Top 10 Stunning Family Beaches in Cornwall

  Camping in Cornwall

You can’t move for family-friendly beaches in Cornwall – there are just so many. The surging Atlantic can be brutal in terms of waves and rip tides, so it’s important to be tide aware, and make the most of lifeguard services. When choosing this selection of beaches, we looked for blue flag beaches - with the notable exception of Seaton. We only included a beach with problematic tides if its lifeguard provision is superb in peak season. We also looked for facilities like loos and local shops, and not forgetting the fun stuff – fine sand, exciting rockpools, rivers and inviting places to paddle.

1 Harbour Beach, St Ives
The bustling town and artistic hub of St Ives might not be an obvious place to go beaching, when there are quieter spots immediately to the east, but its Harbour Beach is a bit of a gem. It’s south facing and sheltered by harbour walls, making it a suntrap, and like many beaches on this coast when the tide’s out the expanse of sand is absolutely massive. There is sand here even at high tide, when the remaining beach is close to the pier. The Sloop Inn is on the beach. St Ives Harbour Beach is one of the best places to spend New Year’s Eve in the UK, with holiday makers and local people walking down to the beach in fancy dress, and fireworks at midnight. As luck would have it, Ayr Holiday Park, the closest campsite to town, is also open all year. Park out of town! St Ives access roads are narrow and car parks quickly fill up. Trenwith car park (long stay) has larger spaces, and regular buses to town

2. Porth Towan, St Agnes
This blue flag beach is in St Agnes parish, so is convenient to get to from all the campsites from St Agnes to Hayle, and as far east as Newquay. Its proximity to the Wheal Coates mine puts it well and truly in the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site. The name of the beach stands for landing place at the sand dunes and those dunes can seem vast. The Blue Bar overlooking the beach has live music at weekends. There are height and weight restrictions at Beach Road council car park. However you can access Porth Towan from Chapel Porth at low tide and via the coast path. Chapel Porth National Trust car park at grid ref SW698494 (TR5 0NS).

3 Coverack, Lizard
This lovely sandy beach is dog friendly and, we think, rightly so – there is plenty of space to exercise there without bothering any non-dog lovers. As money gets tighter and people pare down their holidays, we’ve noticed that Lizard Peninsula beaches like Coverack lose out to the honeypots on the north coast when it comes to tourist numbers. The car parks, campsites and the beach itself is inexplicably quiet, even in August. Why not hire a ride-on canoe and see if you can catch a fish in the bay – we’ve watched people do this on water that’s calm and clear. There’s good quality icecream at Roskilly’s in the village, and not a lot apart from that except space and gently shelving sand. Park at the north side of seafront, grid ref SW783182 (TR12 6SX). Or walk from the campsite – most of these are small sites to the south of the town and you’ll want to avoid driving the tight bend at the south end of seafront SW783181(TR12 6SY).

4 Gyllyngvase, Falmouth
We always sing the praises of the town of Falmouth and its most popular beach makes our cut, and for good reason. Gyllingvase has a crescent of shallowly sloping white sand. At low tide there are rockpools busy with wildlife, and in summer there’s a good lifeguard service and the beach has a Blue Flag award. The Gylly Beach Café has modern décor and a boutique feel, and serves locally sourced food. The beach is overlooked by Pendennis Castle too – a good day out in its own right – and is only a ten minute walk from town. Park at the 500-space Ponsharden Park and Ride/Float on the outskirts of Falmouth grid ref SW791341 (TR10 8AD). Boat version of the service runs from June to September, delivering you to Falmouth via a ten minute sailing. More info here.

5 Polzeath
A vast beach, excellent for swimming and, being sheltered in an estuary, also a great place to enjoy the sunshine. Polzeath can get very crowded, and most of the sand disappears when the tide comes in, but when the tide is out it’s wide and flat and offers some shelter from the wind. There’s quite a lot to Polzeath. It was Sir John Betjeman’s favourite beach and he is buried in St Enodoc Church nearby. And it’s the centre of a Voluntary Marine Wildlife Reserve. It’s also a popular base for those who want to use its many campsites to explore the Camel Trail by bike or on foot. Park next to the beach, grid ref SW936789 (PL27 6TB) – but beware exceptionally high tides that flood the car park. No height restriction, but 3,500kg weight restriction.

