SCENIC TRAIL
ST IVES TO LANDS END

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ( E.G. GOLF CLUB, RIDING SCHOOL, GALLERIES, ACCOMMODATION) PLEASE SEND STAMPED, SELF-ADDRESSED ENVELOPE (22 cm x 11cm ) REQUESTING "BEYOND ST IVES" LEAFLET TO
THE STEAM POTTERY, PENDEEN, CORNWALL TR19 7DN


The coast road from the famous resort of St Ives to the equally renowned beauty spot of Lands End is full of interest and hidden delights for the more adventurous and discerning traveller. The road meanders up hill and down dale through starkly dramatic countryside dotted with old mine-workings, ancient stone walls and granite-built farmhouses framed against a colourful canvas of gorse and verdant countryside dropping sharply down rugged cliffs to the sea below. Those prepared to take a little time and move away from the beaten track to discover this beautiful and unspoiled part of Cornwall will be amply rewarded by all it has to offer .

St Ives to Lands End

St Ives, Zennor, Gurnard's Head

The B3306 road out of St Ives toward St Just and Lands End quickly leads into open countryside with a patchwork of typically irregular fields and stone walls, providing an instant echo of the history of the area reaching as far back as the iron age. The road continues past outstanding rock formations silently and majestically silhouetted against the skyline, affording atmospheric glimpses of a pagan past to fire the imagination and transport the mind into a world of ritual, magic and demons. The progression from pagan past to Christianity remains in evidence, etched by the landscape and its existing monuments, as does the more recent transition from a community sustained by tin mining, farming and fishing to one in large part dependent upon the interest of visitors. For those prepared to engage their imagination further, the landscape bears testimony to the grit of the Cornish working people of recent history who toiled on the land and down the mines, returning from lowly paid, grindingly hard and often dangerous work to houses poorly lit, sparsely heated and devoid of running water. It is this very dance between people and landscape that forms a whole picture, together with a true understanding and appreciation of the terrain and of the people who inhabit it.

ZennorSome three miles out of St Ives is the picturesque village of Zennor, snuggling in its own little valley with typically prominent church steeple heralding its arrival. At the top of the road leading into the village is a large stone reputed to have been used as a pulpit for John Wesley to convert the local sinners to Methodism in the 1750's. Halfway down the hill is the Wayside Folk Museum, providing a historic insight into the lives of working people in West Penwith and including a range of obsolete cooking, farm and fishing implements. At the bottom of the hill is the church, complete with its own cautionary reference to the colourful local legend of the mermaid, which should not be spoiled by prior explanation. If the traveller is by this time in need of a rest the Tinners Arms is close at hand, as it was for the weary Tin Miners in times gone by. The village also offers the Zennor Backpackers & Cafe situated in the recently converted old Methodist chapel.

Back on the road again, the traveller might like to stop for a spell to look at Designer Hand Knits, sample a Cornish cream tea or take B & B accommodation at the stunningly situated Tregeraint House with its far-reaching vista over Gurnard's Head and the sea, with the Scilly Isles on the horizon. Alternatively, The Gurnard's Head Hotel, recently completely refurbished and extended, now offers a varied menu all day long together with high quality accommodation. From the side of the inn one can walk to the headland or follow the track down to Cove Cottage to find secluded Bed & Breakfast accommodation in this lovely cottage overlooking the ocean, or the equally idyllic Chy Barnett self-contained holiday cottage, both set in the heart of Rosamunde Pilcher territory.

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