Dog Friendly Zennor

The nearest beach to drive to from Zennor is Portheras Cove. It is between Morvah and Pendeen and takes around 10 minutes from Zennor. The drive is extremely picturesque along the coastal road between St Ives and Land’s End.

It is a sandy beach with a fairly steep ledge into the sea meaning it gets deep quickly. The waves can be big here and there is almost always a seal who is bobbing around observing activity on the beach from a safe distance. The beach can be very sheltered and offer excellent sun-bathing conditions but, by the same token, if the wind changes to due north, it can feel exposed and much like a wind tunnel. The beach is dog-friendly all year round and there is a stream that flows downhill to the sea so there is a constant source of fresh water.

The beach is at the bottom of a really pretty valley between two headlands and can only be accessed on foot so be prepared to carry belongings and refreshments for the duration of your stay. The nearest car park is at Chypraze Farm and be prepared to have coins to pay. The walk takes no more than 10 minutes to get to the beach and the walk only builds on excitement and anticipation as you walk past geese, ducks and chickens as well as incredible looking cows with big horns (don’t worry, they are behind a gate!). You may be lucky to spot and hear the Cornish Chough too, distinctive with its call and red beak.

There are no Lifeguards on Portheras beach and nor are there public loos and places to buy something to eat or drink so be prepared!

In summary, Portheras Cove Nr. Zennor offers:

• Sandy beach
• Dog-friendly all year round
• No Lifeguard
• No cafes
• No public loos
• Nearest parking at Chypraze Farm (private payment by coins)

Otherwise known as Gurnard’s Head beach, it’s not strictly speaking a beach but at low tide, there is a small stretch of sand and pebbles once you have scrambled down to the rocks.

It’s certainly not family-friendly but for active adventurers and agile dogs, it can be a fun escapade and certainly, the difficulty in reaching it will mean you will most likely have it all to yourselves!

There are no facilities to eat or drink neither is it life-guarded and nor does it have public loos. The Gurnard’s Head pub is a 10-minute walk from the cove which is both dog-friendly and extremely welcoming with exceptional food and drink and a warm log fire in chillier months.

Drive west from Zennor and The Gurnard’s Head pub is the beacon you are looking for a short while later. There you will find parking which they are happy for you to use if you intend to pop in for refreshments pre or post your walk.

In summary, Treen Cove Nr. Zennor offers

• Small sandy/ pebbly beach
• Dog-friendly all year around
• No Lifeguard
• Gurnard’s Head a short walk away
• Gurnard’s Head pub is the nearest point to park (free if you pop in for a drink afterwards!)

A stunning cove nestled between the Gurnard’s Head and Bosigran headlands heading west towards Land’s End just a 10-minute drive from Zennor.

If you have a romantic image in your mind of Poldark riding his horse across the countryside to a sheltered and private cove, picture Porthmeor Cove. The best place to park up is at Carn Galva Engine House ruin at Bosigran which is just a mile west from the Gurnard’s Head pub. From the parking spot, follow the footpath down to the sea and the cliffs and head east back towards Gurnard’s Head for approximately 15 minutes (longer if you are stopping to take photos!). The cove is best visited at low tide and accessed via a scramble of some rocks and large pebbles. Perhaps not best for anyone who is unsteady on their feet or pushchairs but great for the energetic. Best to note that this cove is also designated a nudist beach!

In summary, Porthmeor Cove Nr. Zennor offers:

• Sandy beach at low tide
• Dog-friendly all year round
• No Lifeguard
• No cafes
• No public loos
• Nearest parking at Carn Galva Engine House/ Bosigran

If you are looking for a place to park up and simply let your dog jump out of the car’s boot and make a dart for a sandy beach, Longrock beach is the one to go to.

Best visited when the tide is low or halfway in or out, the beach stretches between Longrock to Penzance and so offers hours of fun in the shallow sea and amongst the rock pools near Penzance. An excellent beach for young children or wheelchair users with a well-laid path running above the beach. Longrock beach is not lifeguarded but further up the beach (between Longrock level crossing to Marazion) where dogs are sadly not allowed between 1st July to 31st August between 10 am and 6 pm, lifeguards are there to protect your safety between July and September. There are a few streams that join the sea at Longrock so fresh water is available for thirsty dogs.

