Walk The Trail

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Route: From Penzance to Falmouth

Overview

Penzance is situated in the shelter of Mount's Bay and enjoys the most temperate climate of the British Isles; this produces many sub-tropical plants such as ferns, palm trees, banana plants, magnolias and camelias which are on display in the local Gardens.

As well as a market town, Penzance features an attractive promenade and harbour and is a popular tourist destination for culture with music, theatre and art festivals throughout the year.

This walk starts off relatively easily, giving you time to take in the views at Marazion, especially of St Michael's Mount, a unique and stunning landmark. This can be reached by a causeway at low tide or a ferry boat if the tide is in. The scenery then gives way to cliff walking taking in Perranuthnoe and Praa Sands with lovely sandy beaches and onto the fishing village of Porthleven and the magnificent Loe Bar.

Porthleven to The Lizard and onward to Coverack is arguably the most unique and beautiful stretch of the whole South West Coast Path and is designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty with amazing cliff top views and wildlife. Finally onward to Helford and Falmouth, with many changes of scenery including woodland, fields, the Gillan Creek crossing and River Helford crossing, it's likely you will see many bird species, maybe even the now rare kingfisher.

Simply a beautiful journey on a beautiful stretch of the South West Coast Path.

Walk the Trail offers 3 itineraries along this route to cater for all levels of walker. If, you feel that you'd like something different, just ask.

INCLUDED

All our holiday packages include:

Overnight accommodation staying at carefully selected B&Bs, Inns and Hotels
A detailed holiday pack
Luggage transfers
Transport from path to accommodations if necessary
Maps
Guidebook
Emergency support.

NOT INCLUDED

Our holiday packages do not include:

Transport to and from the start and end of the holiday, unless stated. We can help you with your options.
Packed Lunches and Evening Meals
Travel Insurance

ROUTE PROFILE

Recommended dates to walk this route

This walk can be done all year round but the weather in the winter months may make the walk a little more difficult.

Also we advise that the ferries required at Gillan Creek and Helford only operate between Easter and the end of October. However, outside these times a taxi can be arranged where necessary.

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Itinerary & Costs

Our most popular itinerary on the Penzance to Falmouth section with a daily average of 12 miles, this walk follows beautiful Mounts Bay ,the setting for majestic St Michaels Mount and along the lower shoreline before heading up to headlands with stunning views out to the ocean below. After passing through the fishing villages of Porthleven and Mullion, you will visit stunning Kynance Cove before later arriving at the dramatic cliff forms of the Lizard; then finally onward to picture postcard Cadgwith, Coverack and historic Helford Creek before arriving for a celebration meal at one of the many restaurants at bustling Falmouth.

With many changes of scenery including rugged cliff tops, woodland, fields, and inland rivers, this part of the South West Coast Path is a beautiful and memorable journey.

Itinerary: Number in group:

The Daily Itinerary

Click on a day for further information.

Day 1: Arrive

Penzance

Day 2:

Penzance to Porthleven

Distance: 13.5 miles Difficulty: Easy/Strenuous

Day 3:

Porthleven to The Lizard

Distance: 13.5 miles Difficulty: Moderate

Day 4:

The Lizard to Coverack

Distance: 10.5 miles Difficulty: Moderate/Strenuous

- Day 5:

Coverack to Helford

Distance: 13 miles Difficulty: Moderate

There are 2 river crossings to consider today. Gillan Creek can be waded 3 hour either side of low tide and there is a small ferry operating 3 hours either side of high tide April til October. The Helford can be crossed throughout the day using the ferry. During Spring tides, there are occasions were the Helford ferry is unable to operate for 1-3 hours if the tide is extremely low.

Due to a lack of accommodation in Helford, it may be necessary to accommodate you elsewhere and include transfers to and from the accommodation.

Day 6:

Helford to Falmouth

Distance: 9.5 miles Difficulty: Easy

Day 7: Depart

Falmouth

What's Included

Accommodation for the length of your holiday including the night before you start walking and the evening after your final day's walking in good quality B&Bs, Inns and small hotels. This will be en-suite wherever possible.
Breakfast - This may be a full cooked or continental option depending on accommodation. Evening meals can be arranged with certain accommodations for an additional charge.
A Personalised Holiday Pack containing maps and addresses for accommodations, pick up points and daily mileage information.
If required, path to accommodation or round river transfers (free of charge)
Luggage transfers between each accommodation. 1 bag per person up to 20 kilograms. Additional bags can be added upon request.
If you are crossing a river using a ferry or on foot at low tide then we will provide you with the relevant information to assist.
Phone line support between the hours of 0900-1900, 7 days a week for the length of your holiday.

Optional Extras

The following items are optional and can be removed to reduce the cost of your holiday.

