Crackington Haven Circular Walk

31st October 2017

I went on a Coastal Walk with my daughter, Elise upon my back, it was a walk that I found in the AA 1001 Great Family Walks. We do go slightly off the route with this walk, but this time it was intentional. This 4-mile long circular walk takes in the stunning clifftop views of North Cornwall’s Crackington Haven before heading down into the wooded Trevigue valley where we follow the river home.

You will find this and other walks from the South West Coast Path on the South West Coast Path Playlist on our Summit or NothingYoutube Channel or simply visit our HIKING GUIDES page on this website for more written guides taken from our walks.

The weather on this Autumnal October day, was fantastic for this walk – the sun was out, the sea was calm, in fact, it was more like a mill pond than an ocean, and I had brilliant company strapped onto my back. Ok, so I forgot my hiking boots, but it wasn’t too wet underfoot at this time of the year. 

The walk starts at the Coombe Barton Inn carpark in the center of Crackington Haven. We crossed the road at the bridge and headed to the left-hand side of the beach – following the path to the right of the phone box. We stuck to the track here until we reached the kissing gate that takes us onto the coast path, and the first climb of the day up to the first high cliff tops.

The bramble bushes either side of us bring forth Blackberries when the seasons are right, we just about caught the end of them when we strolled past in the autumn. When up to the top, you can see the path ahead dropping down once again into the valley, the stony coastline of Tremoutha Haven below and beyond that, the clifftop of Cambeak rising above it all, like a mini Pen Y Fan. 

We followed the path down the valley, and at the bottom passed through a gate and over a small wooden bridge. Then we climbed further down and found another little wooden bridge in amongst the trees in the valley. It’s a beautiful little area, which we soon leave and start heading up once again to the high cliffs, towards Cambeak.

The zig-zag path up the side of Cambeak soon came into view, and it seems quite steep and a bit daunting, which is why, I imagine it is not included in the AA Family Walks book, but we enjoy the challenge and went for it. Besides, the views were sure to be amazing from up the top.If, however, you don’t want to do the climb, just follow the coast path around to the left, walking beneath Cambeak.

Sadly the coast path part of this circular walk is coming to an end on this final stretch of about 600m, but not before one more decent and climb as we head towards the Strangles, which is another beach just below us. Its parallel to this beach, that we divert off the coast path and head inland towards Trevigue – there is a post to indicate this pathway.
 

It’s a quick stroll away from the coast and we reach the road, directly beside the National Trust sign for the Strangles. We take a left here and head along the road a little until we reach the Trevigue Farm, where we take a right just ahead of the Trevigue sign, then we head down the driveway, bearing left to go through the gate and into the field behind the farm.

Now, we descend the field, keeping to the left of the telegraph pole until we reach the stile at the bottom, which takes us into the woodland. Head down hill, and soon you will reach the sign at the edge of the river, and simply follow this towards Haven, taking a sharp left.

This woodland walk was a beautiful end to the walk, but even back in the early Autumn, it was a bit wet underfoot, so it would be wise to wear suitable footwear, as I would imagine after a lot of rainfall it could be almost impassable in places.

This woodland follows the river that runs through the Trevigue Valley, and in many places, there are some idyllic spots to just absorb your surroundings. We were probably in this valley for a 1 1/2km’s until eventually reaching another couple of footbridges, both of which we crossed until we emerged at a gate just next to some houses. Then we followed the lane until we eventually came out on the main road just above Crackington Haven. Then its a case of heading left, downhill until you reach the car park where you started.