Cornwall’s beaches

Whether you’re looking for somewhere for a quiet stroll or the ideal place for a spot of surfing, there’s a beach in Cornwall that’s perfect for you. If there’s one thing that Cornwall is famed for it is its coastline. There’s quite simply dozens of spectacular beaches across Cornwall, so many, in fact, that you really are spoilt for choice.

The north coast is well-known as a surfer’s paradise, especially the beaches in and around Newquay, while the south coast tends to be calmer, with smaller waves. But with there’s a huge number of hidden coves and secret beaches just waiting to be explored!

Here we take a closer look at just some our favourites…

• We can’t really talk about Cornwall’s beaches without mentioning Fistral. One of the premier surfing beaches in Europe, Fistral is a popular spot with surfers and the waters, especially in the summer, tend to be busy. However, this beach is large and tends to accommodate large numbers quite well. If you’re a surfer, you simply have to jump in and give it a go here!
• Voted Best British Beach in 2013 by the BBC is Crantock. Another one close to Newquay, it is a great spot for surfers but far less busy than Fistral. Crantock boasts a large stretch of golden sand is a great for walks on a summer’s evening.
• Polzeath Beach is an award winning stretch of sand. It attracts a multitude of surfers of all abilities due to its easily-accessible location and long slow breaking consistent waves. For something a little less competitive Polzeath’s little sister beach, New Polzeath to the right of the bay, is a favoured location for swimming away from the surfboards.
• Great for surfing, swimming or sunbathing, Constantine Bay rightly takes its place as one of Cornwall’s best. This west-facing beach also has numerous rock pools to explore and is very popular for swimming and surfing.
• If you like waters to be turquoise and your sand a golden yellow then head to Harlyn Sands on the north coast. Regarded as one of the best family beaches in Cornwall, Harlyn is a wide and spacious beach with plenty of interesting rock pools backed by dunes and situated on the eastern side of Trevose Head, just west of Padstow.
• If you don’t mind venturing a little further then head west to enjoy our next two.. The first of which is Porthcurno Beach. Good Beach Guide Recommended 2015, Porthcurno is an oasis of stunning natural beauty in west Cornwall. Close to The Minack Theatre and this beach was seen regularly in the BBC’s recent remake of Poldark.
• Staying in West Cornwall, head to Sennen Cove to get a real sense of this land’s end-type location. Stunning a summer’s day and awe-inspiring on a blustery, windy day, Sennen Cove offers top surfing conditions and safe bathing within flagged areas which are moved frequently to follow tidal movements.