iKnow Cornwall
St Agnes Surfing & Beaches Beach Bars St Agnes Cornwall UK
St Agnes is renowned for it's four stunning beaches which offer a range of water sports including surfing, boating, diving, fishing/angling and hang gliding. With it's cliffs lined with historic mine ruins, plus it's many rock pools, the St Agnes stretch of the North Cornwall coast has an appeal to young and old alike offering a superb beach holiday, or a historic journey into Cornwall's mining history with some superb coastal walking thrown in!
St Agnes has come a long way from it's original small fishing village roots, although it retains it's quiet historic charm. The four beaches include Chapel Porth, Trevellas Porth, Porthtowan and Trevaunance Cove, commonly known as Aggie Beach. Each has it's own individual character with top surfing at Chapel Porth and Porthtowan Beach, rock pools and caves at Trevaunance Cove which is popular with families, and snorkelling and fishing at Trevellas Porth. Something for everyone at St Agnes' choice of beaches. St Agnes is famous for it's glorious sunsets.
St Agnes Surfing Beaches
St Agnes' two great surfing beaches are situated to the west of St Agnes Head facing the Atlantic again head on. Chapel Porth beach looks small at high tide, but low tide reveals a vast expanse of idyllic sandy beach and good surfing conditions with all the usual surfing lessons available. Amenities are good too here, with a large National Trust car park adjacent to the beach, plus a beach cafe which has great views over Chapel Porth.
Chapel Porth car park is equipped with toilets, plus lifeguards operate here on this St Agnes Beach daily from May to October, so watch out and adhere to the flag warnings. Chapel Porth beach is situated about 2 miles from the centre of St Agnes.
Further along the St Agnes coastline is another top surfing beach Porthtowan, which is also well equipped with the popular Blue Bar right on the beach, plus a number of shops. Parking, toilets and a full lifeguard service in peak season are all available here at Porthtowan combined with it's beautiful setting of backed on sand dunes, and picture postcard white sands.
Visitors should note that neither Porthtowan or Chapel Porth beaches are dog friendly. No dogs on either of these beaches, if your pet is accompanying you head for either Trevaunance Cove or Trevellas Porth Beaches, both of which are dog friendly Cornwall beaches!
St Agnes Family Beach
Families visiting the St Agnes area for weekend breaks and holidays tend to head for gentle Trevaunance Cove with it's many rock pools and caves. There's some superb cliff walks easily accessible from Trevaunance Cove too, plus an adjacent car park and toilets. A full lifeguard service operates here at this St Agnes beach during peak season, plus there's some reasonable surfing to be had at times, but a lot calmer than Porthtowan and Chapel Porth, ideal for beginners! Exploring the caves and checking out the many rock pools on Trevaunance will keep the kids occupied for hours!
Trevaunance Cove is also the site of the old St Agnes harbour, which proved a difficult exercise on these steep cliffs. Not much remains of the old harbour, which for a period from the late 18th Century was a key site for copper and tin export was once a bustling industrial scene. It's well worth making a visit to the excellent social history museum in St Agnes which has photos and diagrams of the old harbour.
Trevellas Porth beach is really for those interested in fishing, or activities such as snorkelling. It isn't recommended for swimming as the currents are unpredictable here, and there are no lifeguards present on this beach. It is good for walking with your dog though when the tides out. Both Trevellas Porth Beach and Trevaunance Cove Beach are dog friendly Cornwall beaches!
St Agnes Beach Bars
Blue Bar, Beach Road, East Cliff, Porthtowan, TR4-8AW. Tel: 01209-890329. The Blue Bar is a particularly popular venue, with fantastic views over Porthtowan beach, and fine food and drink.
Schooners Restaurant, Trevaunance Cove, St Agnes, TR5 0RY. Tel: 01872 553149. Situated right on the edge of family favourite St Agnes Beach, Trevaunance Cove, Schooners is popular with visitors and locals alike. Great food in an informal, friendly atmosphere.
