38. Cornwall: Boscastle and Coast Path Circular - 5 miles - O/S Explorer 111

Steep and uneven in parts.

For a village ravaged by floods in October 2004 – see for yourself at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8Fy6dYRp5w - Boscastle is looking pretty good these days. It’s also one of those little places that offers an awful lot if you know where to look. This walk is a good start to appreciating its charms.

Approaching by car along the B3266, turn left onto Mount Pleasant Lane as you first enter the village and park up.

Continue on foot a few yards to a triangle junction with gorgeously wonky cottages. Turn right.

A little way down you’ll come across the sixteenth century Napoleon Inn, a cosy unpretentious free house frequented by locals. Well worth a visit.

Crossing over the B3266, continue straight ahead down Fore St with its Wesleyan Chapel, school and village hall. Watch for a little sign on the right to the site of Bottreaux Castle.

As the name suggests, built around 1080, this was a Norman castle. Apparently, the prison within it was quite extensive, suggesting the local Celts made life tough for their new french boss. That's no surprise, but the castle being older than famous Tintagel's a few miles west might be. Tintagel Castle is in fact a 13th century romantic extravagance built six centuries after Arthur was supposedly sitting around the round table with his knights.

Returning to Fore St., continue-on down, keeping to the right where the road forks. This is Old Road and brings you to the Wellington Hotel. If you didn't stop at the Napoleon Inn for a beer, what about a cuppa in the Wellington's ancient and lovely beer garden?

Done with the Wellington, cross over the bridge and turn toward the sea on the eastern side of the River Valency. Hard to believe this trickle of water turned into a torrent destroying buildings and taking cars out to sea back in 2004. It would have been easy to ruin the place in the rebuild, but they haven’t. It’s lovelier then ever.

Go right at the Harbour lights café to keep on the coast path. As you climb there are lovely views down to Boscastle’s narrow little harbour.

If the tide’s in and the weather's fine, take the path left that cuts down to a small quay. It's a great place to relax and swim.

Afterwards, retrace your steps to the coast path. Follow it until a yellow way marker points right. Ignore this and go straight on. You are heading toward the farthest tip of the cliffs ahead, where ocean meets inlet. The views are spectacular and not to be missed.

As you approach the tip, if the tides high enough you'll hear the regular roar of ocean gushing through a blow hole beneath your feet. Best viewed from the cliff's opposite, you could add that little detour later on in the walk if it takes your fancy.

After enjoying the views from the headland, retrace your steps until you see a path on your left heading up toward a flagpole. Take this to re-join the coast path east.

Follow the path and admire the dry stone walls of angled slate at your right shoulder. After about half a mile, with the exposed cliffs and shingle beach of Pentargon in view ahead, look out for a gate to a path on your right that leads into a field.

Before taking this, look over toward the east side of Pentargon Beach to catch sight of a waterfall crashing or - depending on how wet its been - piddling down from the high cliff.

In the field, keep to the hedge, ignoring a path to your left. At the end of the field, rather than join a lane through a gate, turn right and stay in the field. This will bring you to another gate, and then another. This is where you join the road heading back into Boscastle.

Cross over, and before reaching the centre of Boscastle, just past the road sign reading Penally Hill, turn left by a house named Valency. Follow this into a car park and out the other side. The path follows the Valency River.

Follow it through fields and woodland for half-a-mile until you reach a wooden footbridge. Cross and turn right.

Now it’s a lovely climb through woodland for half-a-mile before coming to a lane. Turn right. To your right is remote and lovely Minster Church. Press on further to find the gate to it.

The church is Norman, although a hermitage that predates that era once stood here. Usually open, its well worth a look. The praying figures in relief on the right being particularly fascinating/charming/magical/unusual (pick you adjective).

Back to the lane continue a little way further until steps appear in the hedge on the left.

Take this and keep ahead across a track then stile into a farmer field. You need to go straight ahead here, but, if there’s a crop, skirt the edge for the farmer’s sake before passing into the next field.

The end of this field joins the B3266. Turn right, then almost immediately right again down toward Home Farm. Follow this past the farm buildings.

Where the lane veers left, there’s a track to your right and between the two, steps up to a field ahead. Take the steps. Go diagonally from here toward the far right corner of the field where - fairly hidden until you come upon it - is a stile.

Cross and right to a second stile. Over this go left until you come to a post marked Boscastle 200 yards.

Through a gate, go right (ignoring a wooden footbridge). This brings you to a lovely old cottage. From here you join Butts Lane, which in turn joins Fore St.

Look left and there’s the Napoleon Inn, near where you're parked. A pint of HSB please - if you're buying.