6 Summerleaze, Bude
This beautiful sandy beach is within easy walking distance of the centre of Bude, so there are plenty of facilities and shops selling the wetsuits and windbreaks you never know you need until you get to this area. The sheer size of this beach makes it unlikely to ever get crowded. On quite an exposed stretch of coast, Summerleaze is child friendly thanks to a brilliant sea water swimming pool. Lifeguards are there in summer, and the beach is dog friendly too. Cornwall’s beaches are so numerous that you can almost begin to feel sand blind, but Summerleaze is more interesting than many in that it is protected by a harbour wall with a tower, and is at the entrance of the Bude Canal with its huge gates. There’s lots of good walking canalside. Park in the large car park at the entrance to the beach in Bude, grid ref SS207065 (EX23 8JP).

7 Whitesands Beach, near Sennen
Sennen Cove at the south east end of Whitesands Bay is a reach for most of us to get to, because it’s just a mile from Lands End, and has the most westerly village in Cornwall. It’s right on the South West Coast Path. It’s a great place to come to if you want to combine staying at this pretty village, with a trip to St Micheal’s Mount and to the Minack Theatre. Kids love the very fine sand at Whitesands Bay and the stream that runs down to the sea. The shops and cafés in the village make it a family friendly spot and there are lifeguards during the summer. It can be blustery here, so we advise taking windbreaks, though the dunes offer some shelter. Head to the far side of the stream and you’ll find the quieter beaching area. Park at the large car park with loos next to the beach, grid ref SW355264 (TR19 7DG).

8 Carne Beach, Roseland Peninsula
This uncommercialised beach is near St Mawes on the atmospheric and remote Roseland Peninsula. There’s a large expanse of sand and shingle and it’s generally safe for swimming, though there’s a large swell at times. There are two nearby Caravan Club sites: Carnon Downs is six miles away, but the immaculately maintained Merrose Farm is less than two miles from the beach. Carne is next to Pendower Beach, a mile-long stretch of sand that’s popular with families and the two beaches join together at low tide. The area is studded with woodland, creeks and quiet coves, making it an ideal location for an old-fashioned beach holiday. Carne is on the Cornish Way Cycle Route too. Park at the National Trust Car Park at Carne, with toilets, TR2 5PF.

9 Seaton Beach
A pretty, dog-friendly beach not far from Looe, with a greyish mix of sand and shingle. It’s notable for having a really special beach café offering fresh local produce and anything from breakfast to evening meals. Close by, the Seaton Valley Countryside Park has cycleways and woodland walks. It’s even possible to see an otter or a kingfisher there. For those reasons we’ve included it as a great family beach, even though there are unpredictable currents and no lifeguard service. For very young swimmers we’d suggest East Looe Beach, reserving Seaton for days when it’s more about exploring and escaping the crowds. Parking is limited to road parking next to the beach, and two small car parks in Seaton village.

10 Hannafore Beach, Looe
The Looe area has some lovely beaches and East Looe is one of the most popular beaches in Cornwall. But the water quality over the last few years has varied. For that reason we’d like to draw your attention to its quieter little neighbour. Hannafore beach, near West Looe, is only sandy in patches and has no lifeguard, though you can swim there. What it does offer though is some of the best rockpooling in these parts – and Cornwall’s beaches set the bar quite high. As you sit on the grassy banks along Marine Drive you can see right across to Looe Island. Be sure to come here as the tide goes out, to see a rocky reef that has sponges and a variety of crabs in a good mix of habitats. Park at Millpool car park, West Looe SX252537 (PL13 2AF) which has no height or weight restriction but is often full in summer. Polperro has a large pay and display with spaces for campervans.


Want to know about more things to do and see in Cornwall?
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