Romantic Picnic Locations to Watch the Sunset in North Cornwall
Never waste any amount of time doing anything important when there is a sunset outside that you should be sitting under. — C. JoyBell C.
You may have read in Part 1 (West Penwith) that we have decided to focus more on the North Cornwall Cliffs and West coast cliffs for these posts rather than the beaches. These north Cornwall cliffs are much quieter in the summer months and you won’t have sandy people sabotaging your romantic picnic. North Cornwall has some of the most dramatic high cliffs and scenic views over the ocean where you can share a tasty picnic with your loved one or family. From this vantage point you are able to appreciate the ever changing colours, not only of the landscape, but the sea below and watch the seals and dolphins.
** We have tried to choose places that have relatively easy parking and access and are suitable to set up a picnic without having to walk too far.
The South West Coast is perfect for sunrises so we have, for this reason, left this coastline off our list and focused more on West Cornwall (part 1) and North Cornwall (part 2) for our guide to the best sunset locations.
As we mentioned in Part 1 – For all you early risers out there, we will be releasing a guide to the ‘Best sunrise locations to eat pancakes and drink a coffee’ so please keep an eye out for this soon.
We have spent many hours walking along the beautiful coastline and photographing the sunsets. So after lots of adventures, exploring and eating our body weight in pasties and cream teas we decided to share our favourite locations that are accessible for all abilities and make a wonderful romantic or family fun picnic to watch the sun set in North Cornwall. Here is a list of some of our favourite cliff top locations on the North Cliffs of Cornwall.
Bedruthan Steps – The North Cornwall Cliffs near Newquay
The National Trust car park is a short walk, not too far from the cliffs. The path is flat and easy along the first section towards the cliffs. If you want to walk a little further towards the iconic viewpoint over the sea stacks then head on down a little further to the right. There are lots of viewpoints along this top coast path towards Park Head that make a great spot to sit and watch the sunset. We celebrated Patrick’s 40th birthday overlooking this area. My son who is an incredibly fussy eater and never sits for more than 3 seconds was more excited than Patrick about the picnic and ate everything and sat for the whole hour nibbling all the tasty treats.
Trevose Head – A Beautiful Headland and Sandy Beach near Padstow
Another National Trust car park directly above the Trevose lighthouse and cliffs makes for a quick walk for a great view that is level and flat. Also on windy days (depending on which way the wind is blowing) we have found it really sheltered on the cliffs when going a little lower.
Chapel Porth – The Wheal Coates Mines & Stunning Views Near St. Agnes
A popular location but the cliffs tend to be much quieter than the beach. We often park at the top car park which is also National Trust, above the beach and up by the famous Wheal Coates. The path is direct and quick and only takes around 2 minutes for dramatic views over the north cliffs & the ocean. You could even eat your hamper or picnic in an old mine ruin.
The Rumps
This headland in North Cornwall is absolutely gorgeous, we only visited it for the first time quite recently and were in awe of how high and breathtaking the north cliffs around here were. There are so many viewpoints and locations, all beautiful and amazing. We parked at Lundy Bay and walked the coast path to here but there is car parking at Pentireglaze Car Park.
Trescore Islands – Tropical Paradise
Another little gem of a location in North Cornwall. Park at Porthcothan for a walk along the top coast path. We love the views over the little islands and sea swimming here is a must if you are feeling brave. The clear waters and marine life makes it great for snorkelling.
Trevone Bay – Hidden Gem
We love the cliffs up to the right hand side of the bay (if facing from the carpark towards the sea) and a short walk up the hill you can see a huge natural hole, created from a collapsed sea cave, then a little further past here, you can sit directly on the most beautiful cliffs. To your right you are rewarded by huge dramatic sea stacks where the waves crash against caves and to your left the huge white sandy bay of Trevone. Carry along onto the beach and have a swim in Trevone rockpool. It is really big and was accessible 2 hours before high tide when we visited.
Godrevy/ Hayle and Gwithian
This huge stretch of coastline gives you so many options for romantic picnics. Gwithian and Godrevy gets very busy but it is still possible to find a quiet spot in the dunes around Gwithian and Hayle or on the coast path past Godrevy lighthouse. Most people tend to walk as far as the lighthouse or see the seals at Mutton Cove and go no further. We love to walk on around as if you are heading towards Portreath. The cliffs overlooking the lighthouse in the distance are just magical to watch the sunset.
Hell’s Mouth – The Beautiful Cliffs & Coast Path to Portreath
This stretch might have a slightly more sinister history but if you can put this thought out of your heads it makes for one of our favourite ‘quick’ and easy go to’s to access high cliffs without a walk. You can park at Hells Mouth Cafe and walk a minute to be directly on the huge cliffs. We tend to walk a little further along again towards Portreath to find quieter more secured spots.
“Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair” ― Susan Polis Schutz
I like people who get excited about the change of seasons, the sound of the ocean, watching a sunset, the smell of rain and starry nights. – Brooke Hampton
We hope this post has helped inspire you to have your own romantic picnic on the wild Cornish cliffs. Please make sure you don’t leave any rubbish behind when you go, leave only your footprints and take home good memories.
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