Stepper Point
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Stepper Point | |
|---|---|
 Stepper Point viewed from the east across the River Camel estuary | |
  Location in Cornwall | |
| Coordinates: 50°34′08″N 4°57′00″W / 50.569°N 4.950°W | |
| Location | Cornwall |
Stepper Point (Cornish: Penn Stuppert)[1] is a headland on the Atlantic coast in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at grid reference SW911781. Stepper Point and Pentire Point stand at either side of the mouth of the River Camel; Stepper to the south-west, Pentire to the north-east.
The headland rises to 242 feet (74 m) at its highest point. The land is used for farming and the remains of several defunct stone quarries can be seen. The coast to the east of Stepper Point is on the estuary of the River Camel. This side of the headland boasts the sandhills of Tregirls beach and St George's cove (which is easily accessed from the coast path). A little further north, Harbour Cove and Hawker's Cove (where the Padstow lifeboat was stationed until 1967) are connected at low water by an extensive sandy beach which forms part of a sandbank at the mouth of the estuary known as Doom Bar. Until the 1920s the deep water channel was located close to the headland as far as Harbour Cove, but this has slowly moved so that, by the 1980s the deep channel was on the opposite side of the river nearer to Trebetherick Point.[2]
To the south-west of the headland, the coastal scenery is more rugged with cliffs rising above a rocky foreshore. A mile south of Stepper point is another small headland called Gunver Head and a further mile on is the small sandy beach at Trevone. Offshore is a rocky outcrop known as Gulland, possibly derived from the cornish word goelann meaning gull.[3] The higher ground at the outer end of Stepper Point is made up of Polzeath Slates, with an igneous intrusion that is also the main constituent of Gulland island. Behind this the main part of the headland is Harbour Cove Slates of 260m thickness.[4] Due to its important geological features Stepper Point was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1990.[5]
Landmarks and recreation
The headland above Stepper Point is topped by a 40 ft (12 m) stone tower built in 1830 as a 'day mark' to serve as a navigation beacon for seafarers during daylight, it is visible from over 30 miles offshore and still referred to as the Daymark.[6] The South West Coast Path closely follows the coastline of the headland and the three-mile (5 km) stretch of coast path from Padstow to Stepper Point has fairly easy gradients and is well-surfaced; beyond Stepper towards Trevone the path becomes rougher and is more sharply graded.
The coast path takes walkers directly past both the Daymark and the National Coastwatch Institution lookout which is situated to the north-east of the Daymark. There is no vehicular access to the coastwatch building beyond Lellizzick Farm and the volunteers have to walk the final mile to the watchpoint.[7] The coastwatch station opened in March 2002 and has Declared Facility status meaning that it is part of the official UK Search and Rescue system. All of the staff at the watchpoint are volunteers and keep watch daily from 09.00 until between 15.00 (winter) and 18.00 (summer).[8]
Sightseeing boat tours regularly travel along the coast from the nearby port of Padstow.
