Land's End is the headland at the far west of mainland England, about 8 miles from Penzance at the end of the A30, and it is where the land runs out. In Kernewek it is Penn an Wlas. The granite of the cliffs is old even by Cornish standards: it was laid down between 268 and 275 million years ago, and Longships Lighthouse stands offshore on the same rock.
A long journey
Land's End to John o' Groats is 838 miles by road, a distance that has become a small national rite of passage. Tourists have come for over 300 years; the poet John Taylor made the journey in 1649, and the headland has been selling itself as an ending ever since.
The headland as a business
The land was sold in 1982. Peter de Savary bought it in 1987 for almost £7m, outbidding the National Trust, and the current owners, Heritage Great Britain, took it on in 1996. In May 2012 the Olympic torch relay began its journey here.
Sources
Last checked: 2026-10-11