18 of the best beaches in Cornwall

Times

2 days ago

For decades, people have flocked to the far west for a chance to paddle in the blue and feel the sand between their toes — and Cornwall remains one of the UK's most popular beach-holiday destinations. Whether you want to surf, hike, chill or sunbathe, the county has a beach to suit. Each coast has its own character, too. For dramatic cliffs and acres of sand, the north is best. Bude, Newquay, Perranporth and St Ives have a bevy of beaches to choose from, with lots of facilities nearby that families will appreciate. Land's End feels wilder: the beaches here tend to be more rugged and sometimes involve a bit of a walk to reach, creating a sense of adventure.
The south offers a bit of everything: the Lizard's secluded spots, Roseland's gentle coves, and a mix of touristy spots and quiet bays around St Austell, Mevagissey and Looe. All of which create perfect conditions for road trips and coastal walks. Wherever you go, pay attention to tide times, lifeguard provision and warning flags. And definitely don't park on the beach: watching holidaymakers' cars get stuck is something of a local spectator sport. Easy to reach by train too, Cornwall makes the ideal UK break — here's our pick of its best beaches.
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The rural Roseland Peninsula presents a different side of Cornwall to the craggy north coast: gentler, greener and dotted with quiet beaches and coves. Carne is one of the biggest expanses of sand on the peninsula: at low tide it joins up with the neighbouring Pendower to the west. It takes some effort to reach, down narrow country roads, with a single-track lane leading down to the beach itself, and a National Trust car park at the bottom that's often full in summer. Come early, though, and you'll get to enjoy one of Cornwall's loveliest beaches — with the option of a coast walk round to pretty Portscatho.
The posh, old-school Nare Hotel is beside the beach, but the Driftwood B&B is a better bet: secluded, quietly stylish and set in delightful gardens, it's a 15-minute drive to the southwest.
North of Bude, Cornwall's coast is mad and mighty. Often the only way to sample it is on a clifftop walk, but at Sandymouth the tide retreats from a shingle bank to reveal nearly a mile and a half of gently shelving sand, with a summer lifeguard service to boot. Bude itself draws most of the crowds, so you also get acres of elbow room, backed by a layer cake of multicoloured rock strata — ancient evidence that this part of Cornwall once lay at the bottom of a vast, subtropical sea.
A couple of miles inland from the beach, Higher Tiscott Farmhouse has lots of beamed, whitewashed character, with an inglenook fireplace, garden with a large lawn and plenty of space for up to eight people.
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Posh Padstow has its 'seven bays' to sunbathe on. Our pick are these side-by-side beaches, both popular with families and surfers, with lots of rock pools to explore, dunes to provide some shelter from the wind, and excellent coast walks nearby. Rip tides and submerged rocks mean they aren't ideal for swimmers, but there is a natural tidal pool between the two beaches that's constantly refreshed so you can bathe happily all year round.
For a spoil, stay at the Pig at Harlyn Bay, in a lovely old Cornish manor with the Pig's characteristic blend of quirky decor, upcycled furniture and a working kitchen garden.
Many visitors don't make any time to explore the Rame Peninsula, the stretch of the UK coast that runs eastwards towards the Tamar estuary where Plymouth lies just across the border. Its beaches are often surprisingly quiet as a result, including Whitsand Bay — a magnificently wild curve over three miles long that in any other part of Cornwall would be packed solid throughout the summer. With high cliffs for shelter and rock pools to explore, this is a good bet, particularly if you're looking to dodge the crowds: you'll mostly have walkers and surfers for company here.
To make the most of the views, stay at Seaglass, a handsome timber-clad lodge set high up on Tregonhawke cliff, with a yoga deck and alfresco hot tub.
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This is Cornwall's Hallelujah chorus moment: a symphony of sea stacks and vertiginous cliffs that's all but hidden until you reach the head-spinning stairway that serves it. Known in Cornish as Carnewas, even if you're convinced you don't suffer from vertigo you may change your mind here. Just hold on tight to that handrail and keep going. At sea level, the sheer drama of those glowering, towering rocks will make you even giddier.
