The wildlife watchpoint
Volunteers with binoculars point out grey seals, Cornish choughs, dolphins and, on calm summer days, the odd basking shark.
Britain runs out here. Lizard Point is the southernmost tip of the mainland, and due south of it there is nothing but open water until the north coast of Spain. The odd thing is how modest the spot itself is: a rocky headland, two small cafés and the old slipway of a lifeboat station that closed in 1961, when the boat moved round the coast to Kilcobben Cove. Anyone who comes for a quick photo beside the 'most southerly' sign leaves ten minutes later wondering what the fuss was about. The trick is that the point is not the destination. It is the starting line. From the National Trust car park opposite the lighthouse (the site itself is free; parking is £2 for an hour, £4 for four hours and £6 beyond that, and the machines take cash only unless you pay through the JustPark app) a short, well-surfaced path leads to the wildlife watchpoint, open from 1 April and closed over winter, staffed by volunteers with binoculars who point things out for you: grey seals hauled onto the rocks of the tiny cove below, the red-billed Cornish chough that came back to breed here after a long absence, dolphins offshore and, on still summer days, the occasional basking shark. Children love this more than any view on the trip. Then comes the real reward: the coast path north-west to Kynance Cove, two miles and about an hour on foot over cliffs of veined green serpentine, until turquoise water, black rock stacks and a sandy beach regularly called one of Cornwall's most beautiful open up beneath you. Mind the tide: the sand all but vanishes at high water, so check the tide table before going down. The path is fairly level but is no place for a pushchair, and the descent from Kynance car park to the beach is a steep flight of steps. Lizard Lighthouse next door, with its twin towers first lit in 1752, is handsome from outside, but its heritage centre and tower tours have been shut for several years with no reopening announced, so treat it as a photograph rather than a plan. Most people arrive by car, around 25 minutes from Helston and roughly 50 from Falmouth on narrow lanes, though the 34 bus from Helston reaches Lizard village, half a mile short of the point. In July and August Kynance car park, which charges separately, is full before noon. Winter here is windy, foggy and dark by mid-afternoon; the place is genuinely lovely from May to September.
Volunteers with binoculars point out grey seals, Cornish choughs, dolphins and, on calm summer days, the odd basking shark.
Two miles and about an hour north-west along the coast path to turquoise water; the beach all but vanishes at high tide.
Twin towers first lit in 1752 that photograph well from outside; the heritage centre and tours have been closed for years.
Lizard Point, The Lizard, Helston, Cornwall TR12 7NT
Land's End is more famous but it is a commercial complex with pricey parking and a theme-park feel; Lizard Point is free, quieter and has Kynance Cove next door. Staying near Falmouth or Helston, choose Lizard without hesitation. From Penzance or St Ives, Land's End is far closer, so go there and leave it at that.
The path from the car park to the point and the watchpoint is short and surfaced and a pushchair can be pushed along it, though the ground is not level throughout, and children love the seals. The Kynance path is not pushchair territory and the descent to the beach is steep steps; with a baby, drive to Kynance car park instead, and with a walking child the path is doable but keep well back from the cliff edge.