Walks near Porthleven.

The shingle bar at Loe Beach separates the Atlantic from Loe Pool — Cornwall's largest natural lake — and the short walk across it is one of the most distinctive in the county. The bar itself is a fifteen-minute walk from Porthleven along the coast path; return via the NT woodland path around the south side of the pool for a three-mile circular through entirely different landscape. Loe Pool is a SSSI with wintering wildfowl from October to March. No facilities at the bar itself.

North from Porthleven the Coast Path climbs above the town and traverses the clifftops towards Rinsey Head — where the National Trust engine house of Wheal Trewavas stands dramatically above the sea on a headland riddled with mine shafts. The path continues to Trewavas Head before dropping to Praa Sands. The four-mile one-way route is one of the finest sections of the coastal path between Penzance and the Lizard. Return by bus from Praa Sands.

Three miles inland from Porthleven, Helston is the market town at the head of the Cober valley — a peaceful, wooded river valley with a waymarked path following the river south from the town towards Loe Pool. The three-mile valley walk connects Helston to the NT Penrose estate and the pool, providing a car-free route between the inland town and the coast. Bus from Porthleven to Helston makes the circular straightforward without retracing steps.