Karn Havos is a new complex of smart holiday homes just inland, all open-plan and with EV charging and outdoor hot tubs.
This wild, National Trust-owned beach on the Lizard is a truly spectacular spot, so much so it's become quite busy in recent years. Add in pricey parking (unless you have National Trust membership) and sands that shrink to nothing at high tide, and it's not a good high-season choice. Yet in early summer, or a warm autumn, Kynance Cove is an essential stop, provided the tide is low. That way you can properly explore the jigsaw-puzzle landscape of jagged islands, sea stacks and crystal-clear water. Finish with a two-mile cliff walk to Lizard Point to make the day perfect. There's a good, if expensive, café beside the beach.
On the east side of the Lizard, Chy Karrik is a modernised barn with original beams and uncluttered interiors in the charming little village of Cadgwith. Cadgwith Cove Inn is a top spot for a pint.
Yawning wide between spectacular cliffs, this north-coast favourite is especially known for its surf. Based just behind the beach, the Wavehunters surf school is a great place to learn, with lessons for beginners as well as those looking to hone their skills. For non-surfers, it's just the ticket for long, blustery strolls, with two miles of sand to explore. As you walk north along the beach, the summer crowds start to filter out and suddenly you're alone, beneath wheeling seagulls and magnificent walls of granite.
The Watergate Bay Hotel is a longstanding favourite here, especially with active families. It's very laid-back, with beachy decor, a superb pool and three restaurants. The luxurious Beach Lofts are gorgeous, but all the rooms are lovely — just be sure to bag a sea view.
Six miles south of Newquay, Holywell's golden sands and good looks have not gone unnoticed — used as a James Bond filming location, and for the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon. It's been the setting for many happy holidays, too. A broad crescent backed by dunes, it comes with a surf school and summer lifeguards, but it is a bit of a trek from the car park with little ones. But that's a good thing — if you're prepared to walk a bit, you should be able to find a decent patch of sand to call your own. There is a little kiosk called Imi Ola for snacks and drinks.
You can't get much closer to the beach than at Beachcomber, a four-bed house that gazes over the dunes from Holywell village.
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One headland south of Holywell, Perran Sands yawns wide and deep — and extends for more than two miles at low tide. At the southern end, Perranporth's hotels and apartments jostle for space on the cliffs and spoil the view, but beyond Cotty's Point to the north the atmosphere changes dramatically. Think rolling waves, protected dunes and — at sea level — barely a building in sight. Parking is limited near this section, so come early, or be prepared for a long walk from town.
Perranporth has no good hotels, so a quaint Cornish cottage is what you want here. Smugglers is just the ticket: built on a hillside from Cornish stone and set in its own gardens, it's pretty as a picture, and walkable to the beach.
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Gwithian is Cornwall's showstopper beach, a three-mile golden stretch that joins up with the neighbouring National Trust-owned beach of Godrevy to the north, where there is an island topped by a landmark lighthouse. Backed by low dunes (known in Cornish as 'towans'), it offers acres of space, but it is often quite windy: you might well see some kitesurfers in action here. Two lifeguard stations stand and watch over the sands. Convenient car parks add to the appeal — and there are several decent cafés near the beach, including Kabyn Café and the Jam Pot up on the dunes.
Three Mile Beach is the ideal place to stay, with 15 posh self-catering beach houses and shacks literally overlooking the beach, plus an in-house café, Chomp. They also help organise wetsuits and surfboards for when you want to hit the waves.
Not every beach in Cornwall serves up sea breezes and surf lessons. For a more Mediterranean vibe, unfurl your picnic blanket on Porthminster at St Ives. Sheltered from prevailing winds and incoming Atlantic swells, it's a leafy, toddler-friendly spot, with a posh restaurant next door that pretends to be a café. Look north and you'll also see the Downalong, home of St Ives' historic fishing community. When the sun's out, you'll understand in an instant why some of Britain's best 20th-century artists settled there.
Primrose House is a super place to stay: Scandi-inspired style, plenty of parking (a godsend in St Ives) and only 2 minutes from Porthminster.
