The Smugglers Way

The Smugglers Way is a 36-mile coast to coast trail, linking Looe to Boscastle. It has a moderate to strenuous grade with some severe stretches on steep, exposed and open moorland. This is Cornwall’s most difficult coast to coast route and is only recommended for fit, confident walkers who can navigate using a map and compass. For the very confident walker, The Smugglers Way can be combined with the Saints Way and the South West Coast Path, offering an exciting and varied walk - the 100-mile circular challenge.

Created in 1994 by Cornish native Frank Squibb, the Smugglers Way links two coastlines while summiting the highest points in Cornwall (Brown Willy and Rough Tor) as it traverses Bodmin Moor. You’ll navigate drove roads and ancient lanes, with testing sections of wild, open moorland. Either side of Bodmin Moor, river trails pave the way to forested valleys and farmland pastures.

Between Looe and Boscastle, an in-between highlight is a night at one of Cornwall’s most infamous hotels, The Jamaica Inn, whose legendary reputation was forged by Daphne Du Maurier in her 1936 novel of the same name.

The route itself is not short on the unusual – prepare yourself for a wander down an abandoned WWII runway, tramp the foreshore of King Arthur’s burial lake, spend the night with ghosts, and visit literary sites with connections to Thomas Hardy.

Although The Smugglers Way is a landscape defined by its human and cultural connections, it also offers an abundance of wildlife en-route, from roe deer to buzzards and kingfishers, dippers, wagtails, and an eclectic variety of wild flora, including bluebells, orchids, and campions. If you’re lucky, you may even catch a glimpse of the infamous wild cat… the ‘Beast of Bodmin Moor’!

Please note, that whilst much of the route follows footpaths, bridleways and back lanes, this is a very quiet trail, and there is no specific National Trail route marking. Stretches on Bodmin Moor are challenging, particularly in poor weather, and the trail offers no facilities or footpaths in some sections. It may well be that you are completely alone whilst you are walking, so if you prefer a well-marked route with ample facilities, then please do browse our South West Coast Path sections, or enquire directly with us. Otherwise, if you are fit and experienced with good navigational skills, then the solitude of the legendary Smugglers Way might just be for you.