: I saw large flocks of gannets and manx shearwater diving for fish here. You pass by a red and a black/white cone-like landmark before descending to Porthgwarra cove. Here you go down on the beach and pass through a tunnel in the rock before continuing east towards Portcurno. After about 20 minutes you see a beautiful secluded beach (Porth Chapel): stairs take you down onto the beach. After having visited the beach you climb back onto the cliffs and continue towards Minack Theater (see waypoint). Minack Theater is an open-air theater built into the cliff wall with beautiful views of the sea and the surrounding cliffs and beaches. It requires an entrance fee, but you can also just buy a refreshment before descending to Portcurno beach. From here you continue towards Logan Rock (see waypoint). It takes a bit of scrambling before you get to the rock: an 80 ton finely balanced rocking stone, which you supposedly can set rocking by pushing it (I did not try). From Logan Rock it is only a short stretch before you get to Penberth Cove where the Penberth river flows into the sea. Here you leave the South West Coast Path and follow the little asphalt road inland into the Penberth Valley until Treen. From here, you follow the wooded valley until Bottoms via public footpaths over private property. Here, a small road takes you out of the valley until Trengothal Farm and via a dirt track and another road you continue to Brew Farm and then on until you cross the A30. Here you follow small tracks down towards the beach at Sennen Cove (see waypoint), with great views of Whitesand Bay.
You can buy something to eat or drink at Sennen Cove, Land’s End, Porthgwarra, and Minnack Theatre. This walk was inspired by, but not completely the same as, walk 26 in the German book “Rother Wanderführer; Cornwall-Devon. Die schönsten Küsten- und Moorwanderungen” by Christian Gögler.