Self-guided · South West · England
Your walk from
St Ives to
Falmouth
St Ives to Falmouth around the tip of Cornwall — past Pendeen, through the old mining country of the Penwith peninsula, around Land's End, and along the sheltered southern coast to one of England's finest harbour towns.
- Distance
- 166 km
- Ascent
- 2,830 m
- Stages
- 4 – 10 days
- Grade
- Strenuous
Trail Essentials
This is the stage with Land's End in it — 166 kilometres around the very tip of Cornwall, through old mining country, past the mainland's most south-westerly point, and on around the Lizard to Falmouth's deep-water harbour. The scenery does a lot of the talking: engine houses on the cliffs, granite headlands, and a coastline that changes character completely once you turn the corner onto the sheltered south coast.
It's a stage people walk for the landmarks as much as the walking itself, and it delivers — Land's End, the Lizard, Britain's most southerly point, all inside a few days.
Build your trip
Customise your South West Coast Path Stage 3: St Ives to Falmouth.
Pick your pace, party size and dates. The itinerary, distances, nightly stops and the price all update live — no commitment until you're happy.
- Days sized to your walking speed
- Each night ends at a stop with accommodation
- Pricing reflects party size and seasonality
- Save and share the itinerary with your group
Your day-by-day itinerary updates live in the Your itinerary section below.
Build your itinerary above.
This is the itinerary you're building. Change the pace, party size or start date in the planner above and every stage, distance and date updates here.
Where you'll stay
Where you'll sleep
Cornish B&Bs and old fishing-cove inns carry you around the tip — from Zennor's cliff pubs to Cadgwith's thatched harbour and Falmouth's grander hotels at the finish. We book places with genuine local character, not chain hotels.
- Character B&Bs in Zennor, Mousehole and Cadgwith
- A proper harbour hotel to finish in Falmouth
- Drying space after the exposed Land's End and Lizard cliffs
- Good pub dinners in the old mining and fishing villages
Every trip is planned around your dates and party, so we can't promise you a specific inn — but we can promise the kind of welcome that makes a walking holiday feel like a proper holiday.
What's included?
Self-guided, but properly supported. You turn up, you walk, you eat well, you sleep well. We handle the logistics.
Custom itinerary planned around your pace
Comfortable accommodation booked for you
Daily luggage transfer where available
GPX + day-by-day route notes
Big Trail Adventures app for door-to-door navigation
On-trail route support
Not included
- Travel to St Ives and from Falmouth
- Lunches and evening meals (we'll recommend the best places)
- Travel insurance
Self-guided, fully supported
A self-guided South West Coast Path Stage 3: St Ives to Falmouth, explained.
Self-guided means the walking is yours and the logistics are ours. You set off on the South West Coast Path Stage 3: St Ives to Falmouth when you want, walk at whatever pace suits you, and stop where you like — there is no group to keep up with and no leader setting the schedule. Everything that makes an independent long-distance walk hard work to organise is handled before you arrive.
There are no fixed departure dates. Choose your own start day, tell us how many nights you want, and the planner rebuilds the 166 km route around it.
- You walk
- 166 km from St Ives to Falmouth, South West England — alone, as a pair, or with your own group. No guide, no strangers.
- We plan
- A 4 – 10 day itinerary built around the pace you pick, with sensible daily distances and the ascent spread properly across the route.
- We book
- Walker-friendly B&Bs, inns and small hotels along the trail, reserved in your name with breakfast included.
- We move your bag
- Door-to-door luggage transfer between every stay, so you walk with a daypack.
- You navigate
- GPX files for every stage plus written route notes — the trail is waymarked, and we flag the few places people go wrong.
- We stay reachable
- One number for the whole trip, answered by someone who has walked the route.
Travelling solo? You're still connected.
Walking the South West Coast Path Stage 3: St Ives to Falmouth alone doesn't mean being out of touch. We lend you a small GPS tracker for the trail, and a private map link lets the people who care about you follow along from home.
A lightweight GPS tracker
Carry it in your pack and it updates your position as you walk — no phone signal required.
A private live map
See your own progress on a secure map, with your overnight stops visible at a glance.
Share with people you trust
Send the private link to family or friends so they know you've arrived safely each day.
Book your South West Coast Path Stage 3: St Ives to Falmouth adventure.
- Free cancellation to 60 days
- Confirmation within 24 hrs
- ABTOT financially protected
We'll start planning your trip right away. Not happy with anything? We'll adjust it or refund you — no questions asked.
The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for Big Trail Adventures (member 5690). Protection is provided for non-flight packages. Full details in our booking conditions.
Things walkers ask us.
How fit do I need to be?
On the Hiker pace this stage runs to 8 walking days averaging around 21 km a day with steady cliff undulations. You should be comfortable walking a full day with a daypack.
When should I walk it?
May through September is best. May–June is peak wildflower and seabird season. July and August are busy — book accommodation months ahead. September gives long light and quieter beaches.
Do you include luggage transfer?
Yes — bags up to 20 kg are moved between accommodations every walking day. A few remote overnights need a short taxi transfer, which we plan and book for you.
What kind of accommodation do you book?
Small family-run B&Bs, harbour inns and walker-friendly hotels — en-suite where the village allows, breakfast included, drying space for boots.
Is this a self-guided South West Coast Path Stage 3: St Ives to Falmouth walking holiday?
Yes. Every South West Coast Path Stage 3: St Ives to Falmouth trip we run is self-guided: you walk the route on your own, at your own pace, with no group and no guide. We do the planning and the logistics — an itinerary of 4 – 10 days built around the pace you choose, accommodation booked in your name along the 166 km route, your main bag moved between stays each day, GPX files and route notes for every stage, and a real person on the end of the phone while you're out there. You choose your own start date; there are no fixed departures.
What's the difference between a self-guided and a guided South West Coast Path Stage 3: St Ives to Falmouth trip?
On a guided trip you walk with a leader and a group to a fixed schedule. Self-guided means the day is yours: start when you like, stop for lunch where you like, walk fast or slowly, take a rest day. The route is waymarked and you navigate with the GPX and notes we provide. Everything that makes a trip complicated — accommodation, luggage transfer, the shape of each day — is arranged for you before you arrive.
Can I walk the South West Coast Path Stage 3: St Ives to Falmouth without a guide?
Yes — the South West Coast Path Stage 3: St Ives to Falmouth is a signed long-distance route and thousands of people walk it independently every year. What most walkers want help with isn't navigation, it's the 166 km of accommodation, the bag transfers, and getting the daily distances right. That's exactly what we take off your hands, while you still walk it under your own steam.
Who books the accommodation and moves my luggage?
We do, both. We book walker-friendly B&Bs, inns and small hotels in your name at each overnight stop, with breakfast, and arrange door-to-door luggage transfer between them so you walk with a daypack. You'll get a full itinerary with every address, check-in detail and transfer time before you travel.
How many days do I need for a self-guided South West Coast Path Stage 3: St Ives to Falmouth?
Most people take 4 – 10 days for the 166 km. Our planner lets you set your own pace and number of nights, so you can stretch the trip out with shorter days or compress it if you're used to back-to-back big days — the itinerary, accommodation stops and price all update as you change it.
Not sure this stage is right for you?
Tell Craig your dates, party size and preferred pace. He'll come back with a route that fits — or suggest a neighbouring stage if this one's not the match.
Other trails we run.
West Highland Way
154 km, Glasgow to Fort William. Scotland's most famous long-distance walk.
Great Glen Way
127 km from Fort William along Loch Ness to Inverness. Lochside and forest walking.
Rob Roy Way
127 km through the southern Highlands, following the outlaw's old country.