Cornwall Beaches

Cornwall has one of the longest and most varied coastlines in Britain, and this guide covers it in full: over 145 named beaches grouped into 19 areas, running clockwise from Bude near the Devon border in the north, down the Heritage Coast and around the Camel Estuary at Polzeath and Padstow, past Newquay, Perranporth and the mining coast, round St Ives Bay and Land's End to the far south-western tip of England, along Mount's Bay through Penzance and Marazion, round the Lizard - mainland Britain's most southerly point - and back up the south coast through Falmouth, the Roseland Peninsula, Mevagissey, St Austell Bay, Fowey and Looe, finishing at Whitsand Bay on the Rame Peninsula overlooking Plymouth Sound.

Every area below has its own dedicated page - an introduction to the area, a map, visitor information and a directory of its beaches - and every named beach within it has a full guide of its own: parking, facilities, disabled access, dogs, safety and tide information, nearby things to do, and places to stay. Coverage ranges from wide, sociable, Blue Flag and Seaside Award sand backed by cafes and car parks, to remote coves reached only on foot down farm tracks or along the South West Coast Path.

Use the map and the area directory below to find the stretch of coast you're after, or jump straight to an area's own page for the full list of its beaches.