Walks in Cornwall without stiles

A short and easy circular walk from Camelford along the wildflower-rich meadows of the River Camel to the clapper bridge at Fenteroon, returning through the fields with views over the Camel Valley.

A circular walk on Park Head, used as one of the filming locations in the Poldark BBC TV series and with spectacular views over Bedruthan Steps and the Trescore Islands.

A circular walk around the rugged coastline of Trevose Head via the iconic lighthouse and golden sandy beach at Mother Ivey's Bay, with spectacular wildflowers in spring and summer and thundering waves in winter that sometimes expose the shipwreck at Booby's Bay.

A walk though a granite landscape mined first for tin, then china clay and now for geothermal power to generate electricity and heat the space-age greenhouses of the Eden Project.

A circular walk around Cornwall's most iconic mining remains, used for the filming of the BBC's Poldark series

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.

A circular walk through the King's Wood Woodland Trust reserve to the lost port of Pentewan, along the trackbed of the horse-drawn tramway that once carried china clay to the busy port and via the system of reservoirs and sluices that were used to flush sand out of the harbour.

A circular walk past the Sea Pool to Crooklets beach and along Maer cliff to the beach at Northcott Mouth, where the shipwreck of the SS Belem is exposed at low tide.

A circular walk at Tywardreath where a mediaeval Priory was based and Par where much of the route was once a tidal creek and a wetland nature reserve has been created on some of the reclaimed land.

A figure-of-8 walk at Bude where the demand for lime-rich sand could not even be met by 4000 horses a day and so a 35-mile canal was built to transport it to the Tamar Valley.

A circular walk at Truro along the river, trackbed of the Newham railway and through the historic city centre.

A circular walk around Mount's Bay where the remains of the prehistoric forest that surrounded St Michael's Mount can still occasionally be seen on very low tides after storms

A circular walk in the Copper Kingdom of the Old World where the majority of world's copper came from during the 18th and 19th Centuries

A circular walk through the poppy fields of West Pentire to Polly Joke beach, returning over the headland to the pub that was a cowshed until the mid-20th Century.

A circular walk around the nature reserve in the sand dunes that was once the National Explosives Works where young girls manufactured dynamite from nitroglycerine, two tonnes of which detonated causing a shock wave that broke windows in St Ives and Penzance and could be heard on Dartmoor.

A circular walk to the Beacon Local Nature Reserve, Jail and through Bodmin's historic centre.

A fairly short and easy circular walk around Warbstow, crossing ramparts of the massive Iron Age hillfort, through fields and along country lanes lined with wildflowers, returning via the mediaeval church which is dedicated to the daughter of a Saxon King who was tutored by the Celtic Saint Morwenna.

A circular walk at Carn Marth with panoramic views right across mid-Cornwall to Falmouth and the Roseland, the Cornish Alps and Bodmin Moor, and St Agnes and Trevose Head

A fairly short and easy circular walk through Lanhydrock gardens with plenty of picnic spots along the River Fowey that you can combine with a visit to the house.

A circular walk alongside the Loe Pool to the Loe Bar and back via the farm on the hill spur, which in Cornish gave the name to the Penrose Estate.

A walk on contrasting coastlines, from the rugged Roseland coast to the sheltered creeks of the Percuil River opposite St Mawes.

A circular walk following the leats and horse-drawn tramways through the World Heritage site of the Luxulyan Valley to the massive viaduct which carried the tramways towards Newquay and water to winch the trams up the valley with a huge waterwheel, recommended in guidebooks as early as the 1920s "as one of the most glorious walks in all Cornwall".

A circular walk in the area described in Victorian times as the richest square mile anywhere on Earth

A circular walk on the highest dune system in Britain to the chapel dating from Celtic times which was lost in the dunes for nearly 1000 years.

A walk at Calstock where a Victorian mineral railway from Kelly Bray once ran down to the quayside and the viaduct was built in the 1900s to connect this to Plymouth, creating today's Tamar Valley Line.

A circular walk through the mature broadleaf woodland in the less well-known areas of the Lanhydrock estate, through bluebell woods and along the River Fowey, past the mediaeval bridge at Respryn, built after numerous prayers for safe passage in the ford-side chapel, had not resulted in the desired outcome.

A circular walk from Holywell Bay on the dunes and Kelsey Head to the sandy beach of Polly Joke.

A circular walk on the rugged cliffs at the most westerly point of the British mainland with spectacular views and spectacular wildflowers.

A circular walk at Mount's Bay from the largest port town in the bay to the harbour of Cornwall's largest fishing fleet.

A circular walk around Stannon Moor near St Breward with panoramic views of Bodmin Moor, passing stone circles, burial chambers and other prehistoric monuments to a massive granite boulder balanced on Louden Hill which gently rocks if you sit on it.

