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Cornwall

Rocky Valley walk

Stony woodland path running through steep-sided valley beside rushing river — The path through Rocky Valley, Cornwall | © National Trust/ Rhodri Davies

This gentle valley walk follows a stream which starts life high up on Venn Down, 820ft (250m) above sea level. From there it meanders through fields before tumbling dramatically through rocky bluffs and deep clefts all the way to the open ocean in the bay near Bossiney.

Near to

Tintagel Old Post Office

Start point

Lay-by near Rocky Valley, grid ref: SX073891

Trail information

Difficulty*

Accessibility**

Full trail

DistanceMiles: 1 (km: 1.6)

Duration 30 mins to 40 mins

Dog friendly

*An easy walk with some gentle climbs and descents. For further details, please see Terrain section.
**Rough paths and steep drops throughout the trail. For further details, please see section marked Access.

Total stages: 3
Total stages: 3
Start point
Lay-by near Rocky Valley, grid ref: SX073891
Stage 1
Cross the road and follow the path sign down the drive for Trevillet Mill.
Stage 2
Cross the footbridge and enter the woodlands and walk until you reach the ruined mill buildings. Keep a lookout for the Bronze Age carvings of maze patterns on the rockface here.
Nature
Rocky Valley is home to over 160 species of moss and liverwort, mainly within its very humid upper section. Closer to the sea, maritime exposure maintains grassland communities that have an amazing diversity of wild flowers, providing vivid displays of colour from spring to autumn. The natural rocky stream course supports breeding populations of dipper and grey wagtail, as well as otters. Insect life includes an unusually large population of the striking scarlet tiger moth and thrift clearwing moth – an uncommon coastal species whose larvae develop in the plant from which it gets its name.
Stage 3
Cross another footbridge and follow the streamside path down to the cliff top. Return the same way you came.
Thomas Hardy and Castle Boterel
The Boscastle area was a favourite of Thomas Hardy, the novelist and poet, who wrote about it as Castle Boterel, a region of dream and mystery. He met his first wife, Emma Gifford, here in 1870. The couple enjoyed a magical courtship amidst the landscape of cliffs and valleys, as recalled in one of his many Emma poems: 'O the opal and the sapphire of that wandering western sea, And the woman riding high above with bright hair flapping free'. Following Emma's death in 1912, Hardy returned to Boscastle on a sad pilgrimage, revisiting the wild and tragic landscape where the couple had wandered.
End point
Lay-by near Rocky Valley, grid ref: SX073891
Trail map
Rocky Valley walk | © Crown copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey
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