Lizard Point: A Landscape Photography Tour

(7 reviews)

Porthleven, Cornwall audio tour: Lizard Point: A Landscape Photography Tour

This is a 0.9mi walking tour

It takes an average of 60 mins to complete.

Porthleven, Cornwall

The United Kingdom

$8.99

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About the Tour

Discover the beauty of Lizard Point in Cornwall, the most southerly part of Great Britain’s mainland.

This tour is for any photographer, whether you’re experienced or a novice. It’ll help you capture amazing landscapes and seascapes at inspiring locations along the Cornish coastline. This short walk along part of the South West Coast Path has a mixture of popular places and secret spots that include ruins, rocks and rough terrain. (So dress appropriately!)

Along the way you'll also pick up some practical tips including:

Some of the best practices when it comes to shooting landscapes and seascapes
The best time of the day or year to visit key locations
Handy vantage points
Compositional suggestions
Advice for other genres, especially wildlife photography

This tour will help you maximise your time on location, whether you're scouting for a future trip or just seizing the moment. So grab your camera and let's go!

Tour Producer

Photodyssey

3 tours

Travel photography tours of the UK's most popular locations.

Discover iconic spots and hidden gems with the help of a curious adventurer who loves exploring incredible locations for you to enjoy. Join me as we scout the best vantage points to shoot from, uncover fascinating subjects and compositions for all kinds of outdoor conditions, and discuss practical tips which everyone can learn irrespective of skill level or equipment setup.

Why spend countless hours searching for your next photography adventure when these audio tours do the hard work for you, giving you the skinny in a fun and informative way. And because each tour is created with photographers in mind, you can be assured that each route is full of incredible subject matter and countless compositions.

So when you're ready, grab your gear, take a relaxing walk with me and hopefully you'll capture some amazing images - and some amazing memories too.

Preview Location

Location 8

The most southerly point in mainland Britain

Congratulations! You've now reached the most southerly point in mainland Britain. In a moment, if you continue down to the U-bend in the road where the line of boulders are, you can claim the title of being the most southerly person in mainland Britain! But please stay here... Congratulations! You've now reached the most southerly point in mainland Britain. In a moment, if you continue down to the U-bend in the road where the line of boulders are, you can claim the title of being the most southerly person in mainland Britain! But please stay here for now and take a seat on one of the nearby benches whilst I describe this location.

Sadly you won't be the most southerly person in England or The United Kingdom because that belongs to people on the Scilly Isles which are almost 50 miles away to the west of here.

This place is a great spot for capturing the Milky Way if you're into astrophotography. It's almost 100 miles between here and France so the only light pollution you'll encounter is from passing ships. I've tried astrophotography from this exact spot although the darkness mixed with the sounds of waves and wildlife made me too uncomfortable, so I'd suggest trying it with a companion!

If you turn to face uphill towards the car park then Polbream Cove is to your right and the top of Lizard Lighthouse can be seen overlooking the cliffs. Depending upon the position of the sun and the prevailing wind and wave directions you can frame some beautiful compositions from here, especially a winter sunrise when the sun rises over the horizon further to your right. Also, if you come here during morning or evening blue hour when the sun is just below the horizon then you can capture the lighthouse with its light shining out across the English Channel. If you play around with your timing and shutter speed then you can capture some interesting shots as the beam of light rotates.

As you were walking down towards the point you may have noticed the National Trust Wildlife Watchpoint, which is the small cream building directly in front of you next door to the art gallery I mentioned earlier. Lizard Point is well known for the abundance of creatures that can be spotted here in the summer months so if you're a wildlife photographer you might want to hang around here to see what appears. Scan the cliffs for seabirds or look down onto the rocks below for grey seals. And if you're lucky you might even see the occasional dolphin or basking shark swimming by. To get decent wildlife shots you really need a telephoto lens, the longer the better. And you'll also need a combination of patience and practise. Although Lizard Point is a wildlife hotspot, you'll find yourself waiting around for a while before something appears but when it does you need to react quickly! And don't forget the basics. Use your lens' largest aperture such as f2.8 or f4 to capture as much light as possible and keep your shutter speed high to avoid motion blur. Anything over 1/500th of a second works for me depending on the focal length of my lens and how fast the subject is moving.

The concrete road continues down the cliff towards the abandoned lifeboat station overlooking Polpeor Cove. You can see the cove from here but if you wander down to the lifeboat station I've pointed out some interesting spots to shoot from.

Lizard Point is full of photo opportunities so take as long as you like here. When you've finished exploring, retrace the road uphill towards the car park entrance next to the Wavecrest cafe. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Lizard Lighthouse
National Trust - Lizard Point
Old lifeboat station
Polpeor Cove
Pistil Meadow

Getting There

Route Overview

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Start location
Landewednack, Helston TR12 7NT, UK
Total distance

2km
Final location
S W Coast Path, Mullion, Helston TR12, UK
Distance back to start location

840.62m

Directions to Starting Point

If travelling by road, head for the National Trust Lizard Lighthouse car park, which is pay and display unless you're a National Trust member.
Post code for satnav: TR12 7NT
what3words reference: interlude.foremost.caves

If travelling by public transport, catch the number 34 bus to Lizard village before walking south along The Square and Lighthouse Road for 0.6 miles / 1km (10-15 minutes) down to Lizard Lighthouse.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

Polpeor Cove, Old Lizard Head, Venton Hill Point

Best time of day

Late afternoon or early evening is the best time to visit depending upon the time of year. Sunsets over the sea can only be captured from here - and anywhere along the south coast of Cornwall - between mid-September and mid-March. Make sure you arrive at least an hour before golden hour to scout a good location and frame a composition. And allow 30 minutes to return to the National Trust car park from the furthest points of the route if you stay out after dusk.

Low tide allows you to explore the beach around the old lifeboat station and exposes the rocks of Polpeor Cove. Alternatively, high tide - especially when it's windy - provides incredible photo opportunities of waves crashing against the rocks.

Precautions

Check tide times, especially if you want to explore the beach or rocks around the lifeboat station. If you do venture onto the beach, take extra care as the slipway and rocks can be very slippery. Sensible footwear - ideally walking boots or wellingtons - is essential if you don't want to fall over and damage your camera gear!

Stay away from cliff edges and be mindful of your footing when standing on rocky ledges or boulders, especially if you're preoccupied by the scene in your viewfinder. This is particularly important when wave-watching during rough weather or if shooting astrophotography - there are no lampposts here.

Be prepared for changeable weather and dress appropriately. It should take an hour to casually stroll along this route so take what you need to last that long. A map and compass are useful but aren't essential - this area is covered by the Ordnance Survey Explorer 103 map if you're interested. Be aware that mobile phone coverage is non-existent around the lifeboat station and patchy everywhere else.

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App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”

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Questions and Reviews

4.9 / 5

7 Ratings

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