The South West Coast Path reaches Newquay where the walking splits cleanly in two. North, the acorn waymarks lead over headland after headland toward Padstow; south, they cross Fistral, the Gannel and the long sands to Perranporth. Both are full days for a moderately fit walker, both end somewhere a bus runs back into town, and both are walks that stand or fall on the tide and, this winter, on where the landslips have moved the path.
Both directions are signed with the acorn that marks the whole South West Coast Path, and both are linear walks: you walk out and a bus brings you back. That bus is the reason a car-free day works at all, so the timetables below matter as much as the mileage. This guide sets out the two legs, the crossings and the buses home, so you can pick a direction and know what to check before you set out.
The north run to Padstow comes as two published stages. Newquay to Porthcothan is 10.3 miles (16.6 km), graded Moderate by the South West Coast Path; Porthcothan to Padstow is 13.2 miles (21.3 km), described as an easy walk along low cliffs with beaches below. That makes 23.5 miles in total, so plan it as two days or let a bus carry one half of the work. The south leg, Newquay to Perranporth, is 12.6 miles (20.2 km) and graded Challenging, moderate to strenuous. In plain terms, the north day is headlands, wreck sites and the giant’s steps; the south day is beaches, an estuary crossing and a dune finish. Choose by the kind of day you want, not by which one sounds easier. If you have more than a day, our day trips from Newquay piece widens the radius, but these two walks are the spine of the path through town.
The Moderate grading is fair. The first stage north passes wreck sites before Trevose Head lighthouse and threads coves and headlands with steep steps, so you are up and down all day rather than facing one big climb. The wreck sites sit on the run before the lighthouse, and the path keeps the sea in view as it climbs in and out of each cove. At Park Head you look down onto Bedruthan Steps, the stacks the legend casts as a giant’s stepping stones, and at low tide steps lead down to the stacks themselves with pools and caves between them. Allow the whole day, and take water and food; there is little to buy once you leave the town’s edge.
The National Trust’s Carnewas at Bedruthan, off the B3276, is where many people meet the steps without walking the whole path. The clifftop walks are open dawn to dusk, with a 4.5 mile (7.2 km) moderate circular walk of about an hour and a half and an easy one-mile Park Head walk, plus a shop, a seasonal tea-room and toilets. Parking uses JustPark code 80534. The beach stairs have been closed since a 2019 rockfall, for the foreseeable future, and both the RNLI and the National Trust advise against going down, so the stacks are seen from the clifftop. The nearest bus is Mawgan Porth on route 56, about 2.3 miles away, and the site doubles as a Dark Skies location on clear nights. The Trust keeps the current position on its Carnewas at Bedruthan page.
Past Porthcothan the path settles into the second stage’s low cliffs and beaches, and a short option at Treyarnon Bay cuts the day to 11.4 miles if legs or daylight run short. The Camel estuary opening out at Padstow is the natural finish, with the town’s quay and its food a short walk from the path’s end — a fair reward for the miles.
Service 56 runs Newquay to Padstow and takes contactless payment, with stop-by-stop times on the live timetable. The ride back is simple, but do not rely on a stop name you remember from an earlier trip. From 4 September 2026 until 31 March 2027, buses toward Newquay divert via Trenance Road and skip Newquay Railway Station and Tolcarne Beach — use Mount Wise or the Kilbirnie Hotel instead. Buses leaving Newquay are unaffected. Check the Service 56 timetable for the clock times you actually need. Our car-free guide covers how the town’s buses fit together.
The southern leg is the harder of the two, and it starts gently on purpose. Harbour kittiwakes follow you out toward Towan Head, the path crosses Fistral, then it meets the Gannel, whose crossing varies with the season, tide and weather. Beyond the estuary, salt-marsh plants and wading birds line the water, and in June the West Pentire SSSI above Crantock Beach flowers with poppies and corn marigold. Carter’s Rocks stand offshore like twin pyramids, and after Holywell the Perran Sands dunes are honest work — the route notes that dune walking can be quite tiring. The day ends with a beach walk into Perranporth, timed to a falling tide so the sand is out.
The Gannel is the point where planning decides the day. In summer the Fern Pit ferry runs a passenger crossing between Pentire and Crantock; the 2026 season opened Saturday 16 May and ran roughly 10am to 6pm, ending when the tides changed in mid-September. From autumn you depend instead on the footbridge or path, which is often available only roughly three hours either side of high water. Before you walk, phone the ferry on 01637 873181 or check the tide tables rather than assuming a crossing; the answer changes with the tide, and the person on the other end of the phone can tell you what the afternoon holds. The Fern Pit cafe is open 15 March to 1 November 2026, and the ferry’s 2027 dates are not published yet — check fernpit.co.uk when they are. Our Crantock and the Gannel piece covers the crossing in more depth.
Buses 87 and 87A run Truro to Newquay through St Agnes, Perran Sands, Perranporth — serving Beach Road and Perran Sands Entrance — Goonhavern, Holywell Bay, Cubert, Crantock and Treloggan. That puts a return within reach from most of the southern leg, so a tired walker can cut the day short almost anywhere and still get home. Check the live timetable rather than trusting an old memory of the times.
This stretch of path has moved more than once recently, and the signs matter. At Whipsiderry it has been closed and diverted since April 2021 because of cliff instability, with an alternative route in place. Near North Pier, a landslip in February 2026 closed and diverted the path — follow the diversion signs. Storms Goretti, Ingrid and Chandra through January and February 2026 caused erosion and landslips along the route, which is why the notices are recent. Before walking, check the South West Coast Path route-changes page for the current position, and report any hazard to Cornwall Council on 0300 1234 202.
The path hosts events as well as walkers, and one of them uses it directly. On 12 December 2026, The Fairy Tale of Newquay puts a festive ultra marathon onto the north coast path with 30-mile, 15-mile and 8-mile “Pisky” routes, organised by Purple Gecko Events — check purplegeckoevents.co.uk for entry. Earlier, Spooky Newquay runs across half-term 24–31 October, with the Zombie Crawl at 3pm from Oakleigh Terrace and Titan the Robot at 2pm at Killacourt; Newquay at Christmas runs 27–29 November with the lights switch-on on Friday 27 November; and BIG Newquay Market lands on 3 October and 7 November, with New Year’s Eve fireworks closing the year on 31 December. Check the Visit Newquay calendar and the organisers’ pages for final times.
Wear shoes that hold on wet grass and mud, carry a layer for a coast that changes fast, and take water on the north leg especially. The two things that decide the day are the Gannel and the diversions: phone 01637 873181 for the ferry, and read the route-changes page the night before rather than at the first signpost. If a section is closed on the day, the diversion signs take over; a short extra road walk is sometimes the price of a stable path. Everything else — the buses, the tides, the weather — sits on the live pages you will have open anyway. For the shorter loops around town, see our walks around Newquay piece.