Zennor Head
Headland on the north coast of Cornwall
title: "Zennor Head" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["headlands-of-cornwall", "national-trust-properties-in-cornwall", "zennor"] description: "Headland on the north coast of Cornwall" topic_path: "general/headlands-of-cornwall" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zennor_Head" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Headland on the north coast of Cornwall ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox park"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Zennor Head |
| photo | Zennor Head - geograph.org.uk - 47727.jpg |
| photo_caption | Zennor Head, looking north |
| coords | |
| type | Promontory |
| location | Cornwall |
| nearest_city | Zennor |
| etymology | Saint Senara |
| operator | National Trust |
| website | |
| :: |
| name = Zennor Head | alt_name =
| photo = Zennor Head - geograph.org.uk - 47727.jpg | photo_width = | photo_caption = Zennor Head, looking north | photo_alt =
| map = | map_width = | map_caption = | map_alt = | label = | label_position = | relief = | mark =
| grid_ref_UK =
| coords =
| type = Promontory | location = Cornwall | nearest_city = Zennor | area = | elevation = | created = | etymology = Saint Senara | operator = National Trust | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | visitation_ref = | status = | awards = | website =
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Zennor Head is a 750-metre (2,460 ft) long promontory on the Cornish coast between Pendour Cove and Porthzennor Cove. Facing the Atlantic Ocean, it lies 1 kilometre north-west of the village of Zennor and 1.6 kilometres east of the next promontory, Gurnard's Head. The granite (Killas) cliffs rise over 200 ft from the sea and the highest point of the headland is 314 ft above sea level, with an Ordnance Survey triangulation station. Zennor Head is on the South West Coast Path, which follows the cliff edge closely, skirting the entire perimeter of the headland. The promontory is part of the Penwith Heritage Coast, and is the largest coastal feature in the United Kingdom that begins with the letter "Z". It gets its name from a local saint, Senara. Zennor Head was mined for copper and tin in the Victorian Era. There is no longer any residential or commercial occupancy on the headland, but it is occupied by a variety of coastal animals and plants, such as kestrels and gorse.
Etymology
The name "Zennor Head" originates from the name of a local saint, Senara. According to local legend, Senara was thrown off a headland in Brittany in a barrel after being falsely accused of adultery by her husband and washed up on the Cornish coast, founding Zennor and giving her name to the eponymous village (and subsequently Zennor Head, Zennor Quoit and Porthzennor Cove), before continuing to Ireland.{{cite web |url =http://www.zennor.org/about_parish.html |title =About Zennor |publisher =Zennor Parish Council |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090422182054/http://www.zennor.org/about_parish.html# |archive-date =22 April 2009 |url-status =dead |access-date =17 February 2012
History
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/The_donation_plaque_-geograph.org.uk-_1459191.jpg" caption="Plaque commemorating donation to the National Trust"] ::
The headland is bordered by Cornish granite hedges, and the farming system dates from about 4000 BC, the time of the Bronze Age in Cornwall. The surrounding area and village of Zennor has been continually occupied for over 4,000 years. Zennor Head was mined extensively for copper and tin in the 19th century, and drainage adits remain visible on the eastern side.
