Golitha Falls and Draynes Wood

Bodmin Moor · Woodland · Out and back · Easy

25 – 45 min · Redgate car park, Draynes Bridge → Redgate car park, Draynes Bridge

Desk-researched

Desk-researched — not yet run on the ground

Elevation profile

75 m gain · high 178 m

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150 m – 178 m

Line mapped on a filtered walking graph that keeps to paths and quiet lanes and treats fast or classified roads as cross-only (scripts/walk-graph.mjs); elevation from EU-DEM 25 m. Not from a recorded run.

Mapped from OpenStreetMap footpaths on the OpenTopoMap contour map — a planning line, not a recorded run.

Distance: 3.5 km
Climb: 75 m
Per km: 21 m
On foot: 25 – 45 min
Line: Mapped

A short there-and-back from Draynes Bridge to the Golitha Falls cascades, where the Fowey drops through a wooded gorge of ancient sessile oak. Be honest about what this is: the approach follows the quiet valley lane, with the last stretch on the riverside path to the falls, and the whole thing is under four kilometres. It earns its place for the setting, not the distance — a gentle leg-stretch or a wet-day alternative to the coast, not a session.

Getting there and back

No practical public transport link. This route needs its own transport.

Parking

Small pay car park at Redgate, on the lane above Draynes Wood. It is not large and can fill on dry weekends.

Conditions

The quiet valley lane down towards the falls, then a root-crossed riverside path with a boulder-strewn stretch beside the cascades.

Navigation

Follow the lane and signs down to Golitha Falls, then the riverside path to the cascades and back the same way.

Season

A dependable wet-weather outing. The tree canopy holds off steady rain, though the falls section gets genuinely slick after it.

Dogs

Good, on a lead near the falls where the drop to the river is unguarded in places.

Good for

A gentle leg-stretch to a waterfall
A wet-day alternative to the coast
Pairing a short run with a walk to the cascades

Watch for

Wet, mossy boulders directly beside the falls, best walked rather than run
Tree roots across the narrower sections of riverside path
The approach lane is quiet but single-track with occasional farm traffic
Limited phone signal through the wooded valley

On the ground

Small Cornwall Council car park at Redgate (charges apply)
No toilets or facilities on site

GPX download

The line on this page is mapped from OpenStreetMap paths, not a recorded run. Treat the file as a planning aid and check it against conditions on the ground.

Download GPX