Pentargon

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Pentargon, near Boscastle, Cornwall, PL35 0HE

Pentargon is one of the most dramatic sights on the whole North Cornwall Heritage Coast, and it is important to be clear from the outset about what kind of place it is. This is not a beach you park at, walk down to, and spread a towel on. It is a narrow, cliff-bound cove roughly a mile east of Boscastle harbour, reached only on foot via the South West Coast Path, and experienced almost entirely as a view - a sudden, breathtaking opening in the clifftop path where the ground falls away into a deep natural amphitheatre and a waterfall pours from the cliff edge down to the shore far below. There is no public route down to the water, and the pebble shore at the foot of the falls is effectively cut off from casual visitors by unstable, crumbling cliffs on every side. If you come to Pentargon expecting a swimmable beach, you will be disappointed; if you come for one of the great coastal spectacles of Cornwall, it delivers in full.

The centrepiece is the waterfall itself, which drops an estimated 36 metres (around 120 feet) from the clifftop above Pentargon to the cove below - most sources agree on a figure close to this, plunging in a near-vertical cascade rather than a series of stepped falls. It is very often described as the highest waterfall on the Cornish coast, and while exact height comparisons between different coastal falls can be hard to pin down precisely, there is no serious dispute that Pentargon is among the tallest and most spectacular anywhere in the county. After heavy rain the stream swells into a genuinely thunderous torrent, throwing spray out over the cove; in a dry summer it can reduce to a much gentler trickle down the rock face, so the character of the falls changes noticeably with the seasons and the weather in the days before your visit. Photographers and walkers time their trips accordingly, and a visit shortly after a wet spell is by far the most rewarding.

The cove's dramatic shape is a product of its unusual geology. Pentargon is what geographers call a hanging valley: the small stream that feeds the falls has, over thousands of years, been unable to cut down through the hard slates and sandstones of this stretch of coast as quickly as the sea has eroded the cliffs below it. The result is a valley left "hanging" above the current sea level, so that instead of a river gently widening into an estuary, the stream simply runs out of land and drops straight over the cliff edge to the cove floor. It is the same geological process responsible for several of the great coastal waterfalls of the South West, and it makes Pentargon a useful, vivid illustration of coastal erosion for anyone interested in the geology of this shoreline. The cliffs themselves are part of the folded and contorted slate and volcanic rock sequence that runs the length of this coast, the same formations responsible for the jagged, layered cliff faces visible all along the Heritage Coast between Bude and Tintagel.

The walk to Pentargon is itself one of the highlights of a visit, and should be treated as a proper coastal walk rather than a short stroll. From Boscastle's harbour car park, the coast path climbs steeply up and over Penally Point, the headland that shelters the harbour's famous narrow, dog-legged entrance, before settling into a clifftop route heading north and east. The going is rough and uneven in places, with some sustained climbing, exposed sections close to unfenced cliff edges, and no shelter from wind or rain - allow around 45 minutes to an hour each way at an unhurried pace, longer if you plan to linger at the viewpoints. The path is not suitable for pushchairs, and is a genuinely challenging outing for anyone unsteady on rough ground or uncomfortable with drops. Sturdy footwear and a weather eye are essential; this is a working stretch of the South West Coast Path, not a manicured park trail. Many walkers continue past Pentargon towards Beeny Cliff and beyond, since the section of path around the cove sits within a longer, well-regarded circular walk described in national coast path guides, but a there-and-back visit to the Pentargon viewpoint alone is a perfectly satisfying and much shorter outing.

At the cove itself, the path opens onto a natural viewing point a short distance back from the cliff edge, with the fall and the amphitheatre of cliffs opening up ahead. There are no barriers or railings here, and the ground close to the edge is neither fenced nor especially stable, so keep well back and keep a close eye on children and dogs - a slip here would be extremely serious. Looking down, you can see the narrow pebble shore at the base of the falls, but there is no path leading to it from above; older, informal routes down have in any case been affected by the same ongoing cliff erosion and rockfall that shapes this whole coastline, so treat any suggestion of a walkable route to the shore with real scepticism and do not attempt to find one. The cove and cliffs are also a good spot for wildlife: this stretch of coast is used by nesting seabirds including guillemots and razorbills in season, and grey seals are regularly seen hauled out on rocks or bobbing in the water below, particularly outside the busiest summer months.

Pentargon sits within the wider landholding around Boscastle and the Valency Valley that the National Trust cares for, part of a long run of Trust-managed coastline and countryside along this section of the Heritage Coast. The Trust's presence here means the coast path itself is well maintained even where the terrain is demanding, but it does not mean any additional visitor infrastructure at Pentargon - there are no signposted viewing platforms, no interpretation boards and no facilities of any kind at the cove. The nearest toilets, cafes, pubs and shops are all back in Boscastle village, a working harbour settlement with a strong literary association: Thomas Hardy worked in the area as a young architect and later drew on the dramatic scenery of this coastline, including this general stretch of cliff, in some of his poetry. There is no lifeguard cover anywhere along this section of coast, which is entirely expected given that there is no accessible beach to supervise.

Given all this, Pentargon rewards a particular kind of visitor: walkers who want a dramatic, photogenic destination for a there-and-back or circular coastal walk from Boscastle, rather than families looking for a day on the sand. It combines easily with a visit to Boscastle's harbour and village, and with the short, sheltered walk to Boscastle Harbour Beach itself if a gentler, more conventional beach visit is also wanted on the same trip. Whatever the time of year, come prepared for a genuine cliff walk, respect the unfenced edges at the viewpoint, and check the tide and weather before setting off, since the exposed clifftop path is a far less pleasant place to be in poor visibility or high wind.

Page last updated: 7 September 2026.

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