Nanjizal Beach lets you experience a very different Cornwall to headline-hogging Land's End
The beach — which is also known as Mill Bay — sits about half an hour’s walk south of Land’s End, though the two couldn't be more different.


Many of Cornwall’s most rewarding coastal spots require effort to reach them. Such is the case with Nanjizal Beach (which also goes by the more prosaic name of Mill Bay), a narrow, handsomely higgledy sea inlet that can only be accessed along the coastal path. It sits about half an hour’s walk south of Land’s End, although the contrast between the two sites could hardly be greater.
If headline-hogging Land’s End has become a theme park, hill-hidden Nanjizal lets you experience a very different Cornwall — a place where the seabirds serve up the soundtrack, where a set of steep wooden steps provide your entry point to the stony sands and where your chances of finding a pasty or cream tea are non-existent.
Land's End saw over 400,000 visitors in 2024.
Less of a crowd at Nanjizal Beach.
Parts of a now-missing episode of Doctor Who from the mid 1960s were filmed here, but many visitors today come to enjoy the so-called Song of the Sea, a tidal pool that fills an open-air fissure in the rocks at high tide. For sea swimmers looking to unleash their inner mermaid, it’s perfect
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Ben Lerwill is a multi-award-winning travel writer based in Oxford. He has written for publications and websites including national newspapers, Rough Guides, National Geographic Traveller, and many more. His children's books include Wildlives (Nosy Crow, 2019) and Climate Rebels and Wild Cities (both Puffin, 2020).
-
When was the first ever Glastonbury festival? Country Life Quiz of the Day, June 26, 2025
Thursday's quiz looks at a landmark date at Worthy Farm.
-
The golden eagle: One of the Great British public's favourite birds of prey — but devilishly tricky to identify
We are often so keen to encounter this animal that ambition overrides the accuracy of our observations, writes Mark Cocker.
-
The golden eagle: One of the Great British public's favourite birds of prey — but devilishly tricky to identify
We are often so keen to encounter this animal that ambition overrides the accuracy of our observations, writes Mark Cocker.
-
From turtles to pink sea fans: Why Mediterranean marine life is drifting into British waters
Both leatherback sea turtles and the soft corrals’ presence near our shores coincides with our warming seas, Lotte Brundle writes.
-
Whatever floats your moat: Tower of London's former waterway receives help to adapt to the pressures of climate change
It is one of five gardens across the globe that have been selected by the fund for aid in adapting to the growing pressures of climate change.
-
It's a cruel summer to be a bee with up to 80% of swarms dying if they cannot find a safe place to settle — but here is how you can help
Currently, swarms of bees are taking flight to search for new homes and up to 80% of these swarms will perish if they cannot find a safe place to settle, but we can all help, says the BBKA.
-
'It’s not ironic that I really like wasps and that they nearly killed me. It’s simply a coincidence': What to do if you're stung by a wasp
After a close encounter with some wasps put him in hospital, William Kendall sought an unlikely remedy...
-
Hen harriers: The 'marvels of evolutionary adaptation' that are 'ballet and theatre and poetry inscribed on air'
The hen harrier is one of the most glorious birds of prey in Britain — yet it provokes fierce debate. Mark Cocker unpicks why this breed is among the most controversial of all British birds.
-
Steve Backshall on sharks, quicksand, and getting his fingertips eaten by piranhas
The adventurer, broadcaster, scientist and writer Steve Backshall joins the Country Life podcast.
-
New vision for old Dartmoor: Prince of Wales leads ambitious plans for nature recovery in Cornwall
The Vision outlines a set of guiding principles to inform the future environmental management of the Duchy’s Dartmoor estate.