A one-way coastal walk, made circular via an initial bus journey, from Watergate Bay along the coast path to Newquay, passing the sea caves at Whipsiderry beach, the Iron Age hillfort on Trevelgue head and the beaches of Porth, Lusty Glaze and Tolcarne.

A figure-of-8 walk along the creeks of the River Fal through the 300 acre estate surrounding Trelissick House.

A circular walk from Holywell Bay past the remarkable sacred spring and along the coast to the sandy beaches of Porth Joke and Crantock, returning via the poppy fields of West Pentire and the Cubert Common nature conservation area.

A walk through the remains of the UK's most productive copper mines which employed thousands of people in Victorian times, including brakemen who each scooted an individual loaded ore wagon down to Liskeard on the railway that forms much of the walk route.

A circular walk in china clay country, including a trail laid on the trackbed of a mineral railway from St Austell to the Cornish Alps and one of Cornwall's most picturesque holy wells.

A circular walk in tributary valleys of the St Germans River and past the Victorian coastal defences overlooking Whitsand Bay, where one of the forts is still in use today.

A circular walk around the thriving town of Falmouth, which didn't exist until Elizabethan times when Sir Walter Raleigh suggested that the largest natural harbour in Europe would be a good place to build a port town.

A circular walk from the mediaeval bridge at Respryn along the River Fowey through the bluebell woodland of the Lanhydrock Estate to the circular Norman castle at Restormel which had a pressurised piped water system 700 years ahead of its time.

A mostly circular walk from the Castle-an-dinas Iron Age hillfort with 360 degree views across Cornwall, then into the valley to the River Menalhyl, followed by wooded paths lined with primroses, bluebells and wild garlic, and lanes with vibrant wildflowers.

A circular walk through the woodland alongside the Loe to the most southerly port on the British mainland, famous for its huge storm waves.

A circular walk around the Loe Pool, the largest natural freshwater lake in Cornwall, and along the Loe Bar, one of Cornwall's most treacherous beaches on which 100 of those onboard the HMS Anson drowned metres from the shore, motivating the invention of the rocket lifesaving apparatus that saved thousands of lives.

A circular walk from Widemouth Bay along the Coast Path though the Phillips Point nature reserve to The Storm Tower at Compass Point and then along the Bude Canal to Whalesborough, returning across the fields to Widemouth.

A figure-of-8 walk from Daymer Bay thorough the dunes to Rock, passing the once-buried St Enodoc church, before crossing on the ferry to Padstow, and returning along three miles of sandy beaches.

A circular walk from Cotehele Quay into the broadleaf woodland of the Danescombe Valley where bluebells and orchids flower in spring and fungi erupt through the carpet of autumn leaves.

A circular walk from Lansallos to the coves of Lantivet Bay where farmers collected seaweed and sand to improve the soil and smugglers landed French brandy.

A circular walk between the sheltered cove at Porthpean and the historic port of Charlestown, originally built to export copper, then China Clay, and now used for filming by Hollywood and Poldark.

A figure-of-eight walk around the fishing village and headlands surrounding Polperro, passing the net loft perched above the harbour, the Victorian sea pool, the site of the mediaeval chapel and the harbourmaster's route to the lighthouse.

A short circular walk from Padstow harbour to the viewpoints at the War Memorial and Victorian obelisk, the Elizabethan Manor at Prideaux Place, and including some pretty backstreets that lie off the main tourist routes.

A circular walk on the northernmost end of one of Cornwall's largest areas of sand dunes that stretch from Crantock to Perranporth, under which one mediaeval chapel was found and another is said to still be lost.

A circular walk on the headland near Fowey where Daphne du Maurier lived and formed the basis for scenes in her books.

A circular walk from the beach and tiny harbour of Portwrinkle to the small village of Sheviock, thought to be Cornish for "abounding in strawberries", with a church abounding in mediaeval tombs.

A circular walk on The Lizard to the most southerly point from Church Cove, where the Lizard lifeboat is now launched to the old lifeboat station at Polpeor Cove.

A circular walk around the iconic landmarks at Minions, including The Hurlers stone circles, The Cheesewring and the engine houses of the South Phoenix Mine.

A circular walk across the Iron Age hillfort on the twin headlands of The Rumps and around Pentire Point, with panoramic views of the Camel Estuary and the offshore islands, to the sandy beach at Polzeath.

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.

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.

A circular walk on The Lizard from Kennack Sands where some of the oldest prehistoric finds have been made in Cornwall, including an entire lost Stone Age village which was uncovered by a gorse fire in the 1960s.

A circular walk from Sandymouth beach, via the Landmark Trust's historic buildings of Coombe and a derelict mill which is one of the largest bat colonies in England, to the remains of the once great manor of Stowe Barton, the interior furnishings of which can be seen in Prideaux Place at Padstow.

