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Walk the windy Cornwall coast on a guided hiking holiday
Combine magnificent views with mining heritage on a walking holiday in the West Country
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We’ve stopped for lunch on Trencrom Hill. From this Iron Age hill fort, crowned by an outcrop of massive boulders, Cornwall’s green carpet unfurls in every direction. Both the north and south coasts are visible – sullen grey strips beneath a low, threatening sky.
I battle the blustery wind to hold my phone steady and capture the view behind us, and in doing so, I nearly miss the panorama ahead: there on the horizon, with its instantly recognisable wedding-cake silhouette, sits St Michael’s Mount.
I’m on a three-day guided walking holiday with HF Holidays, a certified B Corp with sustainability at its core.
Last night, our three guides outlined the choice of walking routes, graded from one to three in difficulty. When guide Mel McGregor described this one – said to offer one of the finest views in Cornwall – it sounded too impressive to resist.
Judging by the kaleidoscope of walking jackets huddled behind boulders and grassy hillocks, working their way through generous packed lunches courtesy of our accommodation, most of our group was similarly swayed.
An old tin mine on the Cornish coast. Image credit: Shutterstock/Phil Watson Photography
Heading back towards the coast, we pass Shetland ponies eyeing us from a comfortable distance – two mini-sentinels munching away as they guard the mysteries of the Beersheba standing stone in the field beyond. Ruins of long-abandoned mines punctuate the landscape, adding more quiet drama. We pass one farther along the trail, its chimney rising like a solitary exclamation mark.
On an evening walk, we learn more about Cornwall’s mining legacy. After winding through St Ives’ cobbled streets, we arrive at The Wharf. Reflected lights begin their twinkling dance across the bay as Mel explains that mining started hereabouts during the Bronze Age.
The region is part of the Unesco-listed Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape.
“[Radioactive mineral] Pitchblende taken from a St Ives mine was sent to Marie Curie for her experiments,” she says.
Then as she points out Godrevy island, its blinking lighthouse visible offshore, she adds: “They say this view inspired Virginia Woolf to write To the Lighthouse.” I feel certain that if I pause here for a little longer, inspiration will strike me too.
Book it
HF Holidays offers guided group walking holidays as well as self-guided options. A three-night, full-board trip based in St Ives starts from £469 per person, based on two sharing, or £499 for a single room. This includes a cream tea on arrival and a choice of up to three walks on walking days, including transport where necessary.
hfholidays.co.uk
Lead image credit: Shutterstock/Lawrence Barrett
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