Past the Crowns engine houses of Botallack and around Cape Cornwall, England's only cape, to Sennen Cove.
Highlights
- Botallack Crowns mines
- Cape Cornwall
- Sennen Cove
Know before you go
- Old mine workings beside the path
Climbs 558 m and descends 610 m, topping out at 98 m and dropping to 7 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 the Crowns engine houses of Botallack and around Cape Cornwall, England's only cape, to Sennen Cove.
Places on this leg with a full history, and free audio guides you can read or hear.
Pendeen to Sennen Cove is 9.2 miles (14.8 km). Allow about 5 h 6 min of walking, before stops.
Stage 22 climbs about 558 m and descends about 610 m, with a high point of about 98 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 2/5 (Modest), terrain 3/5 (Moderate), navigation 2/5 (Modest), remoteness 2/5 (Modest). On the SAC hiking scale it is T2 — some steep, rough or uneven ground.
By distance the surface is footpath 77%, bridleway 3%, track 11%, road & lane 9%. 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 moderate. We map 2 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 Botallack Crowns mines, Cape Cornwall, Sennen Cove. It also passes 2 places we cover in depth: Botallack & Levant Mines, Cape Cornwall. There are 2 free audio guides between them.
Old mine workings beside the path.