The Coffin Path

A bright sunny post-Easter weekend persuaded us out to one of the loveliest stretches of the SW Coast Path near Zennor. This also gave us the opportunity to discover the Coffin Path, another of the ancient trackways of West Penwith. It turned out to be a good decision as the walk was lovely.

We parked in a small car park beside Trevalgan Hill and set off over its crest, past the very simple plaque remembering local artist Peter Lanyon, towards Trevalgan farm and eastwards onto the Coffin Path heading for St Ives.

'Coffin Path' is an unusual name for a path which links together a series of farmsteads; faintly macabre in a way. Tradition has it that vicars encouraged such straight tracks to their churches in order to attract the living and the dead, both of whom could provide money to his living. This may be true but seems rather mercenary.

In some parts of the country the route taken by a coffin traditionally became what we now think of as a right of way.

The landscape is ancient: the field boundaries consisting of massive boulders which must have been moved there by Bronze Age or Iron Age people (or, if you prefer it, the giants of W Penwith). The soil is thin and the bedrock shows through in places. It is a land suitable for cattle and sheep.

There is a real sense of continuity of occupation and agricultural husbandry on the landscape. The sites of the farms have probably been occupied since those early times, having been handed down through families. These are simple Celtic farms and the path is a natural linkage between them. The fact that the path also leads to a church would have been a bonus, guaranteeing a steady traffic on at least one day a week.

The path is very easy to spot. Some black and white posts mark the next hedge-crossing where as often as not there is a lovely granite cattle grid stile. The ground was dry and did not require our stout walking boots.

There was a faintly unnerving moment when we had to leave the path and head left to meet the Coast Path, a turning that we probably missed. We eventually found ourselves heading westwards on the Coast Path, comforting ourselves that D H Lawrence probably walked this way during World War I. He and his German-born wife lived in Zennor although we are ashamed to say we do not know in which house.

One farmer has diversified into holiday accommodation and there were signs of 'tourism' which, while not unwelcome, do manage to confuse. We suspected that the stone circle on the cliff edge and a couple of the 'standing stones' were distinctly 20th century additions. But a standing stone is a standing stone and must be revered.

This is a wonderful stretch of coast, hard going with some stiff ups and downs over large boulders but with dramatic scenery, crashing surf and the occasional inaccessible beach of black sand. Somewhere in the surf, the black head of a seal could sometimes be spotted checking up on the walkers above.

Eventually, we reached Zennor Head and turned inland to the village itself. An essential component of any A-Z of British place names, Zennor is compact, rugged, unyielding and well-cared for. The church of St Senara is one of Simon Jenkins' 1,000 Best Churches in England, rated one star. Cornwall does well in this book with 30 churches.

The greatest delight is, of course, the mermaid carving on the bench-end but the church has a rough simplicity of its own with bare stone walls and few comforts. Outside is a fine wheel-headed cross.

We ate our lunch out of the wind, using the coffin rest as a table. It is good to see that the two seats on either side have armrests for those needing to rest after carrying a coffin along the path.

Nothing in Zennor is light-weight, every stone looks to have needed the strength of several men to lift them into position. To men like that, a coffin would have seemed light.

Narrowly avoiding the lure of the Tinner's Arms whose siren song was as powerful as the mermaid's, we headed back eastwards onto the Coffin Path past five settlements. The area is rich in mysticism and magic and some of the groves we passed through were redolent of Madron Well further south. Overgrown and ruined masonry was covered in ivy and moss. A small well, now dry, was all there was to show of past activities.

Turning off at Trevessa, we made our way back to the car and homewards, revelling in having discovered yet another lovely part of this county.

The Coffin Path is highly recommended. If you do not want the long version, there is a short cut which delivers a 5 mile walk which includes Zennor.

We walked 8.7 miles in 4 hours. A map of our route is here (click on Coffin Path if it is not highlighted) and some pictures are here.