Land's End, Headland and tourist complex in Cornwall, England
Land's End is a promontory at the far southwestern corner of Cornwall, where the coastline ends in tall granite cliffs that drop into the ocean. Trails wind along the edge of the escarpments, offering views toward the Longships lighthouse that rises from a rocky outcrop offshore.
Tourists have come to Land's End for over three hundred years; the poet John Taylor visited in 1649 seeking subscribers for his book Wanderings to see the Wonders of the West. By 1878 visitors left Penzance by horse-drawn vehicle via St Buryan and Treen, stopping at the First and Last Inn in Sennen. The house at Carn Kez, which stabled their horses, grew into the present hotel.
The Cornish name Penn an Wlas means "head of the land". Since 1985 the headland has been the start or finish of end-to-end journeys to John o' Groats, and in May 2012 the Olympic torch relay began here. The complex at Carn Kez holds the First and Last House and the Land's End Hotel.
Multiple marked paths follow the clifftops at different distances from the edge, with lookout points toward the lighthouse and the currents below. Sturdy footwear helps on the uneven terrain, especially when the wind picks up along the exposed sections.
The meeting point of the Atlantic and the Channel creates visible lines on the water surface, where different currents push against each other and form shifting patterns. Cornish fishermen once tracked these moving lines to locate schools of mackerel feeding along the boundary.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,356 contributors worldwide.
