Constantine Bay, Cornwall – Golden Sands below Trevose Head

HOLIDAYS IN CONSTANTINE BAY

Constantine Bay is one of the finest beaches on the North Cornwall coast – a long, open sweep of pale golden sand backed by high dunes, about four miles west of Padstow in the parish of St Merryn. It is one of the beaches between Trevose Head and Bedruthan Steps known as the Seven Bays, with Treyarnon Bay just around the low headland to the south and Booby’s Bay joined on at its northern end.

The bay faces west, straight into the Atlantic, so it catches the swell and is one of the best-known surf beaches around Padstow. At low tide the sand stretches for well over half a mile, with rock pools on the reefs at either end, and behind the beach the dunes rise into the links of Trevose Golf & Country Club.

Constantine Bay itself is a small, quiet settlement of holiday homes, with a surf shop and village stores, rather than a resort. There are no amusements or promenade – just the beach, the dunes and the coast path, which is exactly why people come back year after year. Dogs are welcome on the beach all year round.

For somewhere to stay, see Constantine Bay holiday cottages and holidays and short breaks in Constantine Bay.

Best Time to Visit Constantine Bay

Summer brings lifeguard cover, warm sand and long evenings, but the small car park fills early on fine days – arrive in the morning, or park at Treyarnon and walk round. Spring and autumn are often the best times for surfers, with bigger, cleaner swells and quieter line-ups.

In winter the bay is wild and beautiful, with huge Atlantic seas breaking on the reefs and the beach almost to yourself. After big winter storms, the sand is sometimes stripped back to reveal the wreck of the Carl at Booby’s Bay.

CONSTANTINE BAY BEACH

Constantine is a big beach by Cornish standards. Its sand runs in a broad curve from the rocks below Treyarnon in the south to the reef at Booby’s Bay in the north, and at low tide the two beaches join into one long strand. Behind it, a large system of sand dunes covered in marram grass rises towards the golf course.

The dunes and Trevose Head are protected as the Trevose Head and Constantine Bay Site of Special Scientific Interest, for their geology and for scarce dune plants, so please stay on the marked paths through the dunes. The whole coast here is part of the Cornwall National Landscape (formerly the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).

At low tide the reefs at both ends of the beach uncover rock pools full of crabs, shrimps and anemones. The beach shelves quickly as the tide comes in, and at high water the sand narrows to a band in front of the dunes.

The beach also has an in-depth page in our Cornwall Beaches guide.

SURFING & BEACH SAFETY

Constantine Bay picks up more swell than almost any other beach around Padstow, and it is a favourite with local surfers. The waves break over sandbars and reefs, with rights and lefts along the beach and a reef break towards Booby’s Bay that works well on the right tide. On a good day it is a powerful, fast wave, best suited to experienced surfers.

For lessons, beginners are better off at Harlyn Bay, just over the headland, where the surf schools are based and the waves are gentler – or try bodyboarding next door at Treyarnon. See our Surfing in Cornwall guide for more.

It is important to be clear about the water here: Constantine Bay has strong rip currents, especially around low to mid tide, when water rushes out through channels between the sandbars. Lifeguards have had to rescue many people here over the years. RNLI lifeguards patrol in season – always swim and bodyboard between the red and yellow flags, never swim when there are no lifeguards on duty, and leave inflatables at home.

• RNLI – find lifeguarded beaches and patrol dates
• RNLI – rip currents and how to escape them

Rip currents: if you are caught in a rip, don’t try to swim against it. If you can stand, wade, don’t swim. Raise your hand and shout for help, and if you have a board or inflatable, hold on to it. If you see someone in trouble, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

BOOBY’S BAY & THE WRECK OF THE CARL

At the northern end of Constantine, beyond a low rocky point, is Booby’s Bay, a smaller beach of sand and reef below the slopes of Trevose Head. At low tide you can walk straight from one beach to the other.

Buried in the sand at Booby’s Bay lies the wreck of the Carl, a steel-hulled sailing ship. She was seized at Cardiff at the start of the First World War, and in 1917, while being towed to London to be broken up, she broke free in a storm and was driven ashore here. She could not be refloated, and over the years the sand buried her.

Every so often, big winter storms strip the beach back and the ship’s rusting ribs reappear – as they did in the great storms of 2014. If you are lucky enough to see her, look but don’t climb on the wreck.

HISTORY OF CONSTANTINE BAY

The bay takes its name from St Constantine, an early Cornish saint. The remains of his medieval chapel and his holy well stand in the dunes behind the beach, on what is now the golf course, and can be reached by a public footpath.

For centuries this was farming country, and local farmers carted sand from the beach to spread on their fields. The coast was dangerous for shipping, too – the wreck of the Carl at Booby’s Bay is one of many along this stretch.

In the 20th century Constantine became a holiday place. Trevose Golf & Country Club opened in 1925 on the dunes behind the beach, with a course laid out in part by the famous golf architect Harry Colt, and it has been owned by the same family since 1941. Holiday homes followed, and today Constantine Bay is a quiet seaside settlement within St Merryn parish.

PLACES NEAR CONSTANTINE BAY

• Treyarnon Bay – a sandy cove with a natural tidal pool, a short walk south.
• Porthcothan – a sandy bay split by a stream, a little further south.
• Harlyn Bay – a sheltered family and learn-to-surf beach on the other side of Trevose Head.
• Trevone – a sandy bay with a tidal pool and the Round Hole.
• Padstow – the harbour town on the Camel Estuary, about four miles away.
• Bedruthan Steps – the famous rock stacks, further south towards Newquay.