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North Coast / Coast path

Pentire Head and The Rumps Loop

A loop from New Polzeath around Pentire Point and out to The Rumps, where an Iron Age fort's ditches still corrugate the neck of the headland, returning through National Trust farmland. The Camel estuary opens up on one side, open Atlantic on the other.

40 min – 1 hr 10 min

New Polzeath, cliff-top car park to New Polzeath, cliff-top car park

Desk-researched / Not yet field-checked

Distance
5.8 km
Elevation
266 m
Start
New Polzeath, cliff-top car park
Terrain
Coast path
Difficulty
Moderate
Route type
Loop

Practical notes

Best for

  • A short loop that feels far bigger than its distance
  • Seal and seabird watching off The Rumps
  • Escaping Polzeath's holiday churn in twenty minutes

Watch for

  • Full exposure on both points when the wind is working
  • Rampart ditches and rabbit holes in the fort turf
  • Cattle on the farmland return

Facilities

  • Car park and seasonal facilities at New Polzeath
  • Everything else is back in Polzeath proper

Season

Any season; spring squill turns the headland blue in May, and winter gives it back to the fulmars.

Parking
The cliff-top car park at New Polzeath sits right on the route; Polzeath's main beach car parks add half a kilometre.
Public transport
Seasonal buses reach Polzeath from Wadebridge and Rock. The Rock ferry from Padstow makes a good long-way-round approach.
Conditions
Firm headland turf and worn coast path, one rocky pinch below Pentire Point, and farm track on the return.
Navigation
Seaward round the headland, out-and-back spur to The Rumps, then the signed permissive path back through Pentire Farm.

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