The Gurnard's Head

About The Gurnard's Head

The Gurnard's Head is a solitary mustard-yellow building on the B3306, the coast road that runs across the moorland between St Ives and St Just. There is very little else out here: gorse, granite, field boundaries that date back thousands of years, and the Atlantic a short walk down the hill. The inn takes its name from the headland below it and has become one of the best-known places to eat and stay in west Cornwall.

Eight bedrooms sit above the bar and dining rooms. They are individually decorated in strong colours with Vi-Spring beds, jam jars of flowers, Roberts radios and books rather than televisions or telephones. Room 8 is the largest, with a courtyard terrace, log burner, seating area and a tadelakt-walled bathroom with both bath and shower. The others range from smaller doubles to rooms that take a rollaway bed, sofabed or cot, so families can be accommodated with a bit of planning. Dogs are genuinely welcome throughout.

The kitchen is the reason many people make the drive. Menus change constantly and lean on what is landed at Newlyn and grown nearby, cooked plainly and well; the inn holds a Michelin Guide listing and has done for years. The bar keeps Cornish ales and a wine list that is longer and more interesting than the setting suggests. Breakfast is included and unhurried, and the kitchen will make up walkers' lunches.

The South West Coast Path passes below the inn, and the walk to Zennor along the cliffs is one of the finest and most demanding stretches in the county. Guests tend to be walkers, birdwatchers, and couples who want somewhere quiet with good food. There is no mobile signal to speak of and no spa or pool. That is rather the point.