Hawker's Cove | |
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Hawker's Cove at low water | |
Location within Cornwall | |
OS grid reference | SW912776 |
Civil parish |
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Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | PADSTOW |
Postcode district | PL28 |
Dialling code | 01841 |
Police | Devon and Cornwall |
Fire | Cornwall |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
Hawker's Cove is a small coastal settlement in north Cornwall, England. It is situated one-and-a-half miles (2 kilometres) north of Padstow on the west side of the River Camel estuary. [1]
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 actor Edward Woodward lived there until his death in 2009. 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 the beach.
Evidence has been found of occupation during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman periods, and the use of Harbour Cove for trading vessels. [2]
Road access to Hawker's Cove is via a lane which leads from the Padstow-St Merryn road through Crugmeer to Lellizzick . [1] As traffic is discouraged beyond Lellizzick, motorists are directed to a nearby carpark from where a track leads to the coastpath at Tregirls beach.
Between Padstow and Hawker's Cove the South West Coast Path 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 it steepens on the climb up to Stepper Point. There are no toilets or other public facilities nearby.
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.
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 5 miles (8.0 km) northwest of Wadebridge, 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Bodmin and 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Newquay. The population of Padstow civil parish was 3,162 in the 2001 census, reducing to 2,993 at the 2011 census. In addition an electoral ward with the same name exists but extends as far as Trevose Head. The population for this ward is 4,434.
The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for 630 miles (1,014 km), running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Because it rises and falls with every river mouth, it is also one of the more challenging trails. The total height climbed has been calculated to be 114,931 ft (35,031 m), almost four times the height of Mount Everest. It has been voted 'Britain's Best Walking route' twice in a row by readers of The Ramblers' Walk magazine, and regularly features in lists of the world's best walks.
St Mary's is the largest and most populous island of the Isles of Scilly, an archipelago off the southwest coast of Cornwall in England, United Kingdom.
The River Camel is a river in Cornwall, England. It rises on the edge of Bodmin Moor and with its tributaries its catchment area covers much of North Cornwall. The river flows into the eastern Celtic Sea between Stepper Point and Pentire Point having covered about 30 miles (50 km) making it the second longest river wholly in Cornwall. The river is tidal upstream to Egloshayle and is popular for sailing, birdwatching and fishing. The name Camel comes from the Cornish language for 'the crooked one', a reference to its winding course. Historically the river was divided into three named stretches. Heyl was the name for the estuary up to Egloshayle, the River Allen was the stretch between Egloshayle and Trecarne, whilst the Camel was reserved for the stretch of river between its source and Trecarne.
Salcombe is a resort town in the South Hams district of Devon, south west England. The town is close to the mouth of the Kingsbridge Estuary, mostly built on the steep west side of the estuary. It lies within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The town's extensive waterfront and the naturally sheltered harbour formed by the estuary gave rise to its success as a boat and shipbuilding and sailing port and, in modern times, tourism especially in the form of pleasure boats and yachting. The town is also home to a traditional shellfish fishing industry. The town is part of the electoral ward of Salcombe and Malborough, for which the 2011 census recorded a total population of 3,353.
Rock is a coastal fishing village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is opposite Padstow on the north-east bank of the River Camel estuary. The village is in the civil parish of St Minver Lowlands about 4 miles (6.4 km) north-west of Wadebridge.
Coverack is a coastal village and fishing port in Cornwall, UK. It lies in the parish of St Keverne, on the east side of the Lizard peninsula about nine miles (14 km) south of Falmouth.
Polkerris is a small village on the south coast of Cornwall, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Fowey.
Padstow Lifeboat Station has been at Trevose Head west of Padstow, Cornwall, since 1967. Before that it was at Hawker's Cove on the Camel estuary between the town and the sea. The lifeboat station is run by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), and since 2006 has been the base for Tamar-class RNLB Spirit of Padstow.
Stepper Point is a headland on the Atlantic coast in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at grid reference SW911781. 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.
Trevose Head is a headland on the Atlantic coast of north Cornwall, on the south-western coast of Great Britain. It is situated approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) 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. In clear weather, visitors to Trevose Head can see virtually the whole length of the north Cornwall coast; to the north, the view extends beyond the Cornwall county boundary to Hartland Point, Devon; to the south, it extends beyond St Ives to the headland at Pendeen Watch.
Crugmeer is a hamlet in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated one-and-a-half miles from Padstow to the west of the River Camel estuary.
The Doom Bar is a sandbar at the mouth of the estuary of the River Camel, where it meets the Atlantic Ocean on the north coast of Cornwall, England. Like two other permanent sandbanks further up the estuary, the Doom Bar is composed mainly of marine sand that is continually being carried up from the seabed. More than 60 per cent of the sand is derived from marine shells, making it an important source of agricultural lime, which has been collected for hundreds of years; an estimated 10 million tons of sand or more has been removed from the estuary since the early nineteenth century, mainly by dredging.
Lellizzick is a farmstead settlement in north Cornwall, England. It is situated approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Padstow on the lane from Crugmeer to Hawkers Cove.
Tregirls is a farmstead in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately half-a-mile (1 km) north of Padstow. The settlement consists of a farm and converted cottages which are let as holiday accommodation.
St Ives Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at St Ives, Cornwall in the United Kingdom. The first lifeboat was built for the town in 1840 and the present boathouse was opened in 1994. It operates a Shannon-class All-weather boat (AWB) and a D-class (IB1) inshore lifeboat (ILB).
Penlee Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations for Mount's Bay in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The lifeboat station operated at various locations in Penzance from the early 19th century. It moved to Penlee Point near Mousehole in 1913, thus gaining its current name, but was moved to Newlyn in 1983 without any change of name. The station is remembered for the loss of the entire lifeboat crew on 19 December 1981.
Salcombe Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at Salcombe, Devon in England. The first lifeboat was stationed in the town in 1869. The Salcombe Lifeboat has twice capsized, in 1916 with the loss of 13 lives, and in 1983 with no loss of life. Since 2008 the station has operated a Tamar-class all weather boat (ALB) and an Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat (ILB).
Sennen Cove Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations for the sea around Land's End, Cornwall in the United Kingdom. The first lifeboat was stationed at Sennen Cove in 1853. Since 2009 it has operated a Tamar-class all-weather boat (ALB) and a D-class (IB1) inshore lifeboat (ILB).
Rock Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations on the River Camel in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It operates a D-class (IB1) lifeboat, which since 2014 has been the Rusper II.
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