When you’re ready for a break from Cornwall’s beautiful beaches, it’s time to head into the forest! The good news is that you don’t have to compromise on getting a swim in, because Golitha Falls has a series of picturesque plunge pools nestled between huge mossy boulders and towering trees.
Don’t come expecting a huge waterfall, it’s very much a series of cascades, but the setting is gorgeous and you feel properly immersed in the sights and sounds of the woodland.
Here’s exactly what to expect from a visit to Golitha Falls.
The walk to Golitha Falls
The stats
Distance: 1.3 miles (2.2km) return
Elevation gain: 50m
Difficulty: Easy
There are a number of trails at Golitha Falls Nature Reserve. We chose to walk to the main falls area and then beyond, to a more secluded swimming hole.
This guide focuses on that route, which is easy up to the main falls, and then rougher beyond. You don’t need to do the rougher section to go for a dip though, because my favourite pool was actually before the terrain got tricker. All the details on the walk and swimming holes are below.
The trail to Golitha Falls viewpoint
From the parking area (details below), the walk heads through the gate and straight into a lovely stretch of woodland.
Although not signposted, the path is straightforward to follow, and wide and easy to walk on.
The trail soon curves left and you’ll walk past a long row of old mossy beech trees, which were particularly atmospheric.
After 500m you’ll come to a junction. You can head straight on to the viewpoint, or downhill to the river. We opted to check out the viewpoint first, which was just 90m away, along a flat manicured path.
To be honest the view is not anything to write home about. It’s pretty, but if you’re heading down to the river anyway, it’s by no means a necessity.
On to Golitha Falls
From the junction, to get down to Golitha Falls is just 80m. There’s a little bit of dirt trail, before a well maintained set of stairs takes you down to the water’s edge.
From here you can see cascades and small plunge pools both up and down the river. They are not big deep swimming holes, but are great for a cooling dip.
Our favourite was downstream, to the right, at these coordinates: 50.490324, -4.505526, less than 100m from where you first meet the river.
This pool was more secluded than the earlier ones, and very picturesque, with large mossy boulders and water that shimmered emerald in the sunshine.
The water got to chest height on me in the middle, but was otherwise shallow. You can’t really swim, but there’s a good amount of room to relax in the water.
It’s busier than the pools you can reach via the rougher track, but still not too bad and most people only stay in the water for a short amount of time before moving on.
To the hidden pools beyond
If you don’t mind a short distance on a rougher track, you can reach more cascades and several plunge pools which see far fewer visitors.
From the plunge pool mentioned above, you continue following the river, but the maintained track is now behind you.
I wore my old sketchers which don’t have any grip and I’d definitely recommend better shoes. Although the path is not that difficult, you do have to negotiate a few slippery rocks.
The most challenging bit is actually right at the beginning, so if you have no issues with it, then you know you’ll be fine further on.
The tricky bit requires climbing up a couple of large boulders. There are good footholds and a sturdy tree root to hold for support. I don’t think I’d have thought much of it in my hiking boots, but I went slowly in sketchers!
After this, there is usually one trail that keeps low to the river but is rockier, and one trail slightly higher in the forest, which is smoother.
You can pick either, depending on which you like the look of. You’ll soon come to some bigger cascades, which have tiny plunge pools and a bigger flow than anything you’ve seen to this point.
Even if you’re not looking to swim, they’re nice spots to just sit and relax beside the water.
Just 150m beyond the bigger cascades (1.1km from the car park) you’ll reach the largest pool. The track is mainly a dirt path and then there are a few rocky platforms to walk across.
The rocks are pretty grippy when dry. You’ll know you’ve hit the pool if you save these coordinates: 50.4903241, -4.5072819.
As with every pool along this track, it’s not one for actual swimming, because though it’s deeper than the others, it has a lot of rocks inside the water.
You can manage a few strokes, but then you’ll bump into the rocks, so really, it’s better just to relax in the water, away from the main walking trail and other visitors.
Even on a hot day in August, we got this spot to ourselves, which was very refreshing as the car park was packed to the rafters!
The water is on the colder side because it doesn’t get that much sun, but it’s still not freezing, like you find at some UK wild swimming spots.
There’s also a large rock platform, which is good for relaxing on and would make for a nice picnic spot.
We continued for 100m beyond the pool, looking to see if there were any deeper water holes for a proper swim, but the track deteriorated a lot and the pools only got shallower, so we turned back.
You could continue further, but be prepared for a rougher ride.
Parking for Golitha Falls
The car park for Golitha Falls is located on the River Fowey at Bodmin Moor, postcode PL14 6RX.
It’s a free car park and pretty big, but even then it does fill up during peak periods, like the school summer holidays. You might want to come earlier or later in the day to ensure a spot during this time. We found that it was packed at 3pm, but had emptied out considerably by 5pm.
There are toilets at the car park and a very popular restaurant called Inkie's Smokehouse. We didn’t try it personally, but it gets very good reviews.
Golitha Falls Nature Reserve is located 10 minutes from Liskeard, just over 20 minutes from Bodmin, 50 minutes from Padstow and 1 hour 15 from St Ives.
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 park, it will go a long way to keeping the area clean.
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