Tehidy Country Park – Basset's Cove loop from Portreath

Hiking trails & Routes

Tehidy Country Park – Basset's Cove loop from Portreath

Moderate

4.8

(43)

228

hikers

Tehidy Country Park – Basset's Cove loop from Portreath

02:43

9.75km

180m

Hiking

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: August 6, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through protected areas

Please check local regulations for:

Cornwall National Landscape

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

Get Directions

420 m

Stone Wall of Regional Rocks

Highlight (Segment) • Structure

GB: In the surrounding area, small walls made of regional rocks, mostly greywackes and clay shales, can be found in several places. The rocks are already described in the geological overview and can be easily distinguished by the following characteristics: Layering/thickness, grain size, sorting, minerals, rock fragments and color. In addition, quartz veins occur in all rocks. These are a form of crystallization of quartz: a hard, transparent to white mineral.

EN: In the following area there are small walls made of regional rocks in several places, mostly greywacke and shales. The rocks are already described in the geological overview and can be easily distinguished by the following characteristics: layering/layer thickness, grain size, sorting, minerals, rock fragments and color. In addition, quartz veins occur in all rocks. This is a crystallization form of quartz: a hard, transparent to white mineral.

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Tip by

1.85 km

Tehidy Country Park

Highlight • Historical Site

GB: Tehidy is the largest continuous forest area in the region. Many of the mining trails run through the forest. Originally, the park was privately owned by the Basset family, who are closely linked to the mining history. Since 1983, the park has been in government hands and is open to the public.

EN: Tehidy is the largest contiguous forest area in the region. Many of the mining trails run through the forest. The park was originally privately owned by the Basset family, which is closely linked to the mining history. The park has been in government hands and open to the public since 1983.

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Tip by

3.21 km

The Ancient Twisted Beech, Tehidy Country Park

Highlight • Natural

Incredibly beautiful ancient beech with super helpful sign with description and history!

Tip by

3.83 km

Tehidy Wood

Forest

5.58 km

Ancient Twisted Beech, Tehidy Country Park

Highlight • Natural Monument

The largest area of woodland in the county, Tehidy Country Park is a peaceful place for a hike, away from the busy crowds in the summer. There is a cafe and keep an eye out for the very friendly squirrels.

Tip by

6.68 km

Basset's Cove

Highlight • Natural Monument

The 7.3 km long circular route takes you back to a time when Cornwall was covered by sea and then became a Europe-wide mountain range. The sedimentary rocks of this area around Portreath were deposited in a deep marine environment during the Devonian age (ca. 393 - 373 million years):

Greywacken: Gray rock with fine to coarse grains (0.3 - 2 mm; 0.01 - 0.08 inch), consisting of quartz, feldspars and fragments of foreign rocks. In some cases, shiny/shimmering components can be seen (mica), the rocks form layers and banks.

Siltstones: Light gray rock with fine grains (<0.063 mm; <0.002 inch) that are not visible to the naked eye. Layers can be recognized based on the color difference.

Slate: Gray to black, sometimes slightly red to greenish colored rocks with very fine grains (<0.02 mm, <0.001 inch), the rocks appear foliated with very thin layers, often alternating with greywackes.

The originally horizontal sedimentary layers of Cornwall were tectonically overprinted around 323 - 299 million years ago during the Variscan orogeny (mountain formation). During this time, the southern major continent Gondwana collided with the northern major continents Laurentia and Baltica as well as smaller continent fragments (terranes) such as Avalonia and Amorica. The orogeny ended approximately 270 million years ago with the formation of the supercontinent Pangea. Due to the pressure from the south, the sedimentary rocks were compressed, folded and internally transformed under increasing temperatures. This is how slates emerged from the original claystones. There are no deposits in the area for the period between the formation of the Devonian rocks until 3 million years ago. During the Ice Age 3 million years ago, the region of modern-day Cornwall lay in a tundra area south of the glaciers that covered the Northern Hemisphere. Periglacial deposits from this period can be observed on the cliffs.

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Tip by

7.12 km

Basset's Cove Beach

Highlight • Beach

7.65 km

Porthcadjack Cove and Waterfall

Highlight • Waterfall

Lying beneath the striking North Cliffs, Porthcadjack Cove is a little-visited beach on the Cornish coast. Accessible from the Coast Path via a steep and narrow path, the isolated nature of this beach makes it a serene spot and a real hidden gem.

Tip by

8.14 km

Ralph's Cupboard

Highlight (Segment) • Gorge

To the west of this bay, a rock wall protrudes into the bay and divides it. This wall is the result of long-term erosion, which led to the collapse of a former cave. The name Ralph’s Cupboard comes from a legend that the giant Ralph lived in this bay. This giant attacked the incoming ships and stored the recovered treasures in the cave, his closet.
The eastern side of the bay shows a typical cliff with dark gray shales and greywackes at the lower end and periglacial deposits at the upper part of the cliff.

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Tip by

9.75 km

End point

Bus stop

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types