HUGE cliffs face out to the Atlantic Ocean to the south of the village of Morwenstow on the North Cornwall coast. At the foot of these lonely bastions are rocky outcrops and small beaches.

Some of the larger rocks in the area have interesting names such as Hippa, Squench and Pigsback, while a stream that tumbles to the coast through a steep valley is called The Tidna. Another steep valley leads down to the remote beach at Stanbury Mouth. The valleys heading towards the sea in this area mean walkers on the South West Coast Path have to contend with further tricky descents and arduous climbs.

While those on the path can tune in to the abundance of nature around them, a nearby team of eavesdropping experts is focused on altogether different matters. For inland from Lower Sharpnose Point, south of Stanbury Mouth, is GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) Bude with its series of satellite dishes, these being visible for several miles around. The intelligence and security facility has been operating here since the 1970s and has become a familiar sight in the landscape.

During the Second World War, the location was used as RAF Cleave. Planes based at the airfield would tow targets that were used in anti-aircraft training, and steam catapults were installed to launch a type of drone off the cliffs.

Today GCHQ Bude, which is approximately four miles north of Bude, has around 30 antennas of all shapes and sizes that collect intelligence data that is said to underpin the agency’s mission to help keep the country safe. Though most of the work carried out at the site remains classified, the organisation does admit that the ever-changing weather on the Cornish coast presents challenges that have to be overcome.

• Andrew Townsend is a journalist and writer. He further explores the county in the travel book, Cornwall Favourites For One And All!: A Quick Guide To Good Places To Visit Across The County, which is available in print and as an ebook. More details on Andrew’s books and ebooks can be found via this link to his author page on Amazon - bit.ly/AndrewTownsendAuthor