Distance 7 miles (11km)
Classification Moderate
Duration 3 hours
Begins Kynance Cove
OS grid reference SW6813
Walk in a nutshell
A rangy circuit resembling the outline of a bat that will take you along sandy beaches and stony clifftop paths around the very end of the Lizard peninsula.
Why it's special
This walk around the southernmost tip of mainland Britain includes not only some of Cornwall's most dramatic coastline but also some wonderful and rare wildflowers and animals along the way.
Keep your eyes peeled for
Kynance Cove – popular with Victorian picnickers and daytrippers who have left their ambitiously stuffy mark on the place in the names of the cove's many caves such as the Ladies' Bathing Pool, the Parlour and the Drawing Room. Less oppressive is the Devil's Letterbox on the north side of nearby Asparagus Island – a cave crack with a powerful suction caused by the pull of air from the waves below. In spring the clifftops of the Lizard peninsula are swathed in the blue, white and pink of wildflowers such as squill, sea campion and thrift. As spring becomes summer they are joined by the dropwort, bloody cranesbill, lady's bedstraw, milkwort and self-heal. The exotic-looking (but highly-invasive) pink and yellow flowers of the hottentot fig can be seen near to the lighthouse. Top billing, however, goes to Cornish heath, a plant that grows nowhere else in Britain. Cast your eyes offshore and you may spot some seals. And if you're lucky you'll also catch sight of basking sharks trawling for plankton. In summer 2007 more than 40 were spotted in one day (basking sharks, that is, not plankton).
Recover afterwards
In the solar-panelled, turfed‑roofed eco cafe on Kynance beach, or at the Witchball (witchball.co.uk) in Lizard village, a pub serving Cornish ales (including the organic Witch Ball created specially for the pub) and dishes made with very local ingredients.
If it's tipping down
Pop up to Flambards (www.flambards.co.uk) in Helston for some family fun at a Victorian village, a Britain in the Blitz exhibition (opened in 1984 by Dame Vera Lynn who was heard to say: "Yes! This is exactly how it was" as she wandered through the exhibit), and some outdoor rides should the weather decide to improve.
How to get there
First Buses serve the whole of west Cornwall. The number 37 serves Kynance and Lizard village and the nearest railway stations are Penzance and Redruth.
Step by step
1 Set out from Kynance Cove, heading south on the coast path which climbs to give a magnificent view back to the cove.
2 Pass Pentreath beach, heading southwards.
3 Visit "the most southerly point" and continue onwards passing the lighthouse and the impressive collapsed sea cave, the Lions Den.
4 Shortly after Bass Point coastwatch station, head inland on a farm track.
5 Bear left through lanes to reach the green in the centre of the village. Take the lane passing the public toilets.
6 A hedge-lined path starts on the right, which leads inland back across the heath to Kynance.