A comprehensive guide book for the area in which you are walking. This will detail important information about each town and village you visit.
Map(s) for the area you are walking, specifically designed for walkers.
Your holiday pack posted to your home address. Unticking this box, indicates that you would prefer to print the pack yourself.

Not Quite Right?
Try our Tailor Made Service here »

Important Information

Reviews

Peter & Lisa from Australia

We are now two weeks back from our recent holiday......grim.....but could not let the opportunity pass to say a big thank you for your work in making the SWCP section of our holiday so fantastic We could not fault anything - the guide book superb, the overall map invaluable, the accommodation absolutely perfect, the luggage transfer such a treat......just a shame about the fog at Lands End....we may as well have been in Perth!?!? We are keen to use you again to do the section from Minehead to Hayle.....and I have been singing your praises to lots of people.....hopefully you will get a booking from my work colleagues - in due course Till next time Cheers

Janine & Ruth from Switzerland

Having just returned from England I wanted to say thank you for your great organising of our holiday in Cornwall. Starting in Penzance and ending in Mevagessay with some sightseeing as well was a great idea. All places we visited were very nice and we could enjoy every step of our journey. All the accommodations were great and charming.The hosts were extremely friendly and helpful too. So thank you!

Uwe from Berlin

Dear Walk the Trail team, we arrived yesterday safely at our destination in Falmouth and want to thank you very much for the memorable holidays. You did a very good job planning our walking trip. The accommodations you chose were excellent, the hosts very friendly and helpful. Very kind regards.

Cheryl from Vermont, USA

I'm home from my trip and wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it! It was wonderful to have the elves take my luggage every day and to have it show up at the next place. It was a fairly rainy week but the scenery was magnificent and I truly enjoyed the walking. Thank you for all your arrangements --- people at the B&B's were all friendly and kind. I'll go back again someday! Thank you all!

Steve from West Sussex

Just returned from my West Cornwall walk and would just like to say a big thankyou for sorting out my accommodation and luggage transfers. All the arrangements worked out fine which left me free to concentrate on the walking. Saw some amazing coastal scenery and returning to my starting point in St Ives via the St Michael's Way was a nice contrast. I still have lots more of the SW coast path to walk and I am sure I will be back in touch with you at some point in the future. Many thanks.

Kate from Canada

I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful two-and-a-half weeks. All of the bed and breakfasts I stayed in were friendly, comfortable and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Every day when I arrived my bag was there, like a faithful dog. All in all an excellent trip. As an aside, I would also like to say that, as a female walking alone on the SWCP I had no problems at all and always felt perfectly safe.

Kathleen from Germany

It was an unique, fantastic and unforgettable experience with hurting feet and legs in the beginning and total fitness in the end ;-). I met interesting people and saw great landscapes. I experienced the coldest spring after over 60 years but with the right clothes - everything was under control ;-). I`d like to make you a compliment for your organization, fast answers and friendliness! The luggage transfer worked really well. Almost all B&B were lovely and the people very friendly.

Catherine from Bristol

Thank you for organising everything so efficiently, we both really enjoyed the week. You have been consistently great and we won't hesitate to book with you again next year.

Ludwig from Germany

I have to say we had a very nice holiday in Cornwall. We had a wonderful time and are sure we will use your holiday company again in the future. Thanks for your excellent job.

Julia from Germany

We are back home from our walking holiday, what a marvellous experience! Thank you for your great organisation, everything worked without any problems. It was great to arrive at the accommodation and find our luggage already there, often even in our room. All the best, we will definitely be recommending your business!

Adrea & Frank from Germany

We have just returned home from our trip. We had a lovely time, everything worked out well and we enjoyed it a lot. We found that all the accommodations were good, and our luggage transfers worked without a glitch. Each leg of the route was well chosen in respect to the daily distance. Thanks for your efforts!

Alan from Bristol

We just wanted to say thanks for a great holiday. The weather was mixed but we didn't get too wet. Luggage Transfers were superb and worked very well. Our bags were there ready for us at each B&B. Thanks for everything; we had a great trip and are looking forward to planning another cycle trip.

Julie from Australia

We are now home from our travels and have had time to reflect. What a fabulous holiday. Thank you very much for planning our South West coast walk. It all went very well, the B&Bs were superb, we have no complaints at all. Thanks for organising a memorable walk.

Joan from Australia

Would recommend your organisation to anyone, and will do so. Can't thank you enough for a trouble free adventure.

Inge from Holland

We had a wonderful holiday. The weather wasn't great, but that didn't matter. All the accommodations were very good. We had great rooms and the beds were good. The people were very friendly and took care of us. In the future I hope to walk another part of the South West Coast Path and I will definitely contact you to arrange my holiday.

