Zennor

Zennor is a granite village just off the B3306 coast road between St Ives and St Just, in a parish of fewer than 200 people where farmland runs from the moors down to the cliffs. The village takes its name from St Senara, and a church dedicated to her has stood on the site since at least the 6th century; the present building is partly Norman, with later medieval additions. Inside, a carved bench end dated to between 1400 and 1500 shows a mermaid holding a comb and mirror. The carving is tied to the Mermaid of Zennor legend, in which chorister Matthew Trewhella followed a mermaid down to Pendour Cove below the village and was never seen again.

Opposite the church stands the Tinner’s Arms, said to date from 1271, when it housed the masons building the church. DH Lawrence lived near the village between 1915 and 1917, drinking at the Tinner’s and finishing Women in Love during his stay, before wartime authorities expelled him from Cornwall on suspicion of spying. In the centre of the village, Moomaid of Zennor serves ice cream named for the same legend.

Walking is the main reason most visitors come. The coast path between Zennor and St Ives runs for 6 miles with no road access, climbing through boulder fields on one of the most highly rated sections of the whole South West Coast Path - see our coast path walks guide for the full route. Zennor Head, the headland north of the village, has cliffs rising more than 60 metres from the sea. A mile east of the village on the moor sits Zennor Quoit, a megalithic burial chamber.

Where to Stay

The Gurnard’s Head is a 17th-century coaching inn on the coast road just west of the village, with rooms, food, and the coast path a field away. Two cottages sit nearby at Treen: Gurnard’s Cottage sleeps 3 in 2 bedrooms with a wood burner, rated 4/5 from 107 reviews, while Back of Beyond is a barn cottage sleeping 4 in 2 bedrooms with an open fire, an EV charging point, and a 5/5 rating from 63 reviews. All three welcome dogs. For a wider choice of cottages, shops and restaurants, St Ives is a short drive east along the B3306.