Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Reliable swells make Perranporth popular with surfers and bodyboarders, and the level
sands make it ideal for wind-powered sports such as kite-buggying, powerkiting and land-
Perran, and offers taster sessions in all these sports, as well as guided mountain-bike trips.
The ivy-covered
Bolingey Inn
( 01872-571626; Penwartha Rd, Bolingey; mains £10-16)
is the best
pub round Perranporth for food, and has a valley location about 2 miles drive inland.
Perran's venerable beachside bar, the
Watering Hole
(
www.the-wateringhole.co.uk
;
Perranporth
Beach)
, is great for a sundowner, with tables spilling onto the sand and local bands several
nights a week.
TOP OF CHAPTER
St Agnes & Chapel Porth
Abandoned engine houses litter the hilltops around St Agnes, which once resounded to the
thump and clang of mine pumps and steam engines, and now echoes only to the strains of
crashing surf and calling gulls. Smart slate-roofed houses hint at the town's former
prosperity as one of Cornwall's tin-mining boom towns: the local landmark of the
Stippy
Stappy
consists of a terrace of miners' cottages built in a steeply stepped pattern down the
hill to
Trevaunance Cove
.
Sights & Activities
Chapel Porth
( )
About 2 miles from St Agnes is one of Cornwall's most photogenic coves, Chapel
Porth, a wild, rocky beach framed by steep, gorse-covered cliffs that's now owned by the
National Trust. From the NT car park, you can clamber up the coast path to the famous
engine stack of
Wheal Coates
, which still boasts its chimney and winding house. From here,
the coast path winds along the surf-pounded cliffs around
Tubby's Head
and
St Agnes Head
.
The cove itself is great for exploring, especially at low tide, when the receding tide re-
veals many sea caves and rock pools. The
Chapel Porth Cafe
( 10am-5pm)
is a beloved local
institution for hot chocolate, cheesy baguettes and the house speciality, hedgehog ice
cream (vanilla ice cream topped with clotted cream and hazelnuts).
COVE
