Best Places To Go Storm Watching in Cornwall
Waves pounding against the rocks, sea spray hissing along the barrelling swells and thunderclaps in the dark and brooding skies – the winter storms of Cornwall are a sight to behold. If you love the thrill of wild weather and fancy yourself as a bit of a storm chaser, these sometimes tempestuous locations should be on your radar.
Please make sure you storm watch with caution. Be aware of the changing tides, avoid dangerous vantage points and always admire from a safe distance and follow weather warning advice.
Porthleven
Built in 1884 by William Bickford-Smith, Porthleven’s seventy-foot tall clock tower remains one of Cornwall’s most famous stormy portraits. Standing upon the town’s granite harbour next to the pier, the tower receives the thunder and wash of crashing waves and is regularly captured by news reporters on location during Cornwall’s stormy headline weather. These dramatic scenes are always best admired from a safe distance.
Bedruthan Steps
Legend has it that a giant by the name Bedruthan once used these towering sea stacks as steppingstones as he traversed the north Cornwall coast. These iconic outcrops are the result of centuries of erosion and during wild weather get pounded by the turbulent seas unleashing spectacular swathes of ocean spray. They form part of a majestic stretch of the South West Coast Path encompassing some of the region’s most rugged corridors and golden sands between Trevose Head and Watergate Bay. If you like to wrap up warm and enjoy braving the elements you’ll be spellbound by the theatre of this stormy peninsula.
Kynance Cove
One of Cornwall’s most beloved and characterful beaches made even more famous by its regular appearances as Nampara in the BBC Poldark series starring Aiden Turner and Eleanor Tomlinson. White sands weave around the serpentine rocks and the ebbing tide reveals craggy caves and sandy islands. When the storms come raging, this tranquil setting is transformed into a tempestuous cauldron of buffeting waves and howling winds, such is the ever-changing nature of the Cornish weather. There are plenty of lofty, safe perches where you can watch and admire the display.
Land’s End
This magnificent headland lies within the Penwith peninsula and is England’s most westerly point where the English Channel meets the Celtic Sea. The swells that collide at this fabled jut can be truly ferocious and storm watchers regularly gather on the tussocks to watch in awe as the monstrous waves roar into the headland led by the frothing charge of white horses.
Lizard Point
When the storm clouds gather over the dramatic cliffs of The Lizard and the seas whip up around the headland, you know it’s time to batten down the hatches. Here, at Britain’s southernmost point, only the bravest of wild weather watchers gather to feel the full might of the channel. The seabed is littered with shipwrecks such was the infamy of these waters, the turbulent and rocky shores the undoing of many a seasoned mariner. Remember to savour this natural spectacle from a safe distance or with a hot mug of tea inside the cosy, clifftop Polpeor Café.
Penzance Promenade
The handsome port town of Penzance and its seaside promenade is the setting for our next storm watch. Here, the roaring waves come thumping against the sea wall showering the road and rasping the passing traffic with a salty deluge. It’s an exhilarating sight, but be warned, the wayward wash has been known to bowl pedestrians over. The backdrop of St Michael’s Mount makes this popular vantage point even more captivating.
Sennen Cove
When the sun is shining on the sparkling, turquoise waters of Sennen Cove it’s hard to imagine anything other than a picture of calm and serenity. But when the winds pick up and the storm fronts sweep upon the peninsula, this exposed white, sandy crescent is battered by booming Atlantic rollers that smash the rocks at the southern end of the bay and crash into the harbour wall. Storm chasers are spellbound by the cascades of sea spray flung above the village rooftops by relentless waves, the striking rocky headland of Pedn-men-du forming a dramatic backdrop.
Trevose Head
The volcanic and greenstone rocks of Trevose Head form one of north Cornwall’s most striking bluffs, also home to the Trevose lighthouse. On clear days wildlife enthusiasts marvel at the skylarks and linnets from the South West Coast Path, but when the weather turns tumultuous walkers are treated to the Atlantic’s full ferocity as the easterly gusts blow their hooleys scattering the gulls and spooking the hillside sheep. Views stretch as far west as Pendeen Watch and all the way to Hartland Point in the east. Don’t forget your hats and scarves.
The Rumps
Found at the end of Pentire Point, between Padstow Bay and Port Quin Bay, The Rumps are the fang-like rocks seen breaching the froth at the tip of the sea. These basaltic layers stand against the mighty thrust of the Atlantic and on dark and stormy days cast shivers of white water high into the air.
Kingsand
The fisherman’s cottages of Kingsand stand perched along the waterfront, a charming sight on a tranquil day but not when the stormy seas are thrashing the walls and the weather lays siege upon the village. Kingsand’s Grade II listed clock tower remains one of Cornwall’s most recognised landmarks standing right on the harbour’s edge. The tower, built to commemorate the coronation of King George V, had to undergo major restoration work following the huge winter storms of 2014. Set on the magnificent Rame Peninsula, dramatic photographs of Kingsand regularly makes the front pages during times of wild weather.
And the next best thing about about storm chasing? Returning to the snug and toastiness of your Cornish holiday cottage…come have a look at our enticing list of holiday cottages.
Enjoy the thrill of the storms but please stay safe.