The Blue Pool in Kenidjack Valley is tidal pool perfection. It’s several metres deep but crystal clear right the way through to the bottom. The pool is surrounded by picturesque rock walls and the water is a two tone turquoise and indigo. All that and it’s big enough for a proper swim! it’s quite simply one of the best rockpools we’ve ever seen.

Reaching it starts off easily enough, but the final descent to the pool is a bit of a scramble which we’ll describe in detail in the notes below.

The walk itself is really pretty, and takes you past a series of mines and engine rooms and even has its own resident donkeys. In short, you’d be hard pushed to find a better way to spend a few hours in Cornwall.

The walk to Blue Pool

The stats

Distance: 0.6 miles (1km) each way
Elevation gain: 90m
Difficulty: Moderate due to the scramble
Trailhead: Layby off Old Foundry Road, near Boscean

A note on the tide and swell

Blue Pool is best visited around 2.5 hours either side of low tide. You can still swim a little beyond this window, but it feels less like a contained rockpool as the sea begins to make its way back in.

It is quite exposed to the waves, so choosing a day when the swell is marked as slight or smooth is best to try and mitigate the chance of large waves entering the pool. You can see the 5 day tide and swell forecast here.

Starting the trail: through the Kenidjack Valley mining ruins

There are a couple of ways of reaching the blue pool: you could start at the National Trust Cape Cornwall Car Park, but the quickest route is from the lay-by on the dirt road that continues from Old Foundry Road (more details below).

From the lay-by you’ll head back down the road for 50m and then turn right, beside the National Trust signpost.

You can see one of the engine room ruins just ahead of you and the sparkling blue sea in the far distance.

The bracken-lined stony path heads gradually downhill alongside the stream. At the 260m mark you’ll reach the first set of ruins and can head along the trail on the left if you want a closer look.

This is where you may spot your first donkey!

After checking out the ruins you continue gently descending on a stony path which will begin to narrow at the 400m mark.

It is very uneven underfoot, but not slippery or challenging if you don’t mind stony terrain.

Approximately 490m from the car park you will fork left beside the Kenidjack Valley signpost. Around 330m later you will pass some rugged cliffs and come to another impressive set of ruins right beside the path.

Finding Blue Pool and the scramble

Once you reach the ruins at the 820m mark, you need to fork right (left would take you onto the beach), onto the path that runs along the cliff line.

The path is narrow and runs quite close to the edge of the cliff, there is a warning sign about erosion so tread carefully, I would also avoid using this path if it’s wet.

However, in truth the trail is no more narrow than many sections of the South West Coast Path.

You will follow this narrow dirt track for 40m and then look for the worn trail leading downhill to the left. The scramble begins 20m later.

You’ll reach what naturally feels like the end of the path and the scramble is to the left of this point. It’s shielded from view until you’re standing right on top of it.

Where the path ends is a near vertical bit of rock so make sure you venture to the left to find the safer path down.

You can see it in the photo below. It begins with a steep bit of rock you need to descend.

There is a cliff wall to the right which gives some security and you aren’t too close to the edge, but I still found it unnerving.

A friendly local showed me the best way to go down, which was to lean into the wall on the right and use the good handholds for extra stability. He was down in seconds.

Personally my fear of slipping got the better of me and I had to go down on my bum. However, when going back uphill again after my swim - which is very easy - I did realise that it wasn’t slippery and actually had a lot of grip, so most people will probably go down more elegantly than me!

Once you’re down this short steep section, it’s a straightforward 20m of walking downhill on the rocks to reach the pool. The rock is very grippy when dry and this section is easy.

There are a few shells on the rocks, but not many, and barely any barnacles either, so walking this barefoot is totally fine which can’t be said for many of Cornwall’s tidal pools!

Swimming at Blue Pool

Blue Pool is breathtaking, especially once you get up close as the water appears much darker from above. The clarity is superb, despite being several metres deep you can see all the way through to the bottom.

The side of the pool is lined with pink and pale green coral which only adds to the magic.

It’s also very easy to enter the water, you can step onto a bit of a shelf and then it is instantly extremely deep to swim off. There are no shallow sections in this pool and no obstructions, so it’s a really relaxing place to swim.

It’s also of a size where you really can get some strokes in.

Once inside the water you’re surrounded by rock walls which give you a feeling of seclusion and that blue water really does have to be seen to be believed, no photos could ever do it justice.

When it comes to exiting, there is a small tiered shelf you can step up onto which makes it easy to get out (the same place you enter).

Keep them wild

Please remember to take all rubbish with you and keep these places wild and pristine - as with anywhere in the outdoors. It’s important to leave them exactly as you found them so they will remain beautiful for generations to come.

Litter tends to breed litter, so if you do spot any and are able to pick it up and dispose of it outside the area, it will go a long way to keeping the area clean.

Parking for Kenidjack Blue Pool

As mentioned, there are two possible parking points for this walk. One is the National Trust Cape Cornwall Car Park, which is a longer walk, and the other is the lay-by on the dirt road off Foundry Road, which you can see here on Google maps, postcode TR19 7QW.

To reach this lay-by does require driving a couple of minutes up a stony road which is possible in any car, but may not be to everyone’s taste, especially if you have a low clearance.

There are no facilities at this car park but the National Trust car park does have a toilet. We didn’t use the NT car park, but on checking the website it looks there is currently no charge for it regardless of whether you are a member or not.

Kenidjack is just under a 20 minute drive from Penzance and 1 hour 10 minutes from Newquay.

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