Glendorgal Coast Path

08/10/2026

MORE GOOD NEWS FOR GLENDORGAL!

Following our recent update on WCA 961 and Natural England’s ongoing coastal-access review, we have another positive development to share!

Today, Cornwall Council formally confirmed that our application to register part of Glendorgal Headland as a Town or Village Green has been accepted!

Our application has been given the official reference 3156.

Following discussions with the Council, we amended the application to exclude land affected by an existing planning permission. Although this means a smaller area is now being considered, importantly, the application can proceed.

This doesn’t mean the land has been registered as a Village Green yet, but it is another encouraging step forward.

We now have three separate processes progressing concerning public access at Glendorgal:

🥾 WCA 961 – Historic public footpaths

🌿 Natural England – Coastal-access exclusion review

🟢 TVG 3156 – Town or Village Green application formally accepted

Three different routes, all with the potential to help protect public access to this special part of Cornwall.

Another step forward. Thank you for your continued support!

History matters. Our access matters too.

06/10/2026

GLENDORGAL – WHERE THINGS STAND

It’s been a couple of weeks since our last proper update, but things certainly haven’t been standing still behind the scenes.

WCA 961 – our Rights of Way application

Cornwall Council has confirmed publicly that our Glendorgal DMMO, WCA 961, will be the next application allocated to a case officer.

This does not mean the application has been decided. It means the evidence we have gathered – including more than 100 accounts from people who have used Glendorgal over many years, together with maps, photographs and historic records – will move into formal investigation.

We’ve also received further independent historic material which we believe may be useful to that investigation.

Natural England recorded in 2018 that there were “well-worn paths” and that locals were accessing the headland.

We have now also obtained material from the South West Coast Path Association from 2019, which described Glendorgal Headland at that time as:

“well used and accessible from the SWCP route on both sides.”

These records are particularly interesting because they were made years before the current dispute and independently of our campaign. Ultimately, however, it will be for Cornwall Council to assess all of the evidence.

🌿 Coastal access

There is also a completely separate process taking place through Natural England.

Natural England is currently reviewing the Section 24 exclusion which restricts coastal-access rights over Glendorgal Headland. We have been told that a decision on that review is likely within the next few months.

This is separate from WCA 961 and neither process determines the other – but both are important to the future of public access at Glendorgal.

👑 The Duchy of Cornwall

Following our correspondence with the Duchy, we have also been told that Geraint Richards is happy to be kept informed and intends to raise the Glendorgal issue with Cornwall Council when he next meets Council leaders.

We’re grateful for that engagement.

So although there hasn’t been a huge amount appearing on this page recently, a lot has been happening.

We started this campaign because a piece of coastline that generations of people remember walking suddenly became inaccessible.

We said from the beginning that we would approach this properly: gather the evidence, research the history and use the appropriate legal processes.

That’s exactly what we’re continuing to do.

There is still a long way to go and there are no guarantees of the outcome. But compared with where we were when those gates first closed, Glendorgal is now being considered through formal rights-of-way and coastal-access processes, with a substantial body of evidence behind it.

Thank you to everyone who has provided memories, photographs, documents, advice and support.

History matters. Our access matters too.

WCA 961

18/09/2026

https://youtu.be/THPK3jbUmlc

BEFORE IT CHANGES – ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE OF GLENDORGAL HISTORY

With construction progressing at Glendorgal, we’ve been looking more closely at the area where the temporary construction access is proposed.

Before anything changes, we thought it was worth recording what is actually here today.

It might look like just another patch of grass beside L***y Glaze Road — but, as we keep discovering with Glendorgal, there is usually a story beneath the surface.

And this one involves rabbits. 🐇

Former Glendorgal owner and author Nigel Tangye wrote about the wildlife of the estate and, rather wonderfully, about its rabbits and their conservation. Even a contemporary review of his 1962 book The Story of Glendorgal picked out his views on “rabbits and their conservation.”

More than 60 years later, rabbits are still very much part of this little landscape.

This area is now associated with plans for temporary construction access connected with development beside Glendorgal. So before machinery, surfacing or vehicles potentially alter it, we want to photograph and record the ground as it exists now — its vegetation, wildlife, rabbit holes/warrens and general character.

