Lizard Point

England’s Southernmost Tip Has a Café and Red-Billed Choughs and That’s More Than Enough

Lizard Point is the southernmost piece of mainland England: a headland in southwest Cornwall where Cornish serpentinite – a greenish metamorphic rock found nowhere else in the country – meets the Atlantic at 60-metre cliffs. The National Trust manages the land and keeps the car park small deliberately. In clear weather you can see the Eddystone Lighthouse 30km to the northeast, and occasionally the Isles of Scilly another 40km beyond that.

The converted lifeboat house café at the tip opens around 09:30 and serves decent pasties and hot drinks. This is the southernmost food you can eat in England, if you care about such things.

The Lighthouse and Heritage Centre

The Lizard Lighthouse dates from 1751 and has been automated since 1998. The attached Heritage Centre (free entry) is better than it sounds: the lens mechanism on display and the history of Trinity House’s operations here are genuinely interesting. Lighthouse tours run in summer when weather permits (approximately GBP 5 for adults).

Kynance Cove

One mile north along the coastal path, Kynance Cove is the most photographed beach in Cornwall. The beach is accessible only at low and mid tide – it disappears under water at high tide, a fact that most visitors do not know until they arrive. Check tide times before walking down; the descent is steep and takes 10 minutes, and the return is tiring. The stack formations and sea caves visible from the beach are the same serpentinite as the clifftops. The National Trust café above the beach serves reliable cream teas.

Wildlife

Choughs – red-billed, red-legged corvids – were absent from Cornwall for 60 years before naturally recolonising in 2001. They are regularly visible on the clifftops between Kynance and Lizard Point. More acrobatic in flight than jackdaws, travelling in small family groups, they are one of the better wildlife rewards for the walk. Grey seals haul out on rocks below the cliffs for most of the year.

Walking

The South West Coast Path runs through Lizard Point. North toward Mullion Cove takes about 90 minutes. East toward Cadgwith adds 3km to reach a small cove village with the Cadgwith Cove Inn on the harbour. The terrain is uneven and exposed; proper footwear is essential as the serpentinite surfaces become slippery when wet.

Getting There and Staying

The Lizard is not served by rail. Bus 37 from Helston runs to Lizard village (30 minutes). Lizard village, 1km from the point, has a pub (the Top House) and a few B&Bs. Avoid August bank holiday weekend: the road through the peninsula is single carriageway and car park queues can stretch back 2km. Arriving before 10:00 in summer is the reliable approach for a parking space.