There are no public loos at Longrock Beach nor is there a cafe but if you walk along the path above the beach with your dog on a lead, you can reach Marazion Beach and there are public loos as well as a few coffee shops to choose from along the way. The path also leads into Penzance where there is a great selection of places to eat and drink.

In summary, Longrock Beach offers:

• Sandy beach
• Dog-friendly all year round
• No Lifeguard
• No cafes
• No public loos
• Nearest at Longrock level crossing

Men-an-tol is a Bronze Age formation of standing stones where one is a circular stone. They are on the west coast of Cornwall between Morvah and Madron.

Rituals around these stones include improving fertility with the significance being attached to the direction, the number of times (commonly 3 or 9) and the point on the lunar cycle. The feminine symbolism of the holed stone is believed to aid fertility and its powers were keenly sought by barren women, pregnant women seeking easy childbirth and farmers seeking bountiful crops.

The circular stone measures 1.3metres across with a large hole at its centre. The Holed Stone or Mên-an-Tol in Cornish has had many magical powers attached to it, certainly in terms of more recent folklore. The locals nickname it the ‘Crick Stone’ and allure to it allegedly having the ability to relieve people with back pain and help children with rickets and tuberculosis. Whether it does all these things or more, it’s an atmospheric place to visit surrounded by moorland. It’s best visited on a clear, dry day but if you want to engage in a sense of period drama, a misty day all adds to the ambience! It’s a brilliant place to walk your dog as there is open moorland and an intrinsic cross-cross of footpaths that join the north to south coasts of the peninsular. Occasionally, cows are grazed on the moors but tend to stay away from walkers.

The nearest place to park to walk to Men-anTol is in a small parking area about half a mile past Lanyon direction Morvah. Walk up the path for half a mile and keep an eye out for the footpath that heads right over a hedge stile. Follow the path along the grassy moorland and you will soon reach the fabulous (and famous) standing stones.

A quoit is a neolithic stone tomb dating back as far as 3700 to 3300 BC. Used as a communal tomb or an ossuary to house ancestors’ bones.

Don’t be put off by what feels like a rather dark reason of the quoits; they are fabulous structures of standing stones with a huge stone forming the roof. The sheer effort to construct quoits signifies that they had a huge importance in their time, it certainly wasn’t a fanciful idea to build a den for fun. Quoits precede the building of standing stones and stone circles by more than a millennium and, from an engineering viewpoint the most advanced ancient remains of the whole megalithic period.

To reach Zennor Quoit, it needs to be on foot so a certain amount of energy and sense of adventure is required to visit this incredible landmark.  There is a footpath that leads from Zennor village up the valley and branches east to meet the quoit. The footpath can be found using the Ordnance Survey Map Land’s End, Penzance and St Ives 102. It’s well worth the effort to visit with a picnic and appreciate the incredible views from the top of the hill above Zennor. It’s super safe to walk with dogs to the Zennor Quoit with only the occasional cow you may pass. There may be sheep grazing in a field nearby as you walk towards the quoit so please be aware and place your dog on a lead if needs be.

This folly is high up on the moorlands separating the north and south coast of West Cornwall and, because of its position and elevation, the views are utterly stupendous reaching as far as GoonHilly and The Lizard over St Michael’s Mount to the south and as far as Newquay to the north.

A folly is an ornamental building with no practical purpose especially a tower or mock-Gothic ruin built in a large garden or park. This is exactly what the Rogers Family built in 1798. It is thought that the member of the family with the money to build such extravagance was John Rogers. It does make us wonder what he used it for! A walk to Roger’s Tower is available on the iWalkCornwall App so click on this link for a guided walk that costs just £3.29. It is a wonderful walk for dogs as many places are open and they can be off the lead safely. Do take care around any mine shafts and take notice of the signs when approaching Roger’s Tower however.

Trencrom Hill is an Iron Age hill fort, previously thought to be a Neolithic enclosure.

