Holywell Bay & Polly Joke – 6 Miles of Lucious Cornish Coast

Recently, I seem to be spending more and more of my time running and exploring on Cornwall’s north coast. This run, which covers Holywell Bay, Polly Joke and Crantock Bay may’ve been a spontaneous decision, but boy, it was a good one! I’m enjoying the change in scenery and visiting places I’ve not been to for ages.

As I flirt with the idea of completing marathon number 3, Monday runs are getting longer. With that in mind, I wanted to cover about 6 miles of mixed terrain.

Starting at Crantock Beach

This run, or walk (it is a stunning route however swiftly you make your way around) starts at Crantock. I’m a National Trust member and use the car park that links to the beach.

Crantock Beach is a great spot. It’s very popular come the summer. Backed by sand dunes and sprouting sea grass, it comes some steep descents to the actual beach. It’s here that the River Gannel meets the sea so Crantock is often identifiable by the long stretch of water that makes an appearance as the tide comes in.

Crantock is a good beach to visit if you’ve got children. Crabbing is good here (I’ve only had promising results 🦀). On the other side of the Gannel, at East Pentire, you’ll find the wonderful Fern Pit Cafe. While I have yet to experience it for myself, it comes with excellent reviews and a good reputation.

To Holywell Bay

From Crantock, I headed away from the south west coast path and onto the road. I thought I would get this bit out of the way first. It’s the only road section and it leads to Holywell Bay.

The main road section of this route doesn’t last long and thankfully, it wasn’t particularly busy. To get to Holywell Bay Beach I came off the main road at Treago Farm, a campsite with a little shop. This was a fab downhill section that naturally leads to Cubert Common.

I think all paths on Cubert Common lead to the coast path but there are so many. I opted to stay on those that veered to the left as I didn’t want to by pass Holywell Bay. You know when you’re getting close as the common ebbs into sand dunes. They seem endless and are very high. The paths weave around them but I remember thinking that at some point I will probably have to scale one.

I would struggle to describe my actual route as paths branch off in different directions. I can only say that I ran among the sand dunes alongside an old fence. After a few sandy uphills I landed on Holywell Bay. I’ve not been here for a while but it’s so recognisable because of the spilt rock in the sea. It’s called Carters or Gull Rocks.

Given that we haven’t had the best weather in Cornwall during the initial summer weeks, I completely lucked out with the blue sky. Holywell Bay looked incredible. Plus, with it being a weekday it was relatively quiet.

Holywell Bay has lovely soft sand that stretches for about a mile. It’s not a beach I come to regularly, but I am confident it’s popular in peak season and the traffic is probably terrible. One to come to in the quieter shoulder months, or in the evening for a Cornish sunset experience.

From Holywell Bay to Polly Joke

Once up and out of the dunes, the elevated position of the south west coast path offered more outstanding views of Holywell Bay. Thankfully, the Cornish trail here isn’t too challenging.

It’s only about 1.5 miles to Polly Joke (Porth Joke) from Holywell Bay. Given the time of year, I was on the lookout for the famous poppy fields on the other side of the beach. I’ve never seen them before and spotted them in the distance.

Polly Joke is lovely beach and is worth visiting, especially in poppy season. There is parking near the Bowgie Inn (for parking try What3Words: plump.spurned.loopholes). From here, it’s a short walk to the shore.

To Crantock Beach

From Polly Joke, there are 2 potential routes but they meet up at West Pentire so it really is personal choice. The first option is to run or walk around the headland, which I am sure is beautiful. I took the second option which led me through the fields. It’s a designated path with a bit of a challenging climb. I would imagine that time wise, the 2 routes are about the same.

Once at the top of the fields I appreciated the poppy fields. Apparently there was less of a show this year. The spread and growth were a bit sparse compared to previously years and I suspect this was down to the wet weather we’ve experienced.

Even so, there was a striking strip of red framing the view towards West Pentire and Crantock Beach. More poppy fields on the other side of the path overlook Polly Joke.

After stopping for many photos, I continued on completing the final stretch back to my car. The coast path had high hedges at some points but there are also look out points and paths leading to small coves and more secluded spots. (I love discovering these!)

After this, I was back tackling the sand dunes that overlook Crantock Beach. Thankfully it wasn’t too trying; there’s a nice descent to the car parked. I’m pleased I left home early, it was stacked by the time I got back with queues to get in!

If you do this route, whether you walk or run, I’d love to know what you think. Enjoy!