# Land's End
**Land's End** (Cornish: Penn an Wlas) is a granite headland on the western tip of Cornwall, England, and the most south-westerly point of mainland Britain.[1](https://www.visitcornwall.com/destinations/land-s-end) It is one of the country's best-known landmarks, the western starting or finishing point of the traditional Land's End to John O' Groats journey, and the site of a long-running visitor complex beside the cliffs.[1](https://www.visitcornwall.com/destinations/land-s-end) • [2](https://landsend-landmark.co.uk/access-statement/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Western tip of the Penwith peninsula, Cornwall; part of the West Penwith National Landscape[1](https://www.visitcornwall.com/destinations/land-s-end) |
| Distinction | Most south-westerly point of mainland Britain; Lizard Point is the most southerly, and Ardnamurchan Point in Scotland is the most westerly[1](https://www.visitcornwall.com/destinations/land-s-end) |
| Cliffs | Granite cliffs about 200 feet (61 meters) high, rising from the Atlantic[1](https://www.visitcornwall.com/destinations/land-s-end) |
| Signpost | The famous signpost marks 874 miles to John O' Groats[1](https://www.visitcornwall.com/destinations/land-s-end) |
| Erosion rate | The granite cliffs erode at about 9 cm per year, far slower than softer coasts such as the Seven Sisters at about 60 cm per year[3](https://www.tutor2u.net/geography/reference/gcse-geography-landforms-of-erosion-cliffs-and-wave-cut-platforms-coastal-landscapes-6) |
| Ownership | Private land since 1066, kept open for the public; the current owners bought the site in 1996 and run it through Heritage Great Britain PLC as Land's End Landmark[2](https://landsend-landmark.co.uk/access-statement/) • [4](https://cornwall-online.co.uk/attractions/lands-end/) |
| Access | Entry on foot is free, including via the South West Coast Path; parking and the attractions are charged[1](https://www.visitcornwall.com/destinations/land-s-end) |
## Geography and geology
The headland is formed of the Land's End granite intrusion, a mass of coarse-grained igneous rock that gives the peninsula its resistant, steep coastline.[5](https://docs.planning.org.uk/20260220/5/TAATSOFGHGJ00/e3ysjp98ztxqdpnl.pdf) Wave, wind, and salt-spray weathering have produced rock arches, sea stacks, offshore islands, and rugged cliffs; on the granitic peninsula these narrow, steep-sided inlets are known locally as zawns.[2](https://landsend-landmark.co.uk/access-statement/) • [6](https://irmat-ucan.com/library/admin/books_pdf/pdf_67a8c2aa80e402.27805100.pdf) The cliffs at Land's End have a castellated aspect, and the near-shore seabed slopes steeply around the promontory compared with gentler ground elsewhere along the coast.[7](https://data.jncc.gov.uk/data/6473ed35-d1cb-428e-ad69-eb81d6c52045/pubs-csuk-region-11.pdf) • [8](https://webapps.bgs.ac.uk/Memoirs/docs/B01850.html)
The weather is mild, frost-free, wet, and windy, reflecting the site's oceanic exposure: the peninsula records about thirty gale days per year, most frequent in winter, and over 65% of its winds are westerly.[2](https://landsend-landmark.co.uk/access-statement/) From the clifftops, visitors can see the Longships Lighthouse about a mile and a half offshore guarding the shipping lanes, and on clear days the [Isles of Scilly](https://www.edgepedia.org/isles-of-scilly) on the horizon.[1](https://www.visitcornwall.com/destinations/land-s-end) • [9](https://www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk/walksdb/28/printable/)
## Early history and name
Archaeological findings indicate habitation from as far back as 10,000 BC, and the area has ancient ties to tin mining. [Ancient Greek](https://www.edgepedia.org/ancient-greek) writers called the peninsula 'Belerion', meaning 'the shining land', in recognition of its mineral wealth and gleaming coastal cliffs.[1](https://www.visitcornwall.com/destinations/land-s-end) The coast path around the headland passes the remains of prehistoric field systems.[9](https://www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk/walksdb/28/printable/)
The site has been private land since 1066, kept open and conserved for the public.[2](https://landsend-landmark.co.uk/access-statement/) The earliest records of tourism date to the 1600s, making it one of England's longest-visited scenic destinations.[1](https://www.visitcornwall.com/destinations/land-s-end) In the late 18th century the physician and antiquarian William George Maton traveled through Cornwall in 1794 to 1796 and wrote about the area, and in 1908 the naturalist William Henry Hudson (1841–1922) published *Land's End: A naturalist's impressions in West Cornwall*.[10](https://www.cornwallheritage.com/ertach-kernow-blogs-2024-2025/visiting-lands-end/)
## The visitor site
The modern complex is operated as Land's End Landmark by Heritage Great Britain PLC, formed by the owners who bought the site in 1996.[4](https://cornwall-online.co.uk/attractions/lands-end/) It includes a visitor center, the End to End Story exhibition on journeys between Land's End and John O' Groats, an Aardman character attraction, a 4D cinema, a 15-hole indoor mini golf course themed on the lost land of [Lyonesse](https://www.edgepedia.org/lyonesse), Greeb Farm (a two-hundred-year-old Cornish farmstead with farm animals), craft studios, shops, cafés, the First and Last House on the clifftop, the First and Last Inn, and the 30-bedroom Land's End Hotel.[2](https://landsend-landmark.co.uk/access-statement/)