Roland & Andrea

Thank you very much for our perfectly organised walking holiday. Our baggage was always there when we arrived and all the accommodations were great.

Sasha From Cornwall

Jess (my dog) and I are back after the most wonderful experience! Thank-you all for making it so wonderful, all the B&Bs were comfortable and welcoming and all were brilliant. All in all it was brilliant and very dog friendly. Thank you again and the very best luck for the future with your wonderful company.

Carleen

There is no doubt I loved the walk, arduous at times, but wonderful scenery and always very friendly people. Certainly, I will recommend your company, especially for the convenience and your professionalism (good documents etc.). Cheers.

Viggo from Norway

We enjoyed a super walking experience in Cornwall. The weather was good at least most of the time! In general we are very happy with the whole holiday. All the accommodations you booked for us was of a high standard, with friendly people and good service. The luggage transfers were 100%. We are all very satisfied and plan to come back in the future!

Gillian from Leeds

Thank you for organising such a wonderful trip for us. It was a wonderful success, we loved it all! All the accommodation was lovely. I can also safely say that all the food was great that week. We think the Jurassic Coast might be a possibility for next year!

Glenda from Hertfordshire

We have now covered roughly 450 miles of the South West Coast Path and have loved the walking and the fantastic scenery. We enjoyed our holiday with 'Walk the Trail' as a whole and felt we received good value for our money. All our accommodation hosts were very kind and we were amazed at the universally available, free wifi!

Ian from Lancashire - Penzance to Falmouth

Many thanks once more for organising our holiday in Cornwall. It went very well and we're certainly considering booking something similar through you in the future and we have already recommended your service to friends and colleagues.

Angela Roberts, UK

Very helpful and efficient -understood my needs with helpful suggestions | I booked at last minute to walk on my own and sought advice about what was feasible in the time I could allocate- I was walking at a busy period coinciding with a local music festival but still was found good friendly accommodation and the luggage pick up worked a treat. I had a great time and encountered an interesting bunch of people en route or staying at same place but also enjoying the peace and beauty of the walks on my own. I would definitely recommend them and use them again.

Phil Maude

The trip was well organised and although the days were long it was an enjoyable trip

Jenny Congdon, UK

All arrangements went well with good information provided. Easy to make contact and friendly. Accomodation was all very well situated - central to villages and not far from path. I particularly liked the flexibility of start/finish points so holiday can be tailored to exactly what you want. Would definitely use again and hope to return to walk other sections of the Path.

Brian Manwaring, UK

Great experiance and a fabulous walk. | The whole booking process was very easy no problems at all Linda was super.

Linda Horrex

They are reliable. | They followed up out of normal working hours. The landlord of one the pubs we stayed in said they were very easy to work with. We have used them before and will use them again for the next section of the path next year.

Barbara Carlisle

Excellent | Very helpful in all ways. Useful advice on itinerary

Russell Lagdon, Australia

Personal service was great - always responsive and clear. I did not find the walkers page (or whatever its called) that useful, but the email communications was spot on.

Trusted Customer

A great week's walking and some excellent food as recommended! | Linda and Mike are very good at listening to what we would like and then helping us to get the right mileage and accomodation for a great walk. Good food recommendations too and good fun to talk to!!

Andrew & Janet Longden

Flexible, helpful, local… and good value. | A superb trip - faultless luggage transfers and some of the very best B&B’s/small hotels, all of which were on or close to the trail.

Simone Amend

Unkompliziert | Unkomplizierte Absprache per Email und perfekte Abläufe. Schnelle Rückmeldungen bei Fragen. Tolle B&Bs

Lise Badsvik

All of the material arrived in good time before our trip so that we could prepare. We also received very informative additional information by email before our trip, though we would have liked to have been especially notified of the very long diversions on this section of the trail, which made some of our walking days extremely long. Also we would have liked to be especially notified that the ferry to Halford Passage stopped running at 5 p.m. We were too late and had to take a 40-minute long taxi ride to our accommodation on the other side of the river.

Keith Barber

Highly Recommended | Excellent customer service, pro,pt replies to our inquiries

Martin Johnson

Helpful, friendly and efficient. Feel like one of the family! | We are halfway through completing the SWCP. We have done four separate weeks with WtT and will continue to do so until we reach the end. They always treat us like friends, always happy to cater to our needs and always give prompt responses. The information packs they provide for the trips cover all essential needs; itinerary, directions/details of accommodation, maps including GPX files (Komoot), etc. Although the mileages can be a little understated, I wouldn't put the blame on WtT as many walkers we've met have said the same. The accommodation they provide is good and some are excellent. We have never had any problems with the transfers of our luggage, always there waiting for us and never any damage. We are thoroughly enjoying the experience and very grateful to WtT for taking all the hassle out of the organising. There have been a couple of tiny hick-ups but nothing to stop us continuing with this great little company.

