Gribbin Head
Os Grid ref:- SX124514
The dramatic headland of Gribbin Head on the Polperro Heritage Coast makes a
rewarding walk from Fowey, or from the car park south of Polkerris. The headland offers some superb sea views.
Gribbin Head, referred to locally as 'the Gribbin', separates the harbours of Par and Fowey , the distinctive red and white striped day navigation beacon, the Daymark Tower which perches at the top of
the headland was erected in 1832 as a safety measure.
The South West Coast Path, which traverses the headland, is the longest of England's national trails, running for six hundred miles from Minehead on the edge of the beautiful Exmoor National Park, to the shores of Poole Harbour in Dorset.
Gribbin Head is currently owned by the National Trust. the Trust organises regular open days during the summer when visitors can climb to the top of Daymark Tower.
The famous Cornish author Daphne du Maurier (1907 - 89) who wrote 'Jamaicia Inn and 'The Birds' lived for many years at Menabilly at Gribbin Head, a seventeenth century mansion overlooking the sea, once belonging to the Rashleigh family. She used the house as a model for Manderley in one of her most popular novels 'Rebecca', the Manderley featured in the novel, and in the novels 'My Cousin Rachel' and 'The King's General'. Daphne Du Maurier moved into the house in 1943 and lived there until 1969 when the lease expired on the house.