Walking in is free: visitors can enter on foot or pass through on the South West Coast Path, but parking is charged year-round and the indoor attractions are ticketed.[1](https://www.visitcornwall.com/destinations/land-s-end) • [2](https://landsend-landmark.co.uk/access-statement/) The site states that parking revenue funds conservation of its roughly 100 to 110 acres of designated natural landscape, maintained with organizations including the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, the RSPB, and the South West Coast Path association.[2](https://landsend-landmark.co.uk/access-statement/) The cliffs are a haven for seabirds, including the Cornish chough, Cornwall's national bird, and seals rest in the sheltered coves below.[1](https://www.visitcornwall.com/destinations/land-s-end)
Nearby Cape Cornwall, bought by Heinz for the nation and presented to the [National Trust](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-trust) in 1987, is often called "the connoisseur's Land's End".[11](https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/cornwall/cape-cornwall/things-to-see-and-do-at-cape-cornwall)
## Walking and access
Land's End sits on the South West Coast Path, with the King Charles III England Coast Path proposals covering the adjacent stretches from Pendeen Watch to Land's End and Land's End to Carn Barges.[12](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coastal-access-in-cornwall-from-newquay-to-penzance-comment-on-proposals) The First and Last Trail, a 25-mile (39.6 km) route, starts at Land's End; its first section suits families, cyclists, walkers, and horse riders, though reaching Sennen involves a steep on-road section.[13](https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/environment/countryside/cycle-routes-and-trails/the-first-and-last-trail/) About half an hour's walk south lies Nanjizal Beach (also called Mill Bay), a rocky inlet reachable only by the coast path, known for its tidal pool called the Song of the Sea.[14](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/nature/nanjizal-beach-lets-you-experience-a-very-different-cornwall-to-headline-hogging-lands-end)
Land's End Airport, near St Just a few miles inland, serves Skybus flights to the Isles of Scilly.[15](https://www.landsendairport.co.uk/travel-updates/) A seasonal open-top bus service, the Land's End Coaster, links Penzance, Sennen Cove, and Land's End in summer.[16](https://sites.google.com/plymothiantransit.com/ptbs-fsw/home/index-151-200/ph0004983-170-a1-penzance-lands-end)
## End-to-end journeys
The headland's fame rests largely on its role as one end of the mainland's longest traverse. The signpost records 874 miles to John O' Groats in Scotland's north-eastern corner, and the pair of landmarks define the classic "end to end" challenge for walkers, cyclists, and charity fundraisers.[1](https://www.visitcornwall.com/destinations/land-s-end) • [10](https://www.cornwallheritage.com/ertach-kernow-blogs-2024-2025/visiting-lands-end/) The site's End to End Story exhibition is a tribute to the thousands of journeys undertaken between the two points.[2](https://landsend-landmark.co.uk/access-statement/)
## References
1. [Land's End: Where Cornwall's Beauty Meets the Atlantic, Visit Cornwall](https://www.visitcornwall.com/destinations/land-s-end)
2. [Access Statement, Land's End Landmark](https://landsend-landmark.co.uk/access-statement/)
3. [GCSE Geography: Landforms of erosion, cliffs and wave-cut platforms, tutor2u](https://www.tutor2u.net/geography/reference/gcse-geography-landforms-of-erosion-cliffs-and-wave-cut-platforms-coastal-landscapes-6)
4. [Land's End, Cornwall: History, Map, Opening Times & Visitor Guide, Cornwall Online](https://cornwall-online.co.uk/attractions/lands-end/)
5. [Lands End Peninsula Community Trust planning document, Cornwall Council](https://docs.planning.org.uk/20260220/5/TAATSOFGHGJ00/e3ysjp98ztxqdpnl.pdf)
6. [Coastal Landscapes 325 (textbook extract)](https://irmat-ucan.com/library/admin/books_pdf/pdf_67a8c2aa80e402.27805100.pdf)
7. [Coasts and seas of the United Kingdom, Region 11: The Western Approaches, JNCC](https://data.jncc.gov.uk/data/6473ed35-d1cb-428e-ad69-eb81d6c52045/pubs-csuk-region-11.pdf)
8. [The geology of the western English Channel and its western approaches, British Geological Survey](https://webapps.bgs.ac.uk/Memoirs/docs/B01850.html)
9. [Sennen Cove & Land's End walk, South West Coast Path](https://www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk/walksdb/28/printable/)
10. [Ertach Kernow: Visiting Land's End, Early Visitors, Cornwall Heritage Trust](https://www.cornwallheritage.com/ertach-kernow-blogs-2024-2025/visiting-lands-end/)
11. [Things to see and do at Cape Cornwall, National Trust](https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/cornwall/cape-cornwall/things-to-see-and-do-at-cape-cornwall)
12. [Coastal Access in Cornwall from Newquay to Penzance: Natural England's proposals, GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coastal-access-in-cornwall-from-newquay-to-penzance-comment-on-proposals)
13. [The First and Last Trail, Cornwall Council](https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/environment/countryside/cycle-routes-and-trails/the-first-and-last-trail/)
14. [Nanjizal Beach lets you experience a very different Cornwall, Country Life](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/nature/nanjizal-beach-lets-you-experience-a-very-different-cornwall-to-headline-hogging-lands-end)
15. [Travel Updates, Land's End Airport](https://www.landsendairport.co.uk/travel-updates/)
16. [First South West service registration PH0004983.170: Penzance–Lands End, Plymothian Transit](https://sites.google.com/plymothiantransit.com/ptbs-fsw/home/index-151-200/ph0004983-170-a1-penzance-lands-end)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Landforms and terrestrial features › Islands and dry-land coastal features › Capes, headlands, and promontories*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license