Bedruthan Steps
Bedruthan Steps on the north Cornish coast near Padstow is one of the most dramatic and photographed coastal landscapes in Cornwall, a series of enormous sea stacks rising from the beach in the wide bay below the clifftops, their sheer faces and varied forms creating a scene of raw geological power that has made this one of the signature images of the Cornish coast. The stacks are the remnants of a headland progressively eroded by Atlantic wave action, the harder sections of rock resisting the sea longer than the surrounding material and surviving as isolated columns while the rest of the headland has been worn away.
The clifftop viewpoint above Bedruthan, accessible from the National Trust car park, provides the classic view over the stacks and the beach below that appears on postcards and in travel guides. The beach itself is accessible by a steep staircase cut into the cliff face when conditions allow, but the tidal range on this exposed section of the north Cornish coast is considerable and the beach at high water is entirely submerged, making timing essential for anyone wishing to walk at beach level. The stacks have acquired individual names over the years, including Queen Bess, Samaritan Island and Diggory's Island, though the origin and reliability of these names in historical use is variable.
The coastal scenery around Bedruthan is part of the extraordinary Heritage Coast that extends north toward Trevose Head and south toward Newquay, one of the most impressive stretches of the south-west coast path and an area where the full force of the Atlantic on an exposed coast can be experienced on all but the calmest days. The clifftop vegetation of maritime heath and grassland supports stonechats, skylarks and in spring the distinctive display of sea thrift that colours this stretch of Cornish cliff in pink every May and June.
The National Trust café at the clifftop provides refreshments and the Trust manages the immediate site and the surrounding coastal farmland, maintaining both the visitor infrastructure and the ecological value of this important coastal landscape.