Godrevy

Godrevy sits on the eastern side of St Ives Bay in west Cornwall, facing the Atlantic. The land is owned partly by the National Trust and includes Godrevy Island offshore, where a lighthouse stands. The coast here is part of the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the South West Coast Path runs around the promontory. Public car parks and a café sit on the western side near Gwithian village. The headland covers about one square mile and rises to nearly 90 metres at its highest point. The headland holds some of Cornwall’s finest coastal heathland, rich in plants, insects and birds. The Knavocks area is managed by the National Trust with footpaths crossing grassland and gorse scrub. Seabirds nest on the cliffs and grey seals live along the shore, while bottlenose dolphins sometimes pass by. The island’s lighthouse, built in 1859 after the loss of the SS Nile, became automatic in 1939 and remains a key landmark. Visitors find wide sandy beaches for surfing and quiet coves such as Mutton Cove and Fishing Cove. The cliffs drop steeply to the water, with offshore rocks like The Stones marking the bay’s eastern edge. Wildflowers bloom in spring and stonechats nest among the gorse. The National Trust’s ponies graze parts of the heath, keeping the landscape open. From the cliffs, views stretch across the Atlantic and along the rugged north coast.