With fantastic 360’ degree views across North Cornwall, the uphill climb is definitely worth the hike! The summit is approximately 175m high and surrounded by historical archeology, wildlife and folk law. When exploring Trencrom Hill, Cairns or hut circles can be found in the level area, surrounded by stone and earth banks, as well as an old well. When at the summit, you will be able to find boulder’s drilled with holes in which Victorian miners would pack with gunpowder and lit as a midsummers celebration. You will also be able to find rock-basins referred to as ‘The Giant’s Chair’, ‘The Giant’s Cradle’ and ‘The Giant’s Spoon’ linked to folk tales of the giant Trecobben who resided on Trencrom. It is told that Trecobben and Cormoran (The giant that lived at nearby St Michaels Mount) would play by throwing rocks at each other, resulting in the loose boulders scattered around Trencrom to this day.

In the heart of Zennor, The Tinner’s Arms is a ‘spit and sawdust’ pub dating back to 1271 with the greatest of charms and friendliest of welcomes. It welcomes dogs on leads inside and out of the pub and restaurant area.

The pub was originally built to house masons working on St Senara Church next door and we imagine little has changed since. Its charm is magnificent with slate floors, oak tables and benches, an oak ceiling and a large open fireplace at one end of the small pub and the bar at the other.

With Newlyn fish harbour and acres of lush pastoral land on its doorstep, the menu features locally reared and landed food. Fresh crab, mackerel, and local beef can be found on the main dishes menu list with Moomaid ice-cream on the dessert page. Moomaid of Zennor can’t be any closer to source! There is a large outside seating area which can be a sun trap on a sunny afternoon surrounded by fields leading down to the coastline and hills raising to moorland; so picturesque.

• Dog friendly
• Local produce
• Car park
• Vegan and vegetarian options
• Children’s options

Visit their website for more information or call them on 01736 796927

A warm welcome awaits you and your dog at The Gurnard’s Head. With its rustic but homely style, the locally sourced food and drink is truly divine and the cosy log burner sets the scene for a super relaxing wind down to the day.

The pub is painted orange and so it’s unmissable on the coast road between St Ives and St Just. Pass through Zennor and on through Boswednack (where our dog-friendly holiday cottage Old Boswednack is) and you will see it on the horizon as a beacon of delicious hope. A generous car park sits to the side of the pub, enter through the aged oak door into a bar area where the floor is large slate tiles, the dining tables in rustic oak and a log fire almost always lit to offer the cosiest of ambience.

The phone reception at The Gurnard’s Head is not brilliant however they do have free WiFi. There is no TV so if you want peace, and tranquillity to strip out technical noise, this is the pub for you. Dog treats await your four-legged friend.

• Dog friendly
• Local produce
• Car park
• Vegan and vegetarian options

Visit their website for more information or call 01736 796928.

A very popular cafe with locals and visitors to the area because it’s a super friendly welcome to all (including dogs on leads), a delicious menu and a relaxed ambience with cosy wood burner, sofas and eclectic artwork.

The menu caters for meat lovers who wish to have a full Cornish breakfast, incredible vegan and vegetarian options, fresh soups with chunky sourdough bread and smooth, silky coffees to muse over. The cafe has a few bistro tables outside and inside their decor envelopes you with a sense of well-being and calm. Dogs are welcome indoors on a lead. There are public car parks in St Just and also some street parking too. You will Cafe Dog and Rabbit tucked just off the main square.

Have Facebook? Visit their page for more information or to read reviews. Call them on 01736 449811

Whether it’s a Sunday Roast or some wholesome delicious food, The Mexico Inn offers a warm welcome to families and is a dog-friendly restaurant too!

The fish and crab are locally caught in Newlyn, organic vegetables, salads and herbs from two miles up the road from the restaurant and rare breed meat from St Just so The Mexico Inn proudly supports local produce including local beers and soft drinks. Children have their own small choice of what to eat on a children’s menu and for those not wanting to drink alcohol, their choice of alcohol-free tipples is so tempting!

There is parking available across the road from the pub but if that is full, you can pay for a few hours at The Range just a minute’s walk away.

Visit their website for more information or call them on 01736 710625