A one-way coastal walk, made circular via an initial bus journey, along the ore-bearing cliffs between Perranporth and St Agnes passing the remains of Nobel's dynamite works, Britain's best preserved spitfire base and the Blue Hills of Trevellas Coombe where tin is still processed on a small scale using traditional methods.

A circular walk from Porthtowan, along the coast, valleys and woodland, passing engine houses and other relics of Cornish copper mining.

A circular walk in the Fal valley from Grampound which began as river port in Roman times which evolved into the gateway into West Cornwall in mediaeval times and went on to become the centre of Cornwall's tanning industry.

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.

A circular walk along the Cornish Riviera coastline frequented by royalty in the Roaring 20s, from the ingeniously-designed copper port now popular with film directors for its tall ships

A circular walk past the remains of Alfred Nobel's dynamite works to the red-and-yellow ore-rich cliffs above the wreck of the treasure ship Hanover, returning, via the spitfire base, along Perran Coombe where a 2-mile leat once carried water to power a massive waterwheel in a chamber within the cliffs.

A circular walk around the UK's surf capital which was transformed from a tiny fishing village with a few thatched cottages when, in order to export ore from the harbour, a horse-drawn tramway was built across Cornwall which later became part of the Great Western Railway.

A circular walk along the Great Flat Lode, where the Basset family made their fortune from the rich mineral reserves, to Carn Brea where they built a hunting lodge balanced on a tor in the style of a castle.

A circular walk through the gardens of Cotehele to Calstock where Cornwall's largest Roman fort once stood, the Vikings allied with the Cornish to fight off the Saxons, and more recently railway wagons were lifted over 100ft by steam power from the quay to the top of the viaduct.

A circular walk through Bude and along two miles of sandy beaches to Sandymouth, passing Bude Castle, built on floating foundations by the inventor of limelight, the Victorian Sea Pool, the Half-Tide Cross and the shipwreck of the SS Belem from which the propeller shaft supports the barrel on Barrel Rock.

A circular walk at Par where the land itself was created by the mining industry and is being re-sculpted by nature into sandy beaches, streams and woodland.

A circular walk through the woodland along the West Looe River to Herodsfoot from Duloe, where Cornwall's smallest stone circle stands.

A (bus-assisted) one-way walk along the coast with spectacular wildflowers and one of Cornwall's most photographed views over the volcanic rock stacks of Bedruthan Steps, which Victorians liked to think of as a giant's stepping stones.

A one-way coastal walk, made circular via an initial bus journey, from Holywell Bay along the coast and Gannel estuary to Newquay, passing the beaches of Porth Joke and Crantock and the headland of West Pentire where there is a spectacular display of red-and-gold wildflowers in June.

A circular walk between Talland Bay and Polperro along an area of coastline so famous for smuggling that there is even a museum on the subject.

A circular version of the famous Hall Walk from Bodinnick to Polruan, recorded as a walk with "sweete senting flowers" in Tudor times and during the Civil War where a gun shot aimed at Charles I is said to have instead killed a fisherman who stood on the same spot moments later.

A circular walk along the coast from Polruan to the white sandy beaches of Lantic Bay, returning via Lanteglos Church and along the creek with panoramic views of Fowey.

A circular walk in the Tamar Valley at Gunnislake where Victorian canal systems, engine houses and tramways have been recolonised by nature and kingfishers rather than barges now journey up and down the river.

A circular walk though the wildflowers of the Kilkhampton Common nature reserve and woods of the Coombe Valley, returning via the remains of the Norman castle at Penstowe which consisted of a stone tower perched on the top of a steep hill but surrounded by two baileys, rather than the usual one, the reason for which is a mystery.

A circular walk along the rugged North Cliffs hiding smuggler's coves such as Ralph's Cupboard, to the sandy beach and historic mining port of Portreath, returning via the bluebell woodland of Illogan and Tehidy Country Park.

A circular walk in an area of Cornwall so off the beaten track that No Man's Land is a real place name and a breeding colony of monkeys live in the woodland, in a sanctuary set up by the father of the classical guitarist, John Williams.

A circular walk from Poundstock through bluebell woods along the river to the pretty pebbles and chevron-folded cliffs of Millook Haven and along the coast path with panoramic views from Bridwill Point.

A circular walk along the rugged coast from Polperro, where a bell buoy rings out across the waves from the treacherous reef known as Udder Rock.

A circular walk along the rugged coast from Portreath towards Porthtowan passing small coves and remnants of the clifftop mines beside the old RAF base, and returning via the horse-drawn tramway that brought fortune to Portreath harbour, where its "lighthouse" and "monkey house" remain from the shipping activity.