Kynance Cove

A famed beauty spot, now owned by the National Trust, Kynance Cove has a marvellous sandy beach and dramatic offshore rock formations. The name ‘Kynance’ comes from the Cornish word  ‘kynans’, meaning a deep ravine, and the place has been occupied since at least the Bronze Age. This was a favourite destination with wealthy Victorians, including Tennyson, and after a visit here by Prince Albert and his children in 1846, one of the giant rocks on the beach became known as Albert Rock.

Out to sea is Asparagus Island, where, at one time, wild asparagus grew. The cove is also the site of the largest outcrop of serpentine rock, the rock unique to the Lizard that is dark, mottled and veined with green, red and white. The caves to the west of the cove can be explored around low tide and these include the Devil’s Bellows, a cave that, at high tide, becomes a dramatic blowhole. On Rill Point is an old coastguard lookout post, from where in 1588 watchers spotted the Spanish Armada several miles offshore. The fleet of 130 galleons announced its imminent arrival with a mass broadside fire, but, alerted by beacons and runners, the English fleet under Sir Francis Drake was waiting.

Available Guidebooks for this region:

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