South west-based writer/photographer NIGEL HICKS shares his love of five coves along Cornwall’s Atlantic coast, places where it’s possible to dodge the crowds
Cornwall’s Atlantic coast is a wild and rugged place, high cliffs alternating with long sandy beaches and the occasional narrow, often hard-to-reach cove, along with (of course) the occasional town, principally Bude, Newquay, Padstow and St Ives. During the summer months both the beaches and the towns can be impossibly crowded, although during the spring they’re usually pleasantly quiet.
But what about those coves? They’re quiet all year round, few people venturing far enough off the beaten track to reach them, making them ideal targets for those who truly want to explore. As someone who has had Cornwall in their bones for many years, and who has an ingrained dislike of crowds, I’ve developed quite a list of quiet coves that I can retreat to whenever the need arises. Now I’m going to share just five of those that lie along the rugged Atlantic coast, places where the cliffs relent briefly, falling away sometimes as barely more than a cleft in the landscape to create a hidden piece of accessible shore.
Moving east to west, the first one up is the quaintly named Duckpool. Lying a short distance south of the Devon border, this cove is the seaward mouth of the steep and beautifully wooded Coombe Valley. The stream that runs along this valley flows across the beach, cutting it in two.
CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE
Seen at sunset, Cot Valley’s position facing west leaves it open to the Atlantic swell, resulting in powerful waves that rush in across the rocks at high speed; Some of the cliffs at Duckpool consist of brightly coloured and deeply folded sedimentary rocks, creating some striking patterns; Porthgwarra’s steep slipway, leading from sea directly into the hamlet, is still used by a few boats, though there is little left of the fishing community that once worked out of here; Evening sunlight catches the cliffs around the beautiful north-facing Portheras Cove, seen from the coast path, approaching from Pendeen lighthouse; At the southern end of Trebarwith Strand, the beach – seen at low tide – is sheltered both by high cliffs and the offshore Gull Rock; A clear dawn puts some rich colours across both the sky and the cliffs at the entrance to Porthgwarra’s cove.
For some, ‘beach’ might be too strong a word, as there is precious little sand here, although at low tide a few patches do appear. Instead, this is largely a place of boulders and pebbles, hemmed in by high hills and cliffs, the highest being Steeple Point to the north.
How Duckpool came by its curious name is a mystery, bu
