Walking Carbis Bay to Lelant Saltings - 2.7 miles

OS Explorer Map 102: grid reference SW527389 to SW544366

Walk Duration: 45 mins.

Park your car in the Carbis Bay Station Car Park. Walk out of the car park, with your back to St. Ives and head east towards Carrack Gladden - grid reference SW535388. Take the tarmac path up the slight incline towards the railway footbridge. Cross the line. Shortly the path forks, take the left hand fork along the cliff path. You might like to turn around here to see the beaches of Carbis Bay and St. Ives unfolding beneath you. Turn back towards Lelant and continue on your way. Now some 10 minutes into your walk descend down a relatively steep tarmac path. The hedges along the route now rise so much so, that you feel that you are walking in a trough or tunnel of undergrowth. After a few more muddy climbs and descents the path opens out onto dunes and becomes a lot more sandy. A good guidebook to carry is the National Trail Guide: SW Coast Path - Padstow to Falmouth by John Macadam.

Now overlooking Porth Kidney Sands - grid reference SW545386, the area to your right soon merges into a golf course as you turn and walk above the Hayle Estuary proper. Take heed of the warning signs 'Beware of golf balls', as you are very close to some of the 'greens'. Walk briskly through the golf links towards the church, where a seat allows you to stop for refreshment.

At St. Uny Church walk along the road to the T-junction bear left joining Green Lane, from here it is a short walk along The Saltings Road, to the finish at Lelant Saltings station.

Previous walk: St. Ives to Carbis Bay
Next walk: Lelant Saltings to Hayle Towans