Climate change is having an impact on the coast at Godrevy as rising sea levels and more extreme weather events take their toll. With access to the headland and farm at Godrevy threatened by coastal erosion, we are drawing up plans to adapt and maintain access for visitors whilst taking steps to protect the Scheduled Monument and valuable habitat that make up the headland.
Coastal change at Godrevy
Climate change is already impacting the coast at Godrevy, with rising sea levels and more frequent extreme weather accelerating coastal erosion. As a result, access to the headland and surrounding farmland is under increasing threat.
We are developing plans to adapt to these changes, maintaining safe access for visitors while protecting the Scheduled Monument and the important habitats that make this landscape so special.
The challenges
Godrevy is home to one of the National Trust’s busiest coastal car parks, welcoming thousands of visitors each year.
Coastal erosion is now undermining the single access road to the headland. At the same time, the high number of visitors presents challenges for managing fragile coastal habitats and archaeological features, which are easily damaged.
We are exploring how best to respond, ensuring continued visitor access while improving conditions for wildlife and restoring the surrounding habitats.
A changing landscape
Recent coastal erosion and geological surveys suggest that the access road could become unsafe within a relatively short timeframe, potentially within the next five years. This raises an important question: what will Godrevy look like in the near future, and how must we adapt?
Boardwalk Replacement
This summer we will be carrying out a significant programme of work to replace the boardwalk, helping to care for this special stretch of coastline and help maintain safe access for visitors. The work is expected to start at the end of June and be completed before the beginning of the school holidays.
This is an important and carefully considered investment, reflecting the time, expertise and commitment of our teams and local contractors. By renewing the boardwalk, we’re protecting the fragile habitats around it from erosion, while creating a more resilient and accessible route for visitors to enjoy the landscape.
It is vitally important we carry out this work now, as without it, the deteriorating boardwalk creates risks to the current access arrangements. This work will take place during the week, with the boardwalk reopening from Friday at 4pm over the weekends. During the week, whilst replacement work is taking place, the South West Coast Path will be temporarily diverted onto the access road.
These improvements are a key part of our approach to balancing nature conservation with access, ensuring that this much-loved place can be enjoyed by everyone.
Visitors will still be able to access the coast path and toilets, but when work is being carried out to the boardwalk, the headland car park will be closed to vehicles.
Path in 2017 before boardwalk was installed in 2018
A stretch of coastline at Godrevy where a narrow footpath and parked vehicles sit close to the edge of a steep, eroding cliff. Fresh breaks in the exposed cliff face indicate recent erosion, highlighting the landscape’s instability. Below, a sandy beach contrasts with the fragile ground above, illustrating both the natural beauty of the coastline and the risks erosion poses to access and infrastructure. This image was taken in 2017, before the boardwalk was installed in 2018, highlighting the need for the work.
The boardwalk at Godrevy, installed in 2018, has withstood hundreds of thousands of visitors as well as the area’s harsh coastal conditions. Regular maintenance by dedicated teams has helped address ongoing wear and tear, but after years of heavy use and exposure, the structure has now reached the end of its lifespan.
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Planning for the future
We've been developing plans over a number of years to try to ensure we can maintain parking as close to the headland as possible, while also exploring how we can improve facilities for visitors.
Unfortunately, our ownership of the area most at risk from erosion isn't wide enough to enable us to re-route the road inland. This means that, at some point in the future, we'll lose vehicle access to the headland, either through the road itself becoming unsafe, or the need to move the coast path onto the road to allow safe pedestrian use.
In the meantime, we're working hard to continue to provide access for as long as it is safe and practical to do so. We will continue working with our neighbours and partners to investigate ways in which Godrevy can be accessed in the future.
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