Walks around St Ives

Walks around St Ives

St Ives, Cornwall

Enjoy the walks by being guided by the app

Phone showing walk for purchase
Download the app and use it to explore the walks and to purchase a guided route.
Phone showing Google navigation to start of walk
The app will direct you to the start of the walk via satnav.
Hand holding a phone showing the iWalk Cornwall app
The app guides you around the walk using GPS, removing any worries about getting lost.
Phone showing walk directions page in the iWalk Cornwall app
The walk route is described with detailed, regularly-updated, hand-written directions.
Person looking a directions on phone
Each time there is a new direction to follow, the app will beep to remind you, and will warn you if you go off-route.
Phone showing walk map page in the iWalk Cornwall app
A map shows the route, where you are at all times and even which way you are facing.
Phone showing facts section in iWalk Cornwall app
Each walk is packed with information about the history and nature along the route, from over a decade of research than spans more than 3,000 topics.
Person looking at phone with cliff scenery in background
Once a walk is downloaded, the app doesn't need a phone or wifi signal during the walk.
Phone showing walk stats in the iWalk Cornwall app
The app counts down distance to the next direction and estimates time remaining based on your personal walking speed.
Person repairing footpath sign
We keep the directions continually updated for changes to the paths/landmarks - the price for a walk includes ongoing free updates.
  • 2.7 miles/4.3 km - Easy

    Hayle and The Towans

    Gardens at Hayle

    Hayle and The Towans

    2.7 miles/4.3 km - Easy

    A circular walk on the Towans at Hayle, where Cornwall's beam engines were cast using sand from a prehistoric lagoon when West Penwith was an island.

  • 2.4 miles/3.8 km - Easy-moderate

    Gwithian and Upton Towans

    Gwithian Towans

    Gwithian and Upton Towans

    2.4 miles/3.8 km - Easy-moderate

    A circular walk around the nature reserve in the sand dunes that was once the National Explosives Works where girls manufactured dynamite from nitroglycerine.

  • 3 miles/4.9 km - Easy-moderate

    Baker's Pit and Rogers' Tower

    Rogers' Tower

    Baker's Pit and Rogers' Tower

    3 miles/4.9 km - Easy-moderate

    A circular walk from the Bakers Pit nature reserve to an Iron Age hillfort where the remains of prehistoric roundhouses were seen as a convenient source of stone for a folly built in the era when the Poldark novels are set.

  • 4.2 miles/6.8 km - Moderate

    St Ives to Carbis Bay

    Carbis Bay

    St Ives to Carbis Bay

    4.2 miles/6.8 km - Moderate

    A circular walk from St Ives through the Steeple Woods nature reserve to the monument overlooking St Ives Bay where the eccentric quinquennial ceremony of John Knill has been performed for over 200 years, returning along the coast via the white sandy beaches of Carbis Bay and Porthminster.

  • 4.3 miles/7 km - Moderate

    Lelant to St Ives

    St Ives Bay

    Lelant to St Ives

    4.3 miles/7 km - Moderate

    A one-way walk to St Ives along the beaches from Lelant including the vast expanse of Porthkidney Sands, Carbis Bay and Porthminster Beach using the train or bus to make the route almost circular.

  • 4.3 miles/7 km - Moderate

    St Ives

    St Ives Harbour

    St Ives

    4.3 miles/7 km - Moderate

    A circular walk at St Ives along the granite coastline and white sandy beaches which have inspired so many artists, through some of the most famous parts of the town including the harbour, The Island and The Tate, and via the church and holy well of the Celtic girl Ia who, according to legend, was the first to settle here.

  • 4.8 miles/7.7 km - Moderate

    Lelant Saltings to Carbis Bay

    Lelant Church

    Lelant Saltings to Carbis Bay

    4.8 miles/7.7 km - Moderate

    A circular walk from Lelant following St Michael's Way along the vast stretch of beach from Porthkidney Sands to Carbis Bay, with views over St Ives Bay on the return route.

  • 5.0 miles/8.1 km - Moderate

    Hell's Mouth to Godrevy

    Stones Reef and Godrevy Lighthouse

    Hell's Mouth to Godrevy

    5.0 miles/8.1 km - Moderate

    A circular walk following the coast from Hell's Mouth past Godrevy lighthouse to the sandy beaches of St Ives Bay, returning via a pilgrimage route along the Red River Valley.

  • 6.8 miles/11 km - Moderate

    St Ives to Carn Naun

    Coastline at St Ives

    St Ives to Carn Naun

    6.8 miles/11 km - Moderate

    A circular walk from St Ives on the ancient churchway towards Zennor and returning along the rugged coast to Porthmeor, where a Victorian cargo ship and the St Ives lifeboat were both wrecked and the ship's boilers are still visible at low tide.

  • 4.2 miles/6.8 km - Moderate-strenuous

    Rosemergy to Gurnard's Head

    Carn Galver Engine Houses

    Rosemergy to Gurnard's Head

    4.2 miles/6.8 km - Moderate-strenuous

    A circular walk along the coast past the towering cliffs of Bosigran Castle via the white sand and huge boulders of Porthmeor Cove to the site of an Iron Age fort on Gurnard's Head, returning from the Gurnard's Head pub via the ancient Zennor Churchway.

  • 4.2 miles/6.7 km - Moderate-strenuous

    Zennor to Gurnard's Head

    Coastline at Zennor

    Zennor to Gurnard's Head

    4.2 miles/6.7 km - Moderate-strenuous

    A circular walk from Zennor along the coast to the site of an Iron Age fort on Gurnard's Head, returning from the Gurnard's Head pub on the ancient Churchway to Zennor.

  • 5.4 miles/8.6 km - Moderate-strenuous

    Zennor to The Carracks

    View from Zennor Head

    Zennor to The Carracks

    5.4 miles/8.6 km - Moderate-strenuous

    A circular walk towards St Ives from Zennor following the Coast Path past the haunts of the legendary mermaid of Zennor to the islets of The Carracks, frequented by seals, and returning on the Coffin Path, along which villagers made their final journey to Zennor church.

  • 7.7 miles/12.4 km - Moderate-strenuous

    Zennor to St Ives (via bus)

    View from Zennor Head

    Zennor to St Ives (via bus)

    7.7 miles/12.4 km - Moderate-strenuous

    A fairly demanding but rewarding one-way coastal walk, made circular via an initial bus journey, along the rugged coast between St Ives and Zennor, passing Seal Island which may have given rise to the legend of the mermaid of Zennor and - thanks to some imaginative naming - ice cream (Moomaid of Zennor). The walk is in the optimal direction to remove time pressure and for panoramic views across St Ives bay.

  • 12.1 miles/19.4 km - Moderate-strenuous

    St Ives to Zennor

    St Ives coastline

    St Ives to Zennor

    12.1 miles/19.4 km - Moderate-strenuous

    A fairly long and demanding but rewarding circular walk along the coffin path and rugged coast between St Ives and Zennor. The walk is organised so that the coastal section is in the optimal direction for panoramic views across St Ives bay.

Download the iWalk Cornwall app and use the QR scanner within the app to find out more about any of the walks above.

The St Ives walk includes St Ives harbour, Smeaton's Pier, island and some of the coastline from St Ives to Zennor. Alternatively the walk from St Ives to Carbis Bay includes John Knill's Steeple and returns to St Ives via Porthminster Beach. On the walk from Lelant to Carbis Bay, you can walk for over a mile along the huge beach of Porth Kidney Sands if you time it for low tide.