Some days on the Cornish coast feel wild. This one felt feral.

From the moment I left the car at Godrevy and started hiking up past the lighthouse, the wind made it clear who was in charge. It wasn’t just breezy – it was the kind of full-on, face-slapping Atlantic wind that tries to push you back down the path you’ve just climbed.

Climbing into the Wind

The path up from the lighthouse to the clifftop starts out innocently enough. You follow the well-worn track, glance back at the white tower on its island, and think, “This isn’t too bad.”

Then you hit the more exposed section.

As soon as I stepped properly onto the open cliff top, the wind hit me like a wall. It was constant, not gusty – a steady force trying to shove my tripod sideways and tug my backpack off my shoulders. Walking in a straight line became a bit of a joke. I found myself leaning into it, one step at a time, like I was trying to climb an invisible hill.

Still, this is exactly the kind of weather that gives this coastline so much character. The sea was whipped up into whitecaps, the grass flattened and rippling, and the sound of the waves crashing below was just a low, continuous roar underneath the wind.

Seal Watching at Mutton Cove

My first proper stop was Mutton Cove, one of my favourite spots along this stretch. From the clifftop viewing area you look straight down onto a sheltered little beach that, on a good day, is absolutely packed with grey seals.

Despite the howling wind, the cove itself felt oddly peaceful. Far below, away from the madness on the cliff tops, the seals were just… chilling. Some were sprawled out on the sand like oversized slugs, others rolled lazily in the shallows. A few lifted their heads now and then as another wave crashed in, but for the most part they looked completely unbothered by the weather.

I stayed there for a while, bracing myself against the fence and grabbing a few photos and a short video of the colony. Long lens work in that kind of wind is always a bit of a battle – every gust sends the viewfinder wobbling – but it was worth the effort. There’s something special about capturing that contrast: total chaos up on the clifftops, total calm on the beach below.

A Hidden Cove and a Serious Drop

From Mutton Cove I carried on along the South West Coast Path, heading in the direction of Navax Point. The views along this section are incredible – jagged cliffs, hidden inlets, and that endless Atlantic horizon – but the path also cuts close enough to the edge in places to really make you pay attention, especially when the wind is trying to hustle you sideways.

A little further along I stumbled across a small, unnamed cove that really stopped me in my tracks. The drop down to the sea was absolutely brutal – a near vertical plunge down a sheer rock face into churning water. No beach, no gentle slope, just cliffs and waves.

I stood there for a while, keeping a very respectful distance from the edge, just watching the swell slam into the rocks far below. It was one of those places that feels genuinely remote and slightly intimidating – the kind of spot you’d never notice from a map, but that leaves a big impression when you see it in person.

Shredded by Gorse on the Way to Navax Point

From there I pressed on towards Navax Point itself, which turned out to be less of a gentle walk and more of a leg conditioning session courtesy of Cornwall’s spikiest resident: gorse (those sharp, yellow-flowering bushes that seem to grow exactly where you want to walk).

The path narrowed in places, hemmed in by thick gorse on either side. With the wind still hammering across the clifftops, there wasn’t much room to dance around it, so my legs took the hit. By the time I got through the worst sections, my calves and shins felt like they’d lost an argument with a very aggressive hedgehog.

Navax Point itself made up for it though. Standing there with the wind tearing across the headland and the sea pounding away at the base of the cliffs, you really get a sense of how exposed and raw this coastline is. It’s not polished, it’s not gentle – and that’s exactly why I love it.

A Wild Day Well Spent

Looking back, this hike wasn’t about perfect conditions or calm, controlled shooting. It was about being out in it – battling the elements a bit, grabbing what photos and videos I could, and experiencing the coast in one of its louder moods.

From the seals lazing around in Mutton Cove, to that hidden cove with the sheer drop, to the gorse doing its best to shred my legs, it was one of those days that reminded me why this stretch between Godrevy and Navax Point keeps pulling me back.

It’s not always comfortable. It’s not always easy.
But it’s always worth it.