With nearly 700 kilometers coastline and more than 400 beautiful beaches, it is little surprise that Cornwall is considered to be one of the top diving destinations in the UK. The waters of Cornwall are rich in marine life and offer numerous shipwrecks to discover. So if you are interested in discovering final resting places of some ships or you want to see such sea creature as dolphins, common seals, pollacks, lings, bibs, red mullets, dogfishes, cuttlefishes, deadmen’s fingers, redmen’s fingers, seafans, and many more, learning about diving beaches in Cornwall is good thing to do.
There are plenty of places to dive in Cornwall but when it comes to beaches, main include Maenporth beach, Penhale Sands beach in Perranporth, Towan Newquay beach, Charlestown beach, Cadgwith Cove beach, Gyllyngvase beach, Lamorna Cove beach, Perranporth beach, Pendower beach, Poldhu Cove beach, Tolcarne Newquay beach, Pendower – Carne beach, Crooklets Bude beach and Lusty Glaze beach. Now let us learn more about 5 of them.
Cadgwith Cove beach – Cadgwith
Cadgwith Cove beach is situated in at the end of the little valley that accommodates the Cadgwith village. Waters of this small shingle beach are full of marine life and that is why you can always see a small fleet of crabbing boats winched up in front of the boathouses.
The beach is easily accessible and there is a large car park situated just a few minutes up the road from the beach. If you get hungry, there is a lovely cafe nearby the beach where you can order some snacks or refreshments.
A little further south there is also a smaller and less accessible beach. If you head to the south along the coast path, you can enjoy the beauty if the 200-foot deep hole in the cliffs known as Devil’s Frying Pan. The hole was formed sue to collapse of a cave many years ago. Also, divers will be happy to learn that there are several well-known shipwrecks located nearby.
Penhale Sands beach – Newquay
Penhale Sands beach is one of those beaches on the north coast of Cornwall that offer a plenty of golden sands to enjoy and a lot of space free from crowds of tourists. Despite this beach is set in front of a couple of large holiday parks, it rarely gets busy. That is probably why the beach is popular among naturists.
What is more, the beach is considered to be a part of a Special Area of Conservation, so if you are looking for a place to relax and get closer to the unspoiled nature – Penhale Sands beach is a good choice.
There are four main attractions. First of all, the beach is very popular among divers as it offers rich marine life to discover. The second attraction is excellent surfing conditions. The beach picks up even more swell than the neighboring Perranporth. What is more, water activities are safe here due to the lifeguard cover provided daily from 19 May to 30 September. The third attraction is the ruins of St Piran’s Oratory and the fourth one is the system if sand dunes – the most diverse in Cornwall. There is the South West Coastal Path that runs through these dunes, so you can spend some pleasant time discovering the area.
Poldhu Cove beach – The Lizard
Poldhu Cove, also known as Black Pool Cove, is a wonderful beach owned and looked after by the National Trust. Thanks to the work of the National Trust members, the cove has a rich marine life, so diving here is really amazing. What is more, this lovely west-facing sandy beach is suitable for lots of other activities, including the exploration of rock pools that appear when the low tide is in power and such fun activity as playing volleyball. As the beach offers a lot of golden sand, it is also a great place for building sand castles.
The beach is easily accessible from the car park across the road. There is also a designated area where you can enjoy such great watersports as surfing and windsurfing. The best place for swimming, as well as the area for surfing and windsurfing, is situated a few hundred meters along the southern cliff known as Angrouse Cliff.
Tolcarne beach – Newquay
Tolcarne beach is one of those beaches in Cornwall that that offers a plenty of fun activities, including swimming, surfing, sea fishing and even boogie boarding. When it is alow tide, this sandy beach opens a lot of rock pools to explore. What is more, there is a diving pool where you can get closer to marine life. You can enjoy a session for scuba dive offered on the beach.
The beach itself is nestled in a charming crescent-shaped bay set against beautiful cliffs. When it is a low tide, the beach joins up with two neighboring beautiful beaches: Great Western beach and Lusty Glaze beach.
There are some lovely beach huts available for daily rent. Also, there is a shop on the beach where you find everything you need for a perfect holiday, starting from wetsuits to sun creams. You can even rent a surf or body board and take a surf lesson at the surf schools situated right on the beach. If you get hungry, there is an award-winning Venus cafe where you can try some local and organically produced food and drink.
Maenporth beach – Falmouth
Maenporth beach is a beautiful sandy cove situated just two miles from Falmouth town center. The beach offers great views of Falmouth Bay and Pendennis Castle, and plenty of entertainment for every taste. It is a great place to enjoy sunbathing, walking, rockpooling, fishing, boating and, of course, diving.
There is a cafe on the neighboring Swanpool Beach. Also, there are some more activities offered by Swanpool beach. It is a great place for kayaking, sailing and scuba diving.
