Pentire Point
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Pentire Point grid reference SW923804 is a headland on the Atlantic coast in North Cornwall, England, UK.
Pentire Point and Stepper Point stand at either side of the mouth of the River Camel; Pentire to the north-east, Stepper to the south-west.
The coastline around the headland is owned by the National Trust, although the bulk of the headland itself belongs to Pentire Farm.
The South West Coast Path closely follows the coastline of the headland, and sightseeing boat tours regularly travel along the coast from the nearby port of Padstow.
Pentire Point extends from the small seaside resort of Polzeath, with New Polzeath built along the clifftop at its southeastern corner. It then runs the length of the beach at Polzeath, Hayle Bay, and juts out pointing north-west into the Atlantic Ocean. This corner of the headland is Pentire Point itself, with a sheer 80 foot (24 m) cliff down into the Atlantic. (There are many rock climbing routes on the cliffs of Pentire.)
A small island named Newland lies about one mile (1,600 m) to the north-west of Pentire point.
From Pentire Point itself, the coastline swings northeast towards Rumps Point, a small promontory known to locals as The Rumps. The Rumps is the site of Iron Age clifftop fortifications - the series of mound and ditch earthworks remain clearly visible today.
The poet Laurence Binyon wrote For the Fallen (first published in The Times in September, 1914) while sitting on the cliffs between Pentire Point and The Rumps and a stone plaque was erected in 2001 to commemorate the fact. The plaque bears the inscription
- For The Fallen
- Composed on these cliffs 1914
The plaque also bears the fourth stanza of the poem:
- They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old
- Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
- At the going down of the sun and in the morning
- We will remember them
Sometimes referred to as 'The Ode', this stanza is recited on occasions such as Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday in the United Kingdom and Canada and ANZAC day in Australia and New Zealand, and adorns numerous war memorials including the The Cenotaph in Whitehall.
A small island named The Mouls lies 300 yards to the north-east of The Rumps and supports colonies of seabirds.
From The Rumps, the coastline veers southeast into Port Quin Bay.
