Short answer: The best places to watch the sunset in St Agnes are Wheal Coates, with the engine house silhouetted, and St Agnes Head, a remote clifftop with two small car parks. Trevaunance Cove suits a picnic and a drink at Schooners. Sunset is 5:09pm on 25 October and falls to 4:17pm around 12 December (sunrise-sunset.org). Bring a torch.
When the clocks go back on 25 October, sunset jumps from about 6:11pm to 5:09pm. From now until Christmas, watching the sunset in St Agnes means being on a cliff at about 4pm and walking back in the dusk, so the spot you choose is as much about the return trip as the view. Here are the best places to watch the sunset in St Agnes, sorted from car park to cliff walk.
These are from the Saint Agnes page on sunrise-sunset.org. Arrive well before sunset; a reviewer who arrived an hour early at St Agnes Head found a perch on the clifftops and described it as one of Cornwall's finest sunset spots.
4.9 from 89 Google reviews. A remote clifftop viewpoint west of the village, reached by a single-track road, with two small car parks of around a dozen cars each and no facilities. Reviewers mostly describe the parking as free, but one mentions paying £2, so check the signs. The paths are rocky and a reviewer says they are not suitable for buggies. Dogs are allowed but a lead is wise because the cliff drops close by. A reviewer mentions a height barrier on the road in. The National Trust listing is rated 4.8 from 169 reviews.
Space for around ten vehicles, free according to reviewers, and with good views over the sea. Reviewers describe it as a handy spot when it is too wet or windy to stand about on the cliff.
4.9 from 840 Google reviews. This is the classic: the engine house of Towanroath silhouetted against the sky. A Cornwall holiday guide says to go up to the cliffs to see the sky light up with the engine house in the foreground. One reviewer came at sunset and said it did not disappoint, and another said the car park is a short walk of about 10 minutes from the buildings. The National Trust says the countryside is open dawn to dusk, dogs are allowed under close control, and the ground is uneven and steep in places. Non-members pay £2 for up to an hour, £4 for up to four hours or £8 for the day, with coins only and exact change at the machines (or JustPark), and members park free. For the route and the access details, see the Wheal Coates and Chapel Porth walk guide.
Stay on the main path. The National Trust trail passes capped mine shafts, and the path past the first buildings is steep, rough and loose, with steps. If you are with someone who uses a wheelchair, our St Agnes access guide says what is realistic.
A holiday guide describes Trevaunance Cove as a good sunset picnic beach and recommends a drink and a wood-fired pizza at Schooners afterwards. Schooners (4.5 from 554 Google reviews) is a Verdant Brewing bar above the cove, with a big sea outlook, and a local guide gives Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 10pm, so check. Reppers Coombe car park is free from 1 November to 31 March, per the parish council. See the Trevaunance Cove guide.
Yes, but think about getting down. The Beacon is the hill above the village, and the paths are uneven in places. Walking down in poor light is the risk, so take a head torch. Our Beacon walk guide has the loop and parking.
It is a lovely beach, but better as a daytime stop in winter. The National Trust car park is small, the cafe (Chapel Porth Beach Cafe) is seasonal, and you would be climbing back in the dark. Look down on it from Wheal Coates instead.
Use the Beacon car park or the car at St Agnes Head as a viewing platform (reviewers mention the views from both), or skip the cliffs and watch the weather from a bar. Verdant Schooners sits above the cove, and a reviewer of the St Agnes Hotel mentions a roaring open fire in the pub.
Schooners for pizza, the Peterville Inn for dinner (book ahead), and date night in St Agnes for a longer plan. Perranporth, the next town north, also has a sunset guide: see where to watch the sunset in Perranporth. More on the area is on the St Agnes town page.
Sunset is 6:11pm on 24 October, the last day of British Summer Time, then 5:09pm on 25 October once the clocks go back, 4:58pm on 31 October and about 4:17pm on 12 December, the earliest of the year.
Wheal Coates, where the Towanroath engine house is silhouetted against the sky, and St Agnes Head, which reviewers call one of Cornwall's finest sunset spots.
Reviewers disagree. One said parking was free, another mentioned paying £2. There are two small car parks, so check the signs.
Take a torch and stay on the main path. The ground is uneven and steep, with capped mine shafts, and the section past the first buildings is steep and loose.
Verdant Schooners is listed by a local guide as open until 10pm Wednesday to Sunday, and the Peterville Inn serves dinner. Check hours and book where you can.
Times, prices and dates are the businesses' and organisers' to change, so check before you travel. Spotted something we've got wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.
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