Land´s End:

West of the isthmus between St. Ives and Penzance stretches a spectacular peninsula, aptly named Land´s End. Most of the tourists head straight to the stupid amusement park also named Land´s End at the end of this peninsula. Better not follow them and take Your time for the whole peninsula with it´s fantastic scenery, wild nature, ancient culture and, not to forget, the odd accessible bay and hidden reef that catch the pounding Atlantic swells that regularely come to these shores. Most part of the peninsula is rough and steep cliffs combined with windsbruised vegetation. Settlements are sparse, roads are few. In this archaic landscape You`ll find archaic culture. And there is some tin and copper mines (or what is left from them), that were in business since phoenizian times. Some of them were reaching far into the sea. The poor chaps who worked there were a proud and independent folks but usually had a very short life span. And as they hat to stay down in the mines often for weeks, they didn´t have many oportunities to savour their scenic homeland.

And that was a real pitty. This peninsula has some of the finest weather of the whole british islands as the ever blowing winds push clouds past the peninsula and do not give them enough time to pour their wet load onto the area. A short rain squal is not uncommon, but it usually is quickly followed by the sun again. Perfect conditions for staying outside. You can hike, bike, surf, windsurf, kiteboard, sail or whatever other outdoor activity You have in mind. All that in a fantastic scenery. Even if You come mainly for the cornish waves, take Your time to grab a bike - mountain bikes fit best - or Your hiking shoes and follow the coastal pathes. You´ll pass breathtaking sceneries of steep cliffs that devide the lush green of the firm land and the deep blue of the sea. You´ll find some little bays too that offer access to the sea and may be to a hidden wave too.

And if You need some culture visit St. Ives, the mines, ancient celtic sites, Penzance, the Minack Theatre, the St. Michaels´s Mount, Lamorna, Mousehole, Newlyn or whatever hidden treasure You might stumble upon. Besides beeing tourist attractions, most of these places are still pretty authentic cornish.

Best options for a good surf, windsurf or kiteboarding session offer Gwithian / Godrevy, Porthmeor, Sennen Cove, the beautiful bay near the Minack Theatre (see pic on top of this page, beeing interested in culture sometimes pays off for surfing too!) and the beaches east of Penzance.

All this places need a certain combination of wind and swell direction, swellsize and tides to work. This means that You might have to search a bit for beeing at the right place in the right time. It also means that there is a very high chance to find the conditions You personally like the most with all kind of weather conditions. When wind and waves come hammering onshore at the west coast, just move to the eastern parts of the peninsula and You might find a sweet place with fun waves and offshore winds to surf or a beach break with sideshore winds for the ones needing wind to have fun. Be ready to move and open to explore!

Check the gallery for some more pics of the area.