The Dodman

The Dodman is the highest headland on Cornwall's south coast. Across its neck runs the Bulwark, an Iron Age earthwork more than 600 metres long and 6 metres high that turned Dodman Point into a promontory fort, and Bronze Age barrows and medieval field strips survive around it. Near the point stand a watch house built in 1794 as one of a chain of Admiralty signal stations, and a granite cross raised in 1896 by the Rev George Martin to guide sailors. From Penare car park a path drops to Hemmick, a sandy beach with rock pools, and the 4.7-mile long loop trail rounds the headland on the South West Coast Path, with a shorter return along the Bulwark. Shy Dartmoor ponies graze the slopes. Reviewers praise the far-reaching views but warn that the climbs are steep in places. The lanes to Penare are narrow and often single track. Dogs are welcome across the site on a short lead.