On A Wing And A Prairie!


You may have heard of the legendary field path from St. Ives to Zennor. You may have even been tempted to use it to spare yourself the effort required to negotiate the coast path.

Well, while, being real men/hedgehogs/sheep/flat persons/dragons/snakes etc., we would always want to take the scenic coast path, this time we have relented to bring you coverage of the field path. But first here's a few things that you might want to consider:-

It can be a bugger to locate (especially from the St. Ives end).
It can be a bugger to stay on once you get out into the fields. A lot of people get lost and end up resorting to walking the road.
It's pretty dull (especially compared to the alternative route).
Cows! This is definitely not one for vachophobes.

Right, we did it from Zennor to St. Ives so, if you are starting from St. Ives go to the end of this feature and read it backwards.

On leaving the Tinner's (you did remember to stop in for a pint of Sharp's Special, didn't you?) turn left (i.e. towards the coast away from the main road). The field path from St. Ives to Zennor 1
Head past the church and then turn right at the farm.

There is a handy marker to give you a clue.

 The field path from St. Ives to Zennor 2
It looks like someone's farm. It is someone's farm. But the field path goes through (hence the name). Don't attempt this if you don't like farms (and their contents)! The field path from St. Ives to Zennor 3
Remember to treat the farm property with respect and obey the country code ..... The field path from St. Ives to Zennor 4
..... or your carcass could end up strung out on the wire like this fool who forgot to secure the gate after passing through! The field path from St. Ives to Zennor 5

And that's it. You're out in the fields and on the field path. Now all you have to do is work out where the hell you are supposed to go next!

Unlike the coast path, which mostly consists of a single well-beaten track, the field path rapidly fades out in the great expanse of the Cornish prairies. To add to the confusion, things that do appear to be tracks will usually be the marks left by the movement of cattle, tractors, etc. and, therefore, not actually part of the field path. In a lot of the fields the path crosses walls and hedges via small stiles and not the oh so tempting gates!

There are occasionally markers to give you a clue where the path goes but some of them are fairly well concealed. The field path from St. Ives to Zennor 6
Yup, I'm afraid a lot of it is like this.

In fact, a lot of the times the direction of the path is a damn sight less obvious than this.

 The field path from St. Ives to Zennor 7
This is Zennor as seen from the field path route.

If you have set off from St. Ives all well and good. However, if you have set off from Zennor then you are already a mere 180 degrees off course!

 The field path from St. Ives to Zennor 8
Most gates are red herrings (well, metal constructs actually) ..... The field path from St. Ives to Zennor 9
..... this is the sort of thing you need to be looking for. The field path from St. Ives to Zennor 10

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