Jillian Smith

The whole experience was fantastic!

Colin Horsley

We would recommend Walk the Trail and would use them again. Most arrangements ran smoothly and they were very responsive. The accommodation was a bit mixed and we would not necessarily recommend each of the places in which we stayed.

Trusted Customer

Linda was so helpful picking our hike and providing info we never would have found on our own. We are thinking about another England hike next year and will definitely us Walk the Trail. They were great

Trusted Customer

BEAUTIFUL trails ... very reasonably priced! | Excellent. Fun. All of the bag transfers were done earlier than what we expected.

Trusted Customer

Super route, reliable service, trustworthy partner

Michael Baensch

Walk The Trail sind Profis | alles hat perfekt geklappt

Andrew Marshall

The service from Walk the Trail was absolutely superb. We decided to join our friends on a walk at very short notice, & Walk the Trail did everything possible to find us accomodation & allow us to join the others. Walk the Trail were also extremely honest with us, letting us know what could be achieved & what couldn't; they also reverted very quickly on any queries. Overall we'd rate them very highly.

Lisa Glastonbury, Australia

Brilliant organisation and support | Fantastic personalised support from local people that know the trail intimately. They went to great lengths to ensure our safety during a big storm event. We couldn’t be happier with their attentive customer service.

TM, Netherlands

Exactly what we hoped for | Really customized and friendly; perfectly arranged walking four weeks on the swcp trail

Joe Gasan

Friendly and efficient service

Luca Cuccarini

Buono il servizio | Il servizio è buono anche se costoso. Sempre pronti a rispondere a qualunque esigenza. Ci sono stati degli inconvenienti con una sistemazione in hotel e con dei ritardi dei taxi ma tutto sommato un buon servizio. "Good service | The service is good even if expensive. Always ready to respond to any need. There were some hiccups with hotel accommodation and taxi delays but overall good service."

Trusted Customer

Great SWCP experience | Organisation excellent, service excellent, choice of B&B’s very good too bar the pub in Pendeen.

Marie Cuypers

Great

Peter Polkinghorne

Good experience | Good information and nice accomodation. answered questions prompty.

Trusted Customer

I am happy with the service and can fully recommend Walk the Trail.

Richard John Gale

Perfectly stress free | We have now used this company for four years and everything works perfectly - What more can you say. The accommodation chosen is great. It makes for a completely stress free holiday booking experience for what would be a nightmare to do yourself. And when there was no accommodation available where we ended our walk they arranged a taxi (included in cost) to take us to suitable accommodation.

Trusted Customer

INCREDIBLY RESPONSIVE, RELIABLE AND HELPFUL!!! THIS IS THE SECOND TRIP WE HAVE ARRANGED THROUGH WALK THE TRAIL AND I RECOMMEND THEM WITHOUT RESERVATION

MadlinHamburg

SWCP - St.Ives - Falmouth | I had the best vacation in a long time. It was all well planned. I highly recommend it.

Trusted Customer

This was my third walking tour through them, and I plan more in the future.

Trusted Customer

Wonderful holiday! | Perfectly planned, fine B&B locations, helpful when you have questions.

Trusted Customer

Friendly staff. Quick responses to queries.

Walter Peake

Walk the Trail doe an absolutely proper job, with every booking! I appreciate all of the clear communication and helpful input

Trusted Customer

Good in most ways, except that the quality of the accommodations was inconsistent.

James Garry Grant

A great holiday and my wife and I were sad when we arrived in Charlestown. | All accommodation was excellent. Our luggage was delivered each day in good time. I would certainly recommend this service.

Steve Kennett

Organised and efficient | Our expectations have been exceeded even before the walk has begun!

Phil Maude

This trip was excellent and all arrangements went to plan

Timothy Meyers

So far, their response time is great. They heard what I wanted. They provided just enough of humor along with the service. Nice options for things I did not know I wanted.

Peter Carne, London

Brilliant service ... I'd fully recommend! | I think Walking the Trail's service is brilliant. With great thought and care for our wishes, expectations and needs, they organise the perfect itinerary of day lengths, start and finish locations and accommodations. That's why we've used them again for our second stretch of the SW Coast Path.

Nick Delaney

A great service | Brilliantly organised. The whole holiday and transfers worked perfectly and accommodation was of consistently high standard. Would highly recommend.

Sue Masters, UK

Excellent support | We had a lovely week walking the next stage of the South West Coast Path. All the bookings made by Walk the Trail were excellent as was all the information, maps and directions that they gave us. The staff are really friendly and helpful whenever you need to talk to them and I would definitely use them again.