Hawker's Cove, Cornwall
Encyclopedia
Hawker's Cove is a small coastal settlement in north Cornwall
, United Kingdom
. It is situated one-and-a-half miles (2 kilometres) north of Padstow
on the west side of the River Camel estuary
.
The hamlet consists of two terraces of cottages, a few detached dwellings, a coastguard station and a boathouse with a slipway
which once housed the Padstow lifeboat
. The first lifeboat, built by the Padstow Harbour Association, was kept at Hawker’s Cove and in 1855 the Padstow branch of the RNLI was formed. A new boathouse with a roller slipway was built in 1931. By the 1960s, silting was becoming a problem and in October 1967 the Padstow lifeboat relocated to a new boathouse and slipway at Trevose Head
, a few miles to the west.
Facilities at Hawkers Cove are limited, although there is now a (tiny) tea garden at the back of the two hundred year old ‘Coastguard Houses’, approximately 150m from the slipway at Hawkers Cove beach.
Road access to Hawker's Cove is via a lane which leads from the Padstow-St Merryn
road through Crugmeer
to Lellizzick
. Traffic is discouraged beyond Lellizzick and instead motorists are directed to a nearby carpark from where a track leads to the coastpath at Tregirls beach.
passes Gun Point, site of an abandoned gun emplacement and fortifications dating back to the Napoleonic War
. This stretch of path has fairly easy gradients and is well-surfaced but beyond Hawker's Cove, the path steepens on the climb up to Stepper Point
. There are no toilets or other public facilities at Hawker's Cove.
The ebb tide
uncovers a wide sandy beach which, at low water, extends across the estuary mouth towards Trebetherick Point
. But at high water, the beach is submerged and the sand bank is the notorious Doom Bar
which presents a hazard to shipping.
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is situated one-and-a-half miles (2 kilometres) north of Padstow
Padstow
Padstow is a town, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately five miles northwest of Wadebridge, ten miles northwest of Bodmin and ten miles northeast of Newquay...
on the west side of the River Camel estuary
River Camel
The River Camel is a river in Cornwall, UK. It rises on the edge of Bodmin Moor and together with its tributaries drains a considerable part of North Cornwall. The river issues into the Celtic Sea area of the Atlantic Ocean between Stepper Point and Pentire Point having covered a distance of...
.
The hamlet consists of two terraces of cottages, a few detached dwellings, a coastguard station and a boathouse with a slipway
Slipway
A slipway, boat slip or just a slip, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats. They are also used for launching and retrieving small boats on trailers and flying boats on their undercarriage. The...
which once housed the Padstow lifeboat
Padstow lifeboat
Padstow lifeboat Station is based at Trevose Head west of Padstow. The current coxswain is Alan Tarby. The current lifeboat is a Tamar class boat called "Spirit of Padstow".- Hawker's Cove Station:...
. The first lifeboat, built by the Padstow Harbour Association, was kept at Hawker’s Cove and in 1855 the Padstow branch of the RNLI was formed. A new boathouse with a roller slipway was built in 1931. By the 1960s, silting was becoming a problem and in October 1967 the Padstow lifeboat relocated to a new boathouse and slipway at Trevose Head
Trevose Head
Trevose Head is a headland on the Atlantic coast of north Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately west of Padstow. The South West Coast Path runs around the whole promontory and is within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Trevose Head Heritage Coast...
, a few miles to the west.
Facilities at Hawkers Cove are limited, although there is now a (tiny) tea garden at the back of the two hundred year old ‘Coastguard Houses’, approximately 150m from the slipway at Hawkers Cove beach.
Road access to Hawker's Cove is via a lane which leads from the Padstow-St Merryn
St Merryn
St Merryn is a civil parish and village in north Cornwall, United Kingdom approximately three and a half miles south of the fishing port of Padstow and approximately 11 miles northeast of the coastal resort of Newquay....
road through Crugmeer
Crugmeer
Crugmeer is a hamlet in north Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated one-and-a-half miles from Padstow to the west of the River Camel estuary....
to Lellizzick
Lellizzick
Lellizzick is a farmstead settlement in north Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately one mile north of Padstow on the lane from Crugmeer to Hawkers Cove....
. Traffic is discouraged beyond Lellizzick and instead motorists are directed to a nearby carpark from where a track leads to the coastpath at Tregirls beach.
Geography
Between Padstow and Hawker's Cove the South West Coast PathSouth West Coast Path
The South West Coast Path is Britain's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Since it rises and falls with every river mouth, it is also one of the more...
passes Gun Point, site of an abandoned gun emplacement and fortifications dating back to the Napoleonic War
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. This stretch of path has fairly easy gradients and is well-surfaced but beyond Hawker's Cove, the path steepens on the climb up to Stepper Point
Stepper Point
Stepper Point is a headland on the Atlantic coast in north Cornwall, England, UK.Stepper Point and Pentire Point stand at either side of the mouth of the River Camel; Stepper to the south-west, Pentire to the north-east....
. There are no toilets or other public facilities at Hawker's Cove.
The ebb tide
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
uncovers a wide sandy beach which, at low water, extends across the estuary mouth towards Trebetherick Point
Trebetherick
Trebetherick is a village on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the east side of the River Camel estuary approximately six miles north of Wadebridge and half-a-mile south of Polzeath....
. But at high water, the beach is submerged and the sand bank is the notorious Doom Bar
Doom Bar
The Doom Bar is a bank of sand at the estuary of the River Camel where it meets the Celtic Sea on Cornwall's north coast. It represents a significant hazard to shipping, and there have been many ships wrecked there through the centuries...
which presents a hazard to shipping.