Skip to content
The Great Britain Guide

Beaches · South West England

Bedruthan Steps

Free admission

Bedruthan Steps — stretch of coastline in Cornwall, United Kingdom.

Bedruthan Steps, beaches in South West England

Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
1 h–3 h
Best time of year
Summer (Jun–Aug)
Nearest railway station
Newquay · 8.5 km
  • Free entry
  • Family-friendly
  • Dog-friendly

About

Bedruthan Steps is a named beach on the United Kingdom coastline. Wikidata describes it as: "stretch of coastline in Cornwall, United Kingdom". Coordinates: 50.4858°, -5.0333°.

Photo gallery

Protected designations

  • Site of Special Scientific Interest: Bedruthan Steps and Park Head SSSI
  • Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Cornwall

Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.

From the Wikipedia article

Carnewas and Bedruthan Steps (Cornish: Karn Havos, meaning "rock-pile of summer dwelling" and Cornish: Bos Rudhen, meaning "Red-one's dwelling") is a stretch of coastline located on the north Cornish coast between Padstow and Newquay, in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is within the parish of St Eval and is part-owned by the National Trust. The trust maintains a shop and café, and the cliff–top views of rocks stretching into the distance along Bedruthan beach make the area a popular attraction for tourists and painters. The property affords walks along the South West Coast Path and the steep steps at Bedruthan allow access to a series of rocky beaches at low tide (not owned by the trust). Signs at the top of the steps down to the beaches warn visitors not to risk swimming in these waters due to heavy rips, fast tides, and submerged rocks. A rockfall occurred in February 2020 affecting the lower steps and the safety netting on surrounding rocks resulting in closure of the steps.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

People have been in the area since at least the Bronze Age with six barrows nearby to the north, and overlooking Bedruthan Steps is Redcliff Castle, which dates back to at least the Iron Age. Redcliff Castle has three ramparts divided by two ditches, part of which have been quarried to improve the defences. Much of the internal parts of the castle have been eroded by the sea. A second castle is within a mile to the north at Park Head and two miles to the south at Griffin's Point, a third. Cliff Castles or promontory forts are defensive structures that are thought by archaeologists to have been permanently occupied. In 2009, a menhir or longstone was discovered in a boundary hedge close to…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
50.4858, -5.0333
District
Cornwall
Parish
St. Eval
Postcode
PL27 7FS
Parliamentary constituency
North Cornwall
Nearest railway station
Newquay8.5 km

Sources

Other places nearby

Loading nearby places…

Nearby

More beaches in this region

Frequently asked questions

Where is Bedruthan Steps?
Bedruthan Steps is in South-West England, United Kingdom (postcode PL27 7FS), in the parish of St. Eval.
Is Bedruthan Steps a protected site?
Yes — Bedruthan Steps is part of the Bedruthan Steps and Park Head SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest and the Cornwall National Landscape (AONB).
Is Bedruthan Steps free to visit?
Yes, Bedruthan Steps is free to enter.
How do I get to Bedruthan Steps?
Drivers can navigate to postcode PL27 7FS. It sits within the North Cornwall parliamentary constituency.