Cornwall

St Agnes Head circular walk

This coastal walk passes the remains of a Second World War training camp, a National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) lookout, and acres of windswept heathland.

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Total steps: 6

Start point

Car park at St Agnes Head. Grid ref: SW702514.

Step 1

From the car park, head along the path that leads in a north-easterly direction. Follow it down to the coast path.

Cameron Camp ruins

During the Second World War, a light anti-aircraft training facility known as Cameron Camp was built on St Agnes Head. Named after a local landowner, it contained numerous buildings, some remains of which can still be seen today. The area is also covered by slit trenches, which are likely to have been made during training for the D-Day landings. After the war, the camp was used as a housing estate. However, by the early 1970s this had been bulldozed and the rubble used to backfill several old mineshafts.

Step 2

When you reach the coast path, turn left and walk in a westerly direction.

The wind-pruned heath

The cliffs between St Agnes Head and Porthtowan form one of the largest remaining tracts of heathland in Cornwall, most of the rest having been lost to agricultural use. The heath survives because the soils have been contaminated by the mining that previously took place here. The combination of soil conditions and salty winds blowing off the Atlantic means that few plants other than heathers can survive. Even these grow very slowly in the most exposed areas, where they develop a distinctive wave-like form. Specially adapted invertebrates live within this patchy heath, including a remarkable diversity of spiders.

Step 3

Continue along the coast path as it passes underneath the National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) lookout.

National Coastwatch Institution lookout

The first lookout here was probably established at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. The present building, which we rebuilt, opened in 2009 and is leased to the NCI. A registered charity founded in Cornwall in 1994, the NCI now maintains over 40 stations and has more than 1,700 volunteer watchkeepers. They keep a visual watch, monitor maritime radio and radar signals, and record sea and weather conditions.

Step 4

After a slight incline, you'll reach a network of paths that lead back around to the car park. Looping back on yourself, take the path to the inland side of the one you've been on.

Step 5

Head in an easterly direction along the path, through the car park and then past the NCI lookout on the left. This path then joins a tarmac road.

Step 6

Continue along the tarmac road to the car park you set out from.

End point

Car park at St Agnes Head. Grid ref: SW702514.

Trail map

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St Agnes Head, Off Beacon Drive, St Agnes, Cornwall, TR5 0NU

01872552412

stagneshead@nationaltrust.org.uk

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St Agnes Head circular walk

Total steps: 6