Bedruthan Steps

Waarom het strand zo noemt heeft met een of ander verhaal te maken van de reus bedruthan die de rotsen op het strand als 'stepping stones' zou gebruiken om aan land te komen. In ieder geval was dit een van de hoogtepunten van de vakantie in Cornwall.

The legend of a giant called Bedruthan using the beach stacks as stepping stones or 'steps' to achieve a not very obvious short cut across the bay seems to be a late nineteenth century invention trotted out to gullible tourists. No early reference to the story has been found and the truth is probably more prosaic. The first record of the name 'Bedruthan Steps' is in the 1851 edition of Murray's Handbook, and is likely to refer to the actual steps, or cliff staircase as it now is. Just north of Diggory's Island there was a beach access path called Pentire Steps. This was a zig-zag route to the beach, but the bottom section has been carried away by a landslip.