The Cornwall National Landscape (formerly the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) covers in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England, United Kingdom; that is, about 27% of the total area of the county. It comprises 12 separate areas, designated under the

National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 ( 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 97) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the National Parks Commission which later became the Countryside Commission and then the Count ...

for special landscape protection. Of the areas, eleven cover stretches of coastline; the twelfth is

Bodmin Moor Bodmin Moor () is a granite moorland in north-eastern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in size, and dates from the Carboniferous period of geology, geological history. It includes Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, and Rough To ...

. The areas are together treated as a single

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

(AONB): all AONBs have been rebranded as National Landscapes since November 2023. Section 85 of the

Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (c. 37), also known as the CRoW Act and "Right to Roam" Act, is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament affecting England and Wales which came into force on 30 November 2000. Right to roam The Act impleme ...

places a duty on all relevant authorities when discharging any function affecting land within an AONB to have regard to the purpose of conserving and enhancing natural beauty. Section 89 places a statutory duty on Local Planning Authorities with an AONB within their administrative area to produce a 5-year management plan.

Designation

The areas were designated in 1959, except for the Camel estuary which was added in 1981. Cornwall AONB
. Accessed 20 April 2012 The list of designated areas is: Cornwall AONB: Explore
. Accessed 21 December 2015 # Hartland (

Morwenstow Morwenstow () is a civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish abuts the west coast, about six miles (10 km) north of Bude and within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Morwens ...

and

Kilkhampton Kilkhampton () is a village and civil parish in northeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is on the A39 about four miles (6 km) north-northeast of Bude. Kilkhampton was mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Chilchetone". T ...

) # Pentire Point to Widemouth #

Camel Estuary The River Camel (, meaning ''crooked river'') is a river in Cornwall, England. It rises on the edge of Bodmin Moor and with its tributaries its catchment area covers much of North Cornwall. The river flows into the eastern Celtic Sea between ...

Trevose Head Trevose Head (, meaning ''farm of the wall's headland'') () is a headland on the Atlantic coast of north Cornwall, on the south-western coast of Great Britain. It is situated approximately west of Padstow. The South West Coast Path runs aroun ...

Stepper Point Stepper Point () is a headland on the Atlantic coast in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at . Stepper Point and Pentire Point stand at either side of the mouth of the River Camel; Stepper to the south-west, Pentire to the north-ea ...

(

Bedruthan Carnewas and Bedruthan Steps (, meaning "rock-pile of summer dwelling" and , meaning "Red-one's dwelling") is a stretch of coastline located on the north Cornish coast between Padstow and Newquay, in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is wit ...

Padstow Padstow (; ) is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary, approximately northwest of Wadebridge, ...

) # St Agnes #

Godrevy Godrevy (, meaning ''small farms'') ( ) is an area on the eastern side of St Ives Bay, west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, which faces the Atlantic Ocean. It is popular with both the surfing community and walkers. It is part owned by the ...

Portreath Portreath ( or ) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish, village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is about three miles (5 km) west-north-west of Redruth. The village extends along ...

# West

Penwith Penwith (; ) is an area of Cornwall, England, located on the peninsula of the same name. It is also the name of a former Non-metropolitan district, local government district, whose council was based in Penzance. The area is named after one ...

# South Coast—Western (

Lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

and

Marazion Marazion (; ) is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish and town, on the shore of Mount's Bay in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is east of Penzance and the tidal island of St Michael's Mount is half-a-mile offshore. At tide, low wa ...

Helford River The Helford River () is a ria (flooded river valley) in Cornwall, England, fed by small streams into its many creeks. There are seven creeks on the Helford; from west to east these are Ponsontuel Creek, Mawgan Creek, Polpenwith Creek, Polwheve ...

) # South Coast—Central ( Mylor and the Roseland to Porthpean) # South Coast—Eastern ( Par Sands to

Looe Looe (; , ) is a coastal town and civil parish in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, with a population of 5,280 at the 2011 census. Looe is west of Plymouth and south of Liskeard, divided in two by the River Looe, East Looe () a ...

) #

Rame Head Rame Head or Ram Head () is a coastal headland, southwest of the village of Rame in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is part of the larger Rame Peninsula. History and antiquities The natural site was used for a promontory ...

# Bodmin Moor There are separate AONBs covering the Tamar Valley (which is partly in Cornwall and partly in Devon—the east bank of the river Tamar forms the boundary between Cornwall/Kernow and Devon), and the

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly ( ; ) are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, St Agnes, is over farther south than the most southerly point of the Great Britain, British mainla ...

, which is administered for most purposes separately to Cornwall.

Management

The Cornwall AONB is managed by a Partnership of 21 organisations *Cornwall Agri-food Council *Cornwall Association of Local Councils *

Cornwall Council Cornwall Council ( ), known between 1889 and 2009 as Cornwall County Council (), is the local authority which governs the non-metropolitan county of Cornwall in South West England. Since 2009 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary ...

Cornwall Heritage Trust The Cornwall Heritage Trust (CHT) is an organisation which owns and manages historic sites in Cornwall, England. It was founded in 1985. It works in close cooperation with Natural England, Historic England and English Heritage. List of managed ...

*Cornwall Rural Community Charity *Cornwall Sustainable Tourism Project (CoaST) *

Cornwall Wildlife Trust The Cornwall Wildlife Trust (founded as the Cornwall Naturalists' Club) is a charitable organisation founded in 1962 that is concerned solely with Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It deals with the conservation and preservation of Cornwall's w ...

Country Land and Business Association The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) is a membership organisation representing landowners, property owners and businesses owners in England and Wales. Until 2000, the organisation was known as the Country Landowners Association. The ...

*ERCCIS (Environmental Records Centre for Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly) *

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

*Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) *

King Harry Ferry The King Harry Ferry Bridge is a vehicular cable ferry, chain ferry which crosses the Carrick Roads reach of the estuary of the River Fal in Cornwall, England, UK. The ferry crosses between the parishes of Feock, Cornwall, Feock and Philleigh, ...

* National Farmers Union *

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

*Rural Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Partnership (RCP) * University of Exeter in Cornwall *VisitCornwall *Volunteer Cornwall * Westcountry Rivers Trust The Partnership meets twice a year to identify the prioritisation of action and the implementation of the Plan. The Partnership also has an advisory role, providing advice to Cornwall Council and other organisations on matters such as planning and project development. The Partnership is supported by a team of officers—the Cornwall AONB Unit who exist to administer the Partnership, undertake delivery, access resources, influence, enable and support Partner organisations in the delivery of the Management Plan. The first Cornwall AONB Management Plan was adopted by the members of the Cornwall AONB Partnership in July 2004. The latest Cornwall AONB Management Plan, 2022-27, was adopted by

and the members of the Cornwall AONB Partnership in May 2022.

References

{{AONBs in England Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England Geography of Cornwall Protected areas established in 1959 Protected areas of Cornwall Cornish coast