This isn’t about opposing construction simply for the sake of it. Development has planning processes and conditions which have to be followed.

It is about recording what is there before it changes, and asking that publicly owned/open land and the wildlife using it are treated carefully during construction and properly restored afterwards.

There is something rather poignant about finding Nigel Tangye writing about protecting Glendorgal’s rabbits all those decades ago while we stand here today looking at their descendants still occupying the same landscape.

Glendorgal keeps reminding us that its history isn’t only about buildings and footpaths.

It is the landscape itself.

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17/09/2026

A really positive update for Glendorgal

Cornwall Council has confirmed that WCA 961 will be the next DMMO application allocated to a case officer.

After being told we were 87th on the priority list, this is hugely reassuring and shows that the time-sensitive nature of the case is being recognised.

There is still a proper investigation to go through, but this is real progress and a much better position than we thought we were in a few days ago.

Thank you to everyone who has supported, written, advised and helped us keep the pressure on.

WCA 961 is moving. History matters. Our access matters too.

An application concerning access to the path around Glendorgal headland will be the next to be allocated to a case officer, Cornwall Council has said.

Read more...

https://www.radionewquay.com/news/newquay-now/campaigners-fear-glendorgal-could-change-before-rights-inquiry-concludes/

15/09/2026

GLENDORGAL COAST PATH – IMPORTANT CAMPAIGN UPDATE

Yesterday we received some news about our Definitive Map Modification Order application, WCA 961, which was both encouraging and frustrating.

The encouraging part is that Cornwall Council has now begun the preliminary consultation on our application.

The claimed routes have been formally mapped and consultation has gone out to relevant organisations, user groups, local representatives and affected landowners, with responses invited by 26 October 2026.

That means WCA 961 is very much alive and moving through the statutory process.

However, we were also told that the application currently sits at number 87 on Cornwall Council’s DMMO priority list.

Based on current workloads, the Council has indicated that it could be around a year before WCA 961 is even allocated to an investigating officer, with the eventual determination potentially taking longer.

For us, that is extremely concerning.

Glendorgal is not a historic claim where nothing is changing on the ground while everybody waits.

The routes are already physically blocked and redevelopment is progressing now.

Another year or two could see the physical character of the headland and the historic lines of access altered considerably before Cornwall Council has even investigated the fundamental question:

Do public rights of way already exist here?

We fully accept that Cornwall Council must determine that question independently and on the evidence.

We are not asking anybody to prejudge WCA 961, and we are not asking to be moved ahead simply because our campaign is popular.

What we are asking is whether this case should receive earlier consideration because it is genuinely time-sensitive.

Two years is a very long time when the landscape is changing today.

So what have we done?

Rather than simply accepting the situation, over the last 24 hours we have contacted a wide range of organisations and representatives asking them to consider supporting a review of the priority given to WCA 961.

These include the Ramblers, Open Spaces Society, Right to Roam and Right to Roam Kernow, Natural England, the Duchy, Noah Law MP, Newquay Town Council, Newquay Conservation Area group, Newquay RNLI, HM Coastguard, and organisations connected with the South West Coast Path.

We have also updated Radio Newquay, Newquay Voice and other journalists who have previously followed the Glendorgal story.

The message to everyone has been the same:

Please don’t tell Cornwall Council what the outcome should be. Ask them to consider whether a case involving active redevelopment and currently blocked access should wait potentially years before substantive investigation begins.

And we are already beginning to receive responses.

The Ramblers’ Strategic Advocacy Campaigns Manager has confirmed that she is discussing the situation with colleagues and will come back to us.

We have also heard from the local representative for the South West Coast Path, who covers the Watergate-to-Crantock section.

HM Coastguard quite rightly made clear that it cannot comment on the merits of a DMMO or how Cornwall Council prioritises applications.

However, from a search-and-rescue perspective, they also confirmed something important:

Visibility of the coastline from publicly accessible locations can assist with identifying and reporting people in difficulty, and access to coastal areas can assist emergency responders when assessing incidents and carrying out rescue and casualty evacuation.

We are grateful to them for explaining their position so clearly.

We have also received the results of our information request to Natural England, which has uncovered fascinating records from its assessment of Glendorgal in 2018.

