It was actually at Trevedra Farm while taking our 3-month old on his first van trip that we whimsically hatched the plan for this multi-day hiking adventure. Wrapped up in the joy of time away together, the beauty of Penwith and showing our new little person new places, we dreamed of epic family adventures. 

Right down at the tip of England’s toe, the landscape takes on a distinctly bucolic quality. Higgledy, piggledgy fields are framed by ancient dry-stone walls and occasionally crossed by narrow twisting lanes. People are generally few and far between and the coastline is rugged and wild. 

After delighting in a previously unexplored section of the southwest coast path here, our talk turned to putting together a memorable challenge that was achievable with our baby. Surveying place names on a map, we honed in on the section starting from Pendeen lighthouse past Land’s End right round to the tiny village of Treen that stands above one of our favourite beaches in Cornwall. It rhymed, and we were sold. Pendeen to Treen was born.

The trip required careful planning including attainable daily distances with long breaks scheduled every couple of hours to allow our baby time to play and roam around out of his backpack. We earmarked food stops around meal times to minimise what we had to carry. There was no space for cooking equipment or excess baby paraphernalia on our extremely reduced packing list and we watched the forecast waiting for a dry weather window before booking in our campsites.

Still, carrying everything we would need for 4 days as well as our baby was no easy task and putting on the backpacks that first day was decidedly daunting. It made us wonder if that was why we had struggled to find any online accounts of similar trips and if we were being unrealistic. Fortunately, the Land’s End Coaster bus service runs almost parallel to the coast path for the entirety of this section, so we knew we could easily curtail any attempt if we felt necessary. 

Setting out with the mindset of taking things as they come while having the security of knowing we could always opt out was invaluable and it has served as a great approach on subsequent family adventures. That said, we know and are confident within our own limits and planned accordingly. As such, my account of our experience is intended as a helpful resource for other would-be family adventurers, rather than a foolproof guide to follow. It's also worth noting that the below is purely an outline of the trip logistics, while this poem covers our day-to-day experience and this one captures a micro moment of magic.

Our Detailed Plan

Day 1 - Testing
Walk: Test loop from camp to Portheras Cove
Dinner: Maria Chica Tapas Cafe (pre-booked)
Stay: Old Coastguards Campsite, Pendeen

Day 2 - Pendeen to Cot Valley
Breakfast: Pre-bought provisions to cook wraps at camp
Walk Break 1: Botallack Mines
Lunch: Pre-prepared packed lunch supplemented by coffee and pasties from Little Wonder Cafe
Walk Break 2: Priest Cove Tidal Pool, Cape Cornwall
Dinner: YHA Lands End
Stay: YHA Lands End, Cot Valley

Day 3 - Cot Valley to Lands End
Breakfast: YHA Lands End
Walk Break 1: Gywnver Beach
Lunch/Walk Break 2: Sennen Cove Cafe
Dinner: First and Last Inn
Stay: Lands End Camping and Glamping

Day 4 - Lands End to Treen
Breakfast: Pre-bought evening before from Sennen Spar
Walk Break 1: Nanjizal Beach
Walk Break 2/Lunch: Porthgwarra Cove Cafe
Dinner: The Logan Rock Inn
Stay: Treen Farm CampsiteDay 5
Breakfast: Treen Farm Campsite
Land's End Coaster bus back to car from Treen Bus Shelter

Packing

When it came to packing, we gathered together what we thought we would need and had to basically halve the amount of things we could take for our bags to (just) shut. One pack carried the baby and all his things with the travel cot and rolled-up change mat strapped to the back. The other backpack carried the tent, sleeping bags and roll mats with all our clothes in a drybag attached to the outside. 

A blackout tent and portable white noise machine went some way in recreating our baby's usual sleep environment, but of all the logistics we were most concerned with how the sleeping situation would work out. Having never co-slept with our baby, we didn't feel that comfortable lying him next to us with no confines and ended up finding a travel cot that works like a popup tent under which we put his foam change mat. It wasn’t the easiest to get him in and out and we put double socks on his hands in an attempt to keep them warmer, but he was safely sandwiched in between us and it worked us. Since this trip, we have invested in a baby sleeping bag to eliminate worries about our little one in the cold, which I would highly recommend.

Throughout the trip, the weather played unbelievably in our favour with no rain and minimal wind, but we were still glad to have our longer layers and jackets for the evenings. During the day, we tied an enormous muslin and our towel around our baby’s pack as additional shades depending on the angle of the sun, dressed him in long, loose fitting clothes and had a sun hat with chin-strap pretty much permanently on his head. We also applied baby suncream to exposed skin to try and protect against the glare from the sea. Sunglasses were an essential for us and a water bladder with a constantly available outlet made it easier to keep hydrated along the route.

Fortunately, our boy was still being exclusively breastfed at this time, which meant we didn’t need to carry any water, formula or snacks for him. We did, however, have to carry dirty nappies, which meant that we switched out our usual reusable nappies and wipes for disposable. There were several rubbish bins en route and shops to replenish our stock in Sennen and Land’s End, so their extra bulk and weight wasn’t an issue, but it’s definitely something we’ll need to consider on more remote trips.

In terms of ‘luxuries’, flip flops were a very welcome relief for our feet after hiking in our walking boots all day and as such worth their spot in an external pocket. Goggles and a swim hat were not essential, but they definitely enhanced the trip in that one of our most memorable moments was swimming through the underwater world of Priest’s Cove. Our bulkiest non-essential were the binoculars I carried for the entirety of the trip (chosen over our SLR camera), which allowed for enhanced wildlife spotting and proved worthwhile for us.

Complete Packing List

• Osprey Poco Plus Baby Backpack

• Osprey backpack 

• 3-man blackout tent

• Sleeping bags x 2

• Roll mats x 2

• Rechargeable lantern

• 3L water bladder

• Water bottle

• Snacks (flapjacks, nuts, fruit etc)

• Phones x 2

• Phone charger

• Drybag

• Swimwear

• Googles

• Swim hat

• Lightweight towel

• Tshirt x 2

• Long sleeve

• Jumper

• Waterproof jacket

• Shorts

• Leggings/lightweight trousers

• Underwear x 4

• Socks x 2

• Beanie

• Sunglasses

• Cap

• Flip flops

• Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, contact lens, glasses)

• Deryan Pop-up Travel Cot

• Foam change mat

• Columbia Infant Bunting Snowsuit

• 2.5 tog sleepsack

• Dreamegg portable white noise machine and charger

• Nappies x 20

• Wipes

• Nappy bin bags

• Onesies x 4

• Outfits x 8

• Socks x 6

• UV swimsuit

• Sunhat with chin-strap

• (Baby) suncream

• Large muslin

Hopefully the comprehensive nature of this post is useful to others looking to plan hiking and camping adventures with their baby. For such a relatively short window of time away, this trip delivered an unforgettable experience that we have reminisced about countless times already.

There is something so special about a multi-day outdoor adventure; it is a powerful and grounding reset that forces you to be present, connects you to the natural world and gives you perspective on everyday life. While sharing it with our wondrous tiny human sometimes felt daunting, it definitely added an extra layer of joy and fulfilment and encouraged us to take on other family adventures together.