A sandy crescent located alongside an old fishing cove, Sennen is pretty much the last beach before you hit the end of Britain at Land's End. Newfoundland is 2,000 miles west of here, and the thought of all that wild, empty ocean in between will give you goosebumps. Or maybe it's the inescapable Atlantic breeze? Don't even think of coming here without a windbreaker.
The Old Success Inn is a pretty old pub that has been much updated by owners St Austell Brewery, and now offers stylish rooms, good beers and well-priced pub grub.
Ideally you want to see Porthcurno from the headland first. Up there, by the clifftop Minack Theatre, it's as inviting as a Greek island: a triangle of sand wedged between ochre rocks, which tilts into the turquoise sea. Then, grab your beach towels and become part of the scene. Take care in big swells, though, the beach shelves sharply, especially at low tide, and the shore-breaking waves pack a punch.
It's mostly campsites and holiday cottages this far west: for maximum views, stay at Bracken Bank, a swanky modern house sleeping eight with panoramic windows and a glass-edged deck that frames the beach like a landscape painting.
It's a matter of heated local debate how you pronounce this beach: some say Prah, others Pray. Regardless, it's a good family beach with a large car park, a pub and restaurant next door, and a mile-long curve of sand on which to stretch your toes. Not surprisingly, it's a popular summer spot for families, with rock pools at the western end to add variety and a slightly wilder, more wind-tousled atmosphere than you'd expect from the south coast. It picks up big Atlantic swells too. As soon as the waves start to break, the surfers come running.
For a memorable holiday, stay at the ironically named Little Cottage, a distinctive, curvy modernist house that occupies its own private patch of coast and — given that it sleeps ten — really isn't little at all.
This lacks the visual drama of many Cornish beaches, but older children will love the sense of variety at Summerleaze. There's a river and a breakwater on one side, and a large, tide-filled sea pool on the other — perfect for impromptu swimming galas, or games of tag when the sea's rough. Sunset burgers at the Life's a Beach café are a must, provided you can get a table.
For somewhere to stay, you won't find any better than The Beach — Bude's boutique offering just off Summerleaze, with light, bright rooms and a classy, popular restaurant.
Common to every great beach is a sense of wonder when first you find it, and in Cornwall the buzz is never bigger than when you walk through Torchlight Cave. Come to Mullion Cove at a low spring tide, when the sea is farthest out and, hard by the southern harbour wall, you'll find the entrance. Sure, the secret beach on the far side is strewn with boulders, but who cares? It feels as though you've just discovered the coast of Narnia.
Polurrian on the Lizard is up on the headland above the cove. The old Victorian hotel has been attractively renovated with a colourful, beachy vibe. Sea views abound; for space, go for the newer, self-contained villas.
Lantic Bay lies hidden from the road and its National Trust car park, and there's no sense of what awaits until you reach the cliff edge. At which point you may just holler, for yawning out beneath you is a colour-saturated paradise of vivid bracken and sparkling turquoise sea, with not one scrap of man-made infrastructure to spoil the view. On calm days its sand and shingle beach is the perfect place to go for a proper swim, but watch out for rip currents and shore-breaking waves when it's rough. You can reach the beach on foot from Fowey, a 2.5 mile walk via the Polruan Ferry.
Stay at the Harbour Hotel Fowey, which has rooms overlooking the Fowey River and a panoramic restaurant.
Flat, sandy and relatively sheltered by imposing cliffs on either side, Mawgan Porth ticks a lot of boxes when it's exposed by low tides. You can also add dog friendly and beach wheelchair accessible to that list. The water is calm enough to swim most days, and there's a seasonal lifeguard on duty. Further out, gentle breaks mean it's suitable for surfers too. Need a change of scene? The scenic coastal path will take you to nearby Bedruthan Steps in no time, while Newquay and Padstow are just a short drive away.
It's a no-brainer to stay at the Bedruthan Hotel & Spa, a trendy, family-orientated hotel that, though a bit blocky in design, has fantastic facilities. There are loads of activities for children, an excellent spa and wondrous coastal views.
Additional reporting by Qin Xie
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