Cornwall’s rooftop at Brown Willy leads this week’s top walks

There is a spot on Bodmin Moor where nothing in Cornwall stands higher. Reaching it means scrambling over granite, lifting your dog over a wired-off stile and squelching through ground that stays boggy even in summer. And this week, more people set out for it than for any other walk in the county.

iWalk Cornwall has shared its most-walked routes for the week. The list climbs Cornwall’s two highest tors, follows the North Cliffs to a cove with an ominous name, traces Victorian tramways through the Luxulyan Valley and finishes with two gentle creekside loops on the Roseland and the Helford River. With half-term starting this Monday (26 October), it is a handy shortlist of walks in Cornwall to try.

Every route here comes from the iWalk Cornwall app, which we rate highly. This is not a paid partnership. Each walk comes with hand-written directions, GPS guidance and local history along the way. Distances and grades are a guide rather than a promise, and the practical notes below come from iWalk Cornwall’s own route pages.

1. Rough Tor and Brown Willy

• Location: Bodmin Moor, near Camelford, North Cornwall
• Dog-Friendly: Yes, with care. There are two stiles on the climb to Brown Willy. The first sits beside a gate and is the easier of the two, but the higher stile is wired over, so dogs need lifting across to reach the summit. Sheep, cattle and ponies graze the open moor, and dogs must be on a lead no longer than 2m between 1 March and 31 July while ground-nesting birds are breeding.
• Café: None listed on the route, so take supplies
• iWalk Cornwall Route: Rough Tor and Brown Willy
• Distance: 5.2 miles / 8.4 km
• Difficulty: Moderate-strenuous
• Highlights: Rough Tor, Showery Tor, the summit of Brown Willy, Roughtor Holy Well, Stannon Lake, Fernacre Stone Circle, Bronze Age hut circles and summit cairns

Walk Description: This mostly circular route climbs Cornwall’s two highest tors. Rough Tor is the most rugged and recognisable on Bodmin Moor, and Brown Willy is the highest point in the county. In between you pass Bronze Age hut circles, old field systems, cairns and the Fernacre Stone Circle, with the weather-carved granite of Showery Tor along the way. Expect to scramble over granite boulders near the top of Rough Tor and on the descent into the valley between the two summits. The ground is marshy even in summer, so boots are a must.

2. Tehidy Woods to Deadman’s Cove

• Location: Tehidy Country Park and the North Cliffs, near Portreath, West Cornwall
• Parking: North Cliffs car park (what3words ///handover.withdrew.sprayer) is iWalk’s alternative start, and the one to use with a dog.
• Dog-Friendly: Partly. Dogs are banned all year from the Tehidy Woods wildlife area, which the main route passes through. Starting from North Cliffs car park and following iWalk’s alternative via Coombe avoids it. There is one stile, which dogs should manage, and the path is fenced through the grazing fields.
• Café: Café available on the route
• iWalk Cornwall Route: Tehidy Woods to Deadman’s Cove
• Distance: 4.3 miles / 7 km
• Difficulty: Easy-moderate
• Highlights: Tehidy’s lakes and river cascades, very tame squirrels and birds, Deadman’s Cove, Bassets Cove, the North Cliffs and autumn colour in Tehidy Woods

Walk Description: This circular walk heads through the wildlife reserve and woodland of Tehidy Country Park, out to Deadman’s Cove and along the rugged North Cliffs before looping back. Many sailing ships were wrecked off this stretch of coast before Godrevy Lighthouse was built. iWalk picks out the autumn colours in Tehidy Woods as one of the route’s highlights, which may explain why it is so busy right now. The cliff path runs close to unfenced edges, so keep children and dogs close. Walking shoes are fine.

3. Luxulyan Valley circular

• Location: Luxulyan Valley, near St Austell, Mid Cornwall
• Dog-Friendly: Yes. There are no stiles and no fields with livestock on the route.
• Café: None listed on the route
• iWalk Cornwall Route: Luxulyan Valley circular
• Distance: 3.4 miles / 5.5 km
• Difficulty: Easy-moderate
• Highlights: Treffry Viaduct, the Carmears incline and leat, waterwheel remains, Fowey Consols Leat, Wheelpit Mill, the River Par, broadleaf woodland, dragonflies and damselflies

Walk Description: Leats and old horse-drawn tramways guide this loop through the Luxulyan Valley, a World Heritage site. The route reaches the Treffry Viaduct, which carried tramways towards Newquay, and passes the remains of a huge waterwheel that powered the winch hauling trams up the valley. Guidebooks were calling it one of the most glorious walks in all Cornwall as far back as the 1920s. It is the shortest walk on this week’s list, and walking shoes will do.

4. St Just-in-Roseland to Messack Point

• Location: St Just-in-Roseland, near St Mawes, Roseland Peninsula
• Dog-Friendly: Yes. There is one slate stile with a few steps, and less athletic dogs may need a hand over the slate at the top. Sheep graze the fields on Messack Point. Fresh water is available from the stream at the top of St Just Creek, roughly a quarter and three quarters of the way round.
• Café: Café available on the route
• iWalk Cornwall Route: St Just-in-Roseland to Messack Point
• Distance: 3.7 miles / 6 km
• Difficulty: Easy-moderate
• Highlights: St Just church and its subtropical gardens, churchyard crosses and a well, St Just Creek, views over Carrick Roads from Messack Point and rockpools

Walk Description: This loop follows both sides of St Just Creek out to Messack Point, where the view opens up across Carrick Roads, one of the largest natural harbours in the world. The church at St Just sits among subtropical gardens, with old crosses and a well in the churchyard, and makes for a quiet start or finish. Boots are recommended, though trainers will do in summer.

5. Helford to Dennis Head

• Location: Helford River, on the Lizard Peninsula
• Dog-Friendly: Yes. Dogs should manage the stiles without much trouble. St Anthony beach has seasonal dog restrictions.
• Café: The New Inn and The Shipwrights Arms are on or near the route, and there is a café too
• iWalk Cornwall Route: Helford to Dennis Head
• Distance: 5.1 miles / 8.2 km
• Difficulty: Easy-moderate
• Highlights: The villages of Helford, Manaccan and St Anthony, views over Gillan Creek and the Helford River, St Anthony church, Dennis Head and small sheltered beaches

Walk Description: A circular walk around the creeks of the Helford River, linking three small villages settled by Celtic monks from Brittany: Helford, Manaccan and St Anthony. Along the way there are views over Gillan Creek and the river, sheltered little beaches and St Anthony church. Some stretches run close to unfenced cliffs, and boots are recommended.

Plan your walk

The iWalk Cornwall app gives you hand-written directions for every step and GPS guidance that warns you if you stray off route. It works offline with no signal, which matters on the open moor above Camelford and on the quieter stretches of coast. Again, this is not a paid partnership. We just like it.

The app is free to download from the App Store and Google Play, and you buy the individual walks you want. The full collection runs to more than 300 routes across the county.