Come snow or high water

In our new series award-winning photographer David Chapman turns his lens on the Atlantic coast

Last month David began a series of features looking at his experiences of taking photographs in Cornwall’s 12 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In this series he shares some stories of his own exploits and give tips to help us all get better photos of these wonderful places.

The AONB

The Godrevy to Portreath AONB stretches along the coast from the mouth of the Red River, which is adjacent to the National Trust (NT) car park for Godrevy, around Godrevy and Navax Points. It includes Hell’s Mouth and Basset’s Cove and ends just to the west of Portreath (total distance of about 6.5 miles). Inland it includes the northern part of Tehidy Country Park, though not the area around the lakes where most people visit.

The practicalities

Parking is available at Godrevy (NT); Hell’s Mouth; various lay-bys along the North Coast; Tehidy Country Park; Portreath (which lies just outside the AONB). Cafés include Godrevy, Portreath and Tehidy (open all year); Hell’s Mouth (seasonal). There are facilities at Godrevy, Tehidy and Portreath.

The photography

There can be no doubt that the photographic highlight of this AONB is Godrevy. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the most photographed location in Cornwall if you don’t count phone-snaps at Land’s End.

There is a temptation to fall into a routine at Godrevy: arrive just before sunset; find a nice place to sit on the headland; take a photo as the sun sets behind the lighthouse and then go home. There is so much more potential to this iconic location.

Living quite close to Godrevy I have been able to visit in most climatic conditions, at various times of day (including night) and every month of the year. The single most exciting visit I have ever made was early in the morning just after some light snowfall.