The promontory was donated to the National Trust in December 1953.{{Cite sign |title=Zennor Headland, given to the National Trust |year=1953 |type= Commemorative Plaque |publisher=The National Trust |location=Zennor Head |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1459191}} The Southwest Coast Path was created in 1978, and runs along the top of Zennor Head as part of its 630 miles,{{cite web |url =http://www.southwestcoastpath.com/walksdb/8/ |title =Walk - Zennor |publisher =South West Coast Path |access-date =2 January 2013 |url=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/lawrence.roy/cornwall/coastal.htm |title=The Coastal Footpath |publisher=Homepage.ntlworld.com |access-date=25 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425041500/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/lawrence.roy/cornwall/coastal.htm |archive-date=25 April 2012 |url-status=dead Zennor in Darkness, the 1994 McKitterick Prize-winning novel by Helen Dunmore, was partly set around Zennor Head. In 2009 the headland suffered flooding which affected the cliff-top footpath.{{cite web | url = https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1449706 | title = Coast path temporarily closed near Zennor Head | last = Champion | first = Jim | date = 15 August 2009 | publisher = Geograph | access-date = 31 October 2012 The promontory has been designated as part of the Penwith Heritage Coast.{{cite web | url = http://www.britainexpress.com/countryside/coast/penwith.htm | title = Penwith Heritage Coast | publisher = Britain Express | access-date = 17 February 2012 |publisher = Zennor Parish Council |url = http://www.zennor.org/PDF/Zennormap.pdf |title = Map of Zennor |location = Zennor Village |language = en |access-date = 1 January 2013
Geography and geology
Zennor Head is located on the north coast of Cornwall, England, facing the Atlantic Ocean. A headland extending some 750 m, it is surrounded by steep cliffs plunging into the sea below. It is west of the town of St Ives, and north-east of the town of Penzance. The nearest human settlement is the village of Zennor, and the headland is flanked by two coves, Pendour and Porthzennor. The nearest headland is Gurnard's Head, 1.6 kilometres to the west. Access is from the South West Coast Path, or the B3306 road (West Cornwall coast road). The Killas strata, which is exposed over the majority of Zennor Head, is a sedimentary rock formation{{cite web |url=http://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/geology/cornish_geology/Geology_Killas |title=Killas |last=Cornwall Wildlife Trust |author-link=Cornwall Wildlife Trust |year=2012 |work=Cornish Geology |access-date=25 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110114215204/http://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/geology/cornish_geology/Geology_Killas |archive-date=January 14, 2011 | last1 =Gradstein | first1 =Felix M. | last2 =Ogg | first2 =J. G. F. | last3 =Smith | first3 =A. G. | edition =2004 | publisher =Cambridge University Press | location =Cambridge | title =A Geologic Time Scale 2004 | isbn =0-521-78673-8
Fauna and Flora
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Pyrrhocorax_pyrrhocorax_-Penwith_-Cornwall_-flying-8b.jpg" caption="Cornish chough (''P. p. pyrrhocorax'') flying in Penwith"] ::
Zennor Head is home to a variety of wildlife, including the Cornish chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax). Many seabirds nest on the cliffs, especially around Horseback Zawn, including herring gulls (Larus argentatus) and fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis). Kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) hunt inland of the shoreline.
The headland is primarily covered with grass, as well as heather (Calluna vulgaris), bracken (Pteridium aquilinum), thyme (Thymus polytrichus) and western gorse (Ulex gallii). In 1962, specimens of the comparatively rare western clover (Trifolium occidentale) were found on Zennor Head. The lichen Dirina massiliensis has also been found high on the acid schist cliffs on the north-, seaward-side of the headland. The parasitic plant dodder (Cuscuta epithymum) is found growing on gorse.
Gallery
Perched rock, Zennor Head - geograph.org.uk - 78399.jpg|Perched rock at the foot of Zennor Head
Common-Kestrel-4.jpg|Common kestrel
Zennor Head - geograph.org.uk - 912882.jpg|Eastern flank
Zawciag nadmorski Ameria maritima maritima.jpg|Thrift, a coastal plant Trewey_farm_-geograph.org.uk-_1483707.jpg|Zennor Head from inland Foka szara mateusz wlodarczyk.jpg|Grey seal
Horseback Zawn, seaward end - geograph.org.uk - 1459372.jpg|Horseback Zawn
References
References
- [http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/servlet/pdf/1/607130/Trail/Walking/Zennor_Head_walk.pdf Zennor Head Walk – National Trust]{{dead link. (July 2016)
- [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Z-Great-Britain/dp/1840467541 ''The Z to Z of Great Britain''], [[Dixie Wills]], Icon Books, 2005, {{ISBN. 1-84046-754-1, {{ISBN. 978-1-84046-754-3
- ''Walking in Britain''; by David Else, Sandra Bardwell, Belinda Dixon, Peter Dragicevich. Lonely Planet
- There is a deep inlet known as Horseback [[wikt:zawn. 978-0-319-23148-7
- [[Grey seal]]s (''Halichoerus grypus'') have been sighted off the coast.G. A. Steven (1934). A Short Investigation into the Habits, Abundance, and Species of Seals on the North Cornwall Coast. ''Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (New Series)'', 19, pp 189–501 doi:10.1017/S0025315400046580
- Coombe, D. E., & Morisset, P. (1967). Further observations on Trifolium occidentale. ''Watsonia'', 6, 271–275.
- Sparrius, L. B., James, P. W., & Allen, M. A. (2005). The sorediate variety of ''Sclerophytomyces circumscriptus''. ''The Lichenologist'', 37(4), 285–290.
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