Classic mining coast past St Agnes Head and the iconic Wheal Coates engine houses to Portreath.
Highlights
- St Agnes Head
- Wheal Coates mine
- Chapel Porth
Know before you go
- Old mine shafts near the path
Climbs 702 m and descends 702 m, topping out at 105 m and dropping to 5 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.
Classic mining coast past St Agnes Head and the iconic Wheal Coates engine houses to Portreath.
Places on this leg with a full history, and free audio guides you can read or hear.
Perranporth to Portreath is 12.0 miles (19.4 km). Allow about 6 h 42 min of walking, before stops.
Stage 18 climbs about 702 m and descends about 702 m, with a high point of about 105 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 T2 — some steep, rough or uneven ground.
By distance the surface is footpath 77%, bridleway 4%, track 7%, road & lane 12%. 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 3 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 St Agnes Head, Wheal Coates mine, Chapel Porth. It also passes 1 place we cover in depth: Wheal Coates & St Agnes Mining Coast. There is 1 free audio guide between them.
Old mine shafts near the path.