Natural England’s own site notes recorded “well-worn paths” on the headland and observed locals were accessing the headland.

Those records need to be considered carefully because they contain evidence relevant to several different legal processes, but they add another important piece to the historical picture of Glendorgal.

Natural England is separately already reassessing the Section 24 coastal-access exclusion that was originally introduced when Glendorgal operated as a hotel.

That process remains completely separate from WCA 961, but it is another indication of just how much the circumstances at Glendorgal have changed.

What happens now?

We will continue gathering evidence.

We will continue engaging respectfully with Cornwall Council.

We will continue pursuing the Natural England coastal-access issue separately.

And we will continue asking organisations with expertise in rights of way, coastal access and local representation to support one simple request:

Please investigate WCA 961 while there is still an opportunity to understand the historic routes on the ground as they exist today.

We have always tried to run this campaign responsibly.

We have gathered more than 100 user evidence statements, researched maps and newspaper archives, spoken to long-term residents and followed the legal processes available to us.

We intend to continue doing exactly that.

But following yesterday’s news, we also believe it is right to make clear that Glendorgal cannot simply be allowed to disappear into a queue while the landscape itself changes around it.

Thank you to everybody who has supported us, supplied evidence, contacted organisations, shared posts or simply kept the conversation going.

This campaign may take time.

We’re not going anywhere. 🌊

History matters. Our access matters too.

14/09/2026

Glendorgal Coast Path – WCA 961 update

A quick update for everyone who has been following the campaign.

Cornwall Council has now begun the preliminary consultation stage for our Definitive Map Modification Order application, WCA 961.

The consultation has been sent to the relevant statutory organisations, local representatives, user groups including the Ramblers and Open Spaces Society, and affected landowners.

Those contacted have until 26 October 2026 to provide any evidence, views or comments they wish the Council to consider.

Importantly, this stage is not about whether a new path should be created. The question remains whether public rights of way already exist around Glendorgal and should therefore be formally recorded on the Definitive Map.

The Council will ultimately consider the user evidence, historical material and any other relevant evidence submitted as part of that process.

We will continue to pass on any further photographs, documents, maps and memories that come to light.

If you have previously used the paths around Glendorgal and still have old photographs, newspaper cuttings or other material which may help establish that history of use, please do get in touch.

We are very grateful to everyone who has supported the campaign so far and to Cornwall Council’s Public Rights of Way team for keeping us updated on the process.

This may take time, but the important thing is that WCA 961 is moving through the proper statutory process.

History matters. Our access matters too.

10/09/2026

As another busy summer season draws to a close…

Once again, our incredible emergency services have spent the summer responding to incidents around Newquay and Cornwall’s coastline.

HM Coastguard rescue teams and search-and-rescue helicopters.
RNLI lifeboat crews and lifeguards.
Mountain and cave rescue volunteers.
Ambulance and Air Ambulance crews.
Fire and Rescue and Police.

And often ordinary members of the public who spot somebody in difficulty and make that vital 999 call.

Between them, these people – many of them volunteers – help keep millions of us who live beside, work on and visit our coastline safe.

Sadly, not every callout has a happy ending.

Earlier this summer, our community was deeply saddened by the loss of a father and daughter at Fistral Beach. Despite a major response involving Coastguard rescue teams, Newquay RNLI lifeboats, HM Coastguard helicopter and the ambulance service, both sadly lost their lives.

Our thoughts remain with their family and friends. It was a sobering reminder of both the power of the sea and the incredibly difficult situations our emergency services are sometimes asked to face.

Thankfully, many other incidents have ended with people returning safely home.

Just around the corner from Glendorgal at Porth Beach on 30 August, RNLI lifeguards rescued 11 swimmers after they got into difficulty in strong currents.

One casualty became submerged, unconscious and unresponsive. Lifeguards managed to bring all 11 people safely from the water, with HM Coastguard and the ambulance service also responding.

The RNLI described it as a significant and complex incident which could have ended very differently.

Earlier in the summer at Pentire Steps, two people became trapped halfway up the cliffs.

Newquay and Polzeath Coastguard teams, Padstow RNLI and Rescue Helicopter 924 responded. Because the casualties’ position and loose rock prevented a direct helicopter winch, Coastguard technicians established rope-rescue systems, reached the casualties and lowered them to the beach before the helicopter winched them to safety.

