Past Pentewan and Black Head to Charlestown's tall-ship harbour and on to Par.
Highlights
- Pentewan
- Charlestown historic harbour
- Par Sands
Know before you go
- China-clay industrial sections near Par
Climbs 811 m and descends 809 m, topping out at 96 m and dropping to 3 m. Measured along the mapped route.
What you walk on, by distance (from OpenStreetMap way types).
Four axes rated 1–5 — the single rating above is only the headline.
Past Pentewan and Black Head to Charlestown's tall-ship harbour and on to Par.
Places on this leg with a full history, and free audio guides you can read or hear.
Mevagissey to Par is 10.9 miles (17.6 km). Allow about 6 h of walking, before stops.
Stage 32 climbs about 811 m and descends about 809 m, with a high point of about 96 m. On the South West Coast Path the ascent, not the distance, is what decides how long a day takes — the route repeatedly drops to sea level and climbs straight back out.
It is graded moderate. Rated out of five: physical demand 3/5 (Moderate), terrain 3/5 (Moderate), navigation 2/5 (Modest), remoteness 2/5 (Modest). On the SAC hiking scale it is T1 — mostly well-made path, falling is largely unlikely.
By distance the surface is footpath 83%, track 1%, road & lane 16%. Percentages come from the mapped way types along the route.
March to October is the usual window for this leg. Outside it, daylight is short, some estuary ferries stop running and cliff-top wind and rain make an exposed route much harder work.
Water on this stage is scarce. We map 6 refill points on the leg — mostly pubs, cafés and taps in the villages the path passes through. Shade is minimal: this is open cliff-top walking, so carry more than you think in summer.
Highlights on this leg are Pentewan, Charlestown historic harbour, Par Sands. It also passes 1 place we cover in depth: Charlestown Harbour. There is 1 free audio guide between them.
China-clay industrial sections near Par.