St Ives to Zennor

Famously the most technical stretch of the South West Coast Path. Slow, brilliant and not a place to chase a time.

HardPoint to pointRocky coast pathBoulder stepsBogBracken

Distance

11K

Ascent

520m

Difficulty

Hard

Time

1h 45m – 3h

Everybody underestimates this one. Eleven kilometres sounds like an hour. It is not. The path between St Ives and Zennor is a continuous scramble of granite boulders, hidden steps, stream crossings and bracken tunnels, and it will take a competent trail runner well over two hours in the wet.

It is also the most spectacular thing in west Cornwall. No roads, no phone signal in the dips, seals in the coves and the sense that the landscape has not been tidied up for anybody. Run it slowly. Look up often.

Most people run this one-way and get a lift, taxi or bus back. Doing it as an out-and-back is a serious day.

The map

Map placeholder

An interactive map goes here. Drop in OS Maps, Mapbox, MapLibre or an embedded Komoot/Strava route — the container is ready and nothing else needs to change.

↓ GPX download — not available yet

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Safety notes for this route

Patchy phone signal. Tell someone your plan and your expected finish time.
Ankle injuries are the common failure here, not fitness. Grippy shoes and a slow first half.
There are no easy escape routes back inland for long stretches.

Seasonal considerations

Bracken swallows the path in high summer — long socks help.
After heavy rain the bog sections between headlands are ankle-deep and the granite is genuinely slippery.