And then this week, another little piece of Glendorgal’s own history landed in our inbox.

Local resident Dan Moon, who has lived on L***y Glaze Road since 1999, sent us photographs of an old Newquay Voice article which his mum had kept framed.

Dan himself had got into serious difficulty while surfing off L***y Glaze.

Strong winds and a powerful rip pushed him across the bay before he was washed into a cove and cut off by the rapidly rising tide.

He managed to partially climb the cliff and signal for help.

A member of the public saw him and raised the alarm.

Newquay Coastguard’s cliff rescue team eventually reached Dan and hauled him approximately 100ft up the cliff to safety.

Dan has kindly provided a copy of the original story from the Newquay Voice for us to use.

Reading his story all these years later – particularly following the recent concerns raised after three boys got into difficulty between L***y Glaze and Porth – brings home something quite simple.

Access to our coastline matters.

Being able to see what’s happening along our coastline matters.

Being able to reach appropriate vantage points matters.

And when someone is in trouble, being able to see them and raise the alarm can matter enormously.

We should be clear that these incidents do not determine our DMMO application WCA 961. Whether public rights of way already exist around Glendorgal is a separate legal question based upon the historical and user evidence submitted, which Cornwall Council will assess.

But Glendorgal isn’t an isolated patch of land.

It’s part of a living coastline – somewhere generations have walked, fished, surfed, watched the sea and looked out for one another.

So as another busy summer draws towards its end, we’d simply like to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who responds when things go wrong around our coast.

And thank you to Dan – and particularly to his mum for keeping this remarkable little piece of Newquay history safe.

Stay safe out there. And if you see somebody in difficulty in the water, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard. That’s also the RNLI’s current advice.

History matters. Our access matters too.

10/09/2026

For more than 20 years, Clare and Matt Kennedy-Smith (pictured) and their two daughters have marked every special occasion with a family walk along the Glendorgal Headland.

03/09/2026

Glendorgal in the national press

The Daily Mail has published a major feature today looking at the growing debate around access to England’s coastline, with our campaign to restore and protect the long-used routes around Glendorgal Headland featuring prominently.

It’s great to see the story of Glendorgal, its history and the strength of feeling within our community reaching a national audience.

The article also covers our Definitive Map Modification Order application (WCA 961), supported by more than 100 user evidence statements alongside the historical evidence we’ve gathered. Our aim remains simple: to have the evidence properly considered and, if the legal tests are met, have these long-used routes formally recorded as public rights of way.

One small clarification: the article suggests that a decision on our application is expected within 12 months. We would obviously be delighted if it could be considered within that timeframe, but Cornwall Council has not given us any indication or commitment that a decision will be made within 12 months. These applications can take considerable time and we are prepared for that.

For now, it’s another important opportunity to put Glendorgal’s story in front of a much wider audience.

Thank you, as always, to everyone who has provided evidence, photographs, memories and support. This campaign has only got this far because so many people care about this special part of Newquay’s coastline.

History matters. Our access matters too.

For more than 20 years, Clare and Matt Kennedy-Smith (pictured) and their two daughters have marked every special occasion with a family walk along the Glendorgal Headland.

27/08/2026

Glendorgal access – a serious coastal safety concern

We have today been made aware of an incident which highlights another important aspect of access to Glendorgal Headland.

During a large swell, three boys were caught in the rip between L***y Glaze and Porth. One of them was swept onto the rocks.

Thankfully, all three were eventually safe.

A local resident who witnessed the incident has since contacted Cornwall Council. He explained that, because access onto the headland had been restricted, those watching were unable to maintain visual contact with the boys throughout the incident.

He has given us permission to share the circumstances publicly.

Our campaign has always been about protecting the longstanding public access that generations of local people and visitors have enjoyed across this headland.

But this incident also highlights something incredibly important.

Glendorgal isn’t simply somewhere people walk. It is an elevated viewpoint over one of Newquay’s busiest stretches of coastline.

Being able to see the water matters.

We are very relieved that all three boys were safe, but we believe the concerns raised following this incident deserve to be taken seriously.

We have now shared this information with those involved in considering the access issue.

Public access matters.
Our history matters.
And coastal safety matters too.