5 Best Beaches in Cornwall
(According to me!)
This is part of a link-up post that I’ve organised with some other Cornish bloggers. We thought it’d be fun to talk about our favourite beaches in Cornwall, and compare our results at the end!
It was harder than I thought it would be to choose just 5 of my favourite beaches (apologies to everyone I inflicted this constraint upon!); with over 400 beaches along our coastline, it’s a pretty tough decision. So many have fantastic childhood memories attached, and there are so many I’ve yet to explore!
As you’ll be able to tell from the list below, I’m a North Coast kinda gal. I’ve lived on the North Coast of Cornwall for over 16 years, and our recent move to the outskirts of Redruth means I’ll be here for many years to come too!
And so, in no particular order:
1. Godrevy Beach
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I’ve been lucky enough to grow up in a family of National Trust members, so we always used to have free access to this protected beach. The bay is perfect for swimming and body boarding, while there’s a great mixture of rocks, rock pools and fun secret caves which kept us entertained for hours as kids.
Sadly, adult-me isn’t at the point where I can afford a National Trust membership, so the entry fee to get to Godrevy has unfortunately put me off going in recent years.
2. Fistral Beach
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Though I’ve never been swimming/surfing at Fistral, I love the white sands and atmosphere of this stretch of beach. The vast golf club behind it makes the scenery seriously breathtaking, and it’s dog-friendly all year round – yay!
3. Porthtowan Beach
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This was the closest beach for us for 16 years, just 5 minutes drive away. We spent many a Summer afternoon down there, and evenings eating fish and chips on the dunes or grabbing a drink at the Unicorn or Blue Bar. I love that we only live 15 minutes away from Porthtowan in our new house (it’s our second nearest beach now!).
(Note: N and I actually first met in Porthtowan, as we were both part of the youth drama group there. Soft spot, shall we say!)
4. Porthmeor Beach
I only discovered this beach last month when visiting St. Ives! It’s absolutely stunning, and looks like something from the Costa Blanca or Majorca. I imagine it gets exceptionally crowded during Summer, but it really is the most perfect-looking beach.
5. Perranporth Beach
We are definitely regulars here with it being another dog-friendly beach all year round. It’s so huge that there’s always plenty of space to give Pepper a good airing, and it just happens to be exactly midway between our house and Pepper’s breeder’s house, so we like to meet up with them there so that Pepper can see her mum and sister. The Watering Hole (a beach bar/cafe/restaurant in the dunes) is an awesome, chilled out place to grab a drink or some food (or watch a band play in the evening!), and there’s loads of other great cafes and shops in the town too.
Find out what everyone else thinks!
Check out the other Cornish Bloggers’ posts below:
Holly @ Full of Beans & Sausages: ‘My Top 5 Beaches in Cornwall‘
Jess @ Jessica Cece: ‘Life’s a Beach‘
Alice @ Wooden Windowsills: ‘5 Cornish Beaches You Should Visit This Summer‘
Sam @ Strawberry Squeeze: ‘Top Running Beaches in Cornwall‘
Liv @ Maiden in Cornwall: ‘My 5 Favourite Cornish Beaches‘
Abel @ Brainfood: ‘Top 10 Beaches for Summer 2015′
Chloe @ Life Unexpected: ‘Top 5 Family Friendly Beaches in Cornwall‘
I’ll be announcing the results of the ultimate Top 5 beaches next week!
Seeing Portmeor takes me back – that’s where I went on my year 6 school camping trip to! It was the best of times!! I had forgotten the name of it!
Awh haha! A couple of others have chosen Porthmeor too :) It really is stunning x
It is gorgeous – that whole area is. That was my first proper stay away from home, I think it was a three day stay with four nights and I just had the best time ever, such fond memories!
They look lovely indeed ! I’ve never been to Cornwall but it’s lovely to think about living somewhere where you can actually make a selection of beaches!
x
Céline from Larry & Co.
There’s over 300 here! You should definitely come and visit soon :) X
I’m really pleased Porthtowan is getting so much love! :) Gorgeous photos and a lovely post! SO glad you made this all happen, you wonder!
Abel x
Porthtowan sums up my child and teenhood haha! Miss it loads but no dogs allowed this time of year Dx
X
Really lovely photos Anna! I love how everyones posts are so different – so much Cornish love flying around! :) I really enjoyed writing this post – but you’re right about it being hard to choose only 5! Thank you so much for including me! Alice xxxxx
http://www.woodenwindowsills.co.uk
Not at all :) thanks for writing a great list! I’ll be posting the results of the ultimate top beaches next week! X
Thank you so much for hosting this Anna. You’re pictures are lovely. I almost chose Porthmeor. I live in St. Ives & this has always been my favourite, but since we moved to the otherside of town i’ve gotten lazy & use the other beaches now instead. It’s great we’ve all picked so many different beaches. There are some I’ve never been too before & am definitely going to have to visit soon. :-D xx
Awh no worries!
I am very jealous of you living in St.Ives- it’s such a perfect town!
And yes I’m also looking forward to exploring all these beaches I’ve never even heard of! X
You’re making me want to go back to Cornwall I miss it so much! Hopefully take a holiday sometime.
http://lifewiththeroofdown.blogspot.co.uk/
Do it! Of course it’s extra nice in the Summer :) x
Thanks for organising this Anna, we will definitely have to do it again in future! So interesting to see everyones choices, particularly as I haven’t been to quite a lot of the beaches! x
Liv | http://www.maidenincornwall.co.uk
Same! There are so many I’d never even heard of before :) x
THEY’RE ALL SO BEAUTIFUL!!!
I know Dx It was so hard to choose haha x
They all look lovely, I’m taking a road trip in a few weeks and am stopping in Cornwall for 4 nights, St Austell, Penzance and Newquay, so I will definitely be browsing through all the best beaches posts x
http://inspirationsandme.blogspot.co.uk/
Awh lovely! I hope you have a great time :) Check out the Ultimate Best Beaches post I’m publishing next week (it’s basically the results of everyone’s top 5) as there’s several in/near Newquay! x
Cornwall has some incredibly beautiful beaches, and this list makes me want to plan a coastal trip immediately. Each location seems to offer something different for visitors to enjoy.