This summer, we did our usual and spent some time in West Cornwall doing many of the things we love - lots of which are included in our How to spend a week in Cornwall blog. But, as always, we discovered somewhere new that we can't quite believe we've never really explored before! Here is why you should visit St Agnes and some of the incredible coastline nearby.
We went early in the morning, hoping to catch the golden sunrise light off the cliffs but, as you can see from the photos, the weather had other ideas and we spent a lot of time sheltering from the showers! It made for some pretty epic skies though.
Wheal Coates
These impressive buildings are what's left of the former tin mine. There's a pay-and-display National Trust car park about a 5 min walk from the mine and several mining buildings to explore. Make sure you don't miss the lower engine house that is down by the cliff - it's stunning! You can also walk along the coast path a short way to Chapel Porth beach.
St Agnes Head
You can park in another National Trust car park (this time free) and walk a short way along the path to St Agnes Head for the most beautiful views along the coast in both directions. As I said, when we were there we were gifted with dramatic rainy skies but we would also like to visit on a sunny evening for the golden glow one day!
St Agnes Beacon
This is the highest point around and there is a 3 mile circular walk you can do that goes from St Agnes Head car park up and down the beacon. We didn't do the walk on this visit (mainly due to the rain!) but we've done it before and will definitely do it again some time as the panoramic views from the beacon are pretty impressive.
Chapel Porth Beach
Chapel Porth beach is a small cove tucked away in a valley between the cliffs. We were there at a fairly high tide and almost got stranded inside the caves but it was worth it! Yet another (pay-and-display) National Trust car park sits right next to the beach here. As we were there so early, we had the beach to ourselves and it was amazing.
St Agnes
From our short visit, St Agnes seems to be a pretty, quaint little town with interesting shops and cosy cafes and restaurants. We loved The Sorting Office Coffee House where we had breakfast after we had spent time exploring the coast. From the town, you can walk down a (pretty steep) path to the beach - Trevaunance Cove. We just loved the way the beach felt tucked away, hidden down this secluded path from the town.
So, as usual, Cornwall has given us a load of new places to add to our favourites list and that we will need to make time for on our future visits - no surprises there!
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