Hayle Accommodation

Hayle Tourist Information Cream Teas Holiday Parks Hayle Cornwall UK

Hayle has an altogether different feel to St Ives, although they have in common their idyllic sandy beaches, and in some ways Hayle has the edge with stunning closer views of Godrevy Lighthouse, plus the beautiful Towan sand dunes which back onto the beach. Hayle is a superb base for a West Cornwall family holiday or weekend break, with a choice of good value accommodation, great beaches and numerous family attractions, including Paradise Animal Park, situated in the area. Hayle has a fascinating history too. It's river estuary made it a prime strategic port base - the Romans made good use of it, and later in the 18th and 19th centuries Hayle was a hub within the Copper and Tin mining industries, with a bustling harbour which has seen a little controversy recently! World Heritage Bid money it seems will soon be pouring into this historic mining town.

Hayle Tourist Information Service, Hayle Library, Commercial Road, Hayle, Cornwall, TR27 4DE. Tel: 01736 754399. Opening times are Early June to mid October, daily from 10am to 5pm. Closed Thur, Sat (From 12:30pm) Sun.

Hayle Beaches & Surfing

Hayle Towans, otherwise known as the Upton Towans beach is still one of the most beautiful beaches on the West Cornwall coast, despite recent controversy over the selling off of sand by harbour companies - which has ceased due to a very effective local resident's campaign (see weblink right). Towans is actually Cornish for dunes, and the sand dunes on Hayle's beach give it a distinctively sublime character. Holiday parks back onto the beach, so it's a good one for all-inclusive family holidays. It's a very safe bathing beach with a glorious expanse of sand, but swimming in the adjacent river estuary is dangerous and visitors should not swim in the estuary. Hayle Towans has lifeguard cover in peak summer season from May to September, 10am to 6pm.

Amenities are excellent, with toilets, parking and a shop and cafe. Hayle Towans is an award winning clean beach too! The area called 'The Site', named after the nearby caravan park, is particularly popular with surfers. Pretty north facing, and extra good for surfing when the wind is southerly, Hayle Towans is best surfed near high tide. No dogs are allowed on Hayle Towans in peak season.

Other nearby surfing favourites include Godrevy and Gwithian beaches just to the north of Hayle. (see the A1 surf report weblink right for Godrevy & Gwithian). Gwithian beach, with it's nearby pretty Gwitian Village, alongside Godrevy is considered one of the best surfing hotspots in Cornwall. Amenities are good here too with a great cafe on the beach, toilets, lifeguard cover from May to September, and plenty of parking available close to the beach. Adjoined Godrevy, with striking view of Godrevy Lighthouse off the coast, is also popular with surfers. Godrevy sits at the northern end of Hayle's 3 mile stretch of golden sandy beach, and gets the full force of Atlantic swell. You can get some pretty epic waves on Godrevy beach when conditions are favourable. Check the A1 surf link for details! Again amenities are good, with cafe, parking, toilets and lifeguard presence during peak season. No dogs are allowed on Godrevy or Gwithian beaches during peak season.

Sunset Surf, 10 Gwithian Towans, Hayle, Cornwall, TR27 5BT. And Sunset Surf, 15 Fore Street, Hayle, Cornwall, TR27 4DX. See Sunset Surf weblink right for details.

Hayle History & World Heritage Bid Cornwall

Hayle, from the Celtic Heyl, reveals evidence of settlement stretching back to the Bronze Age, particularly around the estuary. It is, however, through the 1800s that Hayle peaked as a mining port centre and briefly even a stannery town, taking over from Helston. Currently Hayle is at the centre of a World Heritage Bid for the preservation of Cornwall's mining industry, and many residence are awaiting still news of regeneration of Hayle Harbour, which has changed hands a few times since the early 1980s, with some companies perniciously selling off sand from Hayle's beautiful beach and sand dunes. (see SOS Hayle Campaign weblink to the right).

Hayle has a fascinating industrial history, some of the world's best beam engines originated from here - made by paternalistic Harveys & Co who forced their employees to buy their products and had somewhat of a monopoly in Hayle for a spell, and mining names and companies such as Harveys, Richard Trevithick, the Cornish Copper Company and historic work to the estuary and harbour as well as the Hayle-Redruth Railway built in 1837 are all of important industrial history interest. Alongside this heritage Hayle is an area with features of outstanding natural beauty, including the already mentioned sandy beach and the Towans Sand dunes, the estuary which still attracts numerous birds and idyllic off-shore lighthouse Godrevy. It's future, like many other sites of environmental and industrial heritage importance is precarious and subject to a lottery of funding.

Today Hayle has maintained it's reputation as a great base for a family holiday, with many caravan parks in the area, a good beach and a scattering of local theme parks and attractions. Residents who have campaigned against destruction of their beach are awaiting news on Harbour regeneration. Check the Hayle Eye and SOS Hayle web links right for more details.

Paradise Park, Hayle Family Fun

Cornwall's top award winning wildlife park is situated in the Hayle area - good news for families looking for an all round fun day out, and a change from the beach and caravan parks at Hayle. What started as a tropical bird garden in 1973 has grown to include numerous other animal related attractions including the kids favourite - hands on fun Farm, plus numerous tropical plants in the Victorian walled garden, a new Jungle Barn indoor kids play area, and what's more this wildlife park has made an important contribution to bird conservation and considerable breeding of rare birds takes place here. The park combines both family fun, learning and interaction well with conservation.

Paradise Park has been chosen twice as Cornwall's number 1 family attraction, and you can see why. The Park is mammoth offering a choice of activities including free flying bird shows, mini train rides on the Jungle Express, penguins and otters and watch out for the Clough, Cornwall's emblem bird. There's a plant shop, real ale pub and cafe/restaurants all on-site. The new Jungle Barn indoor play area is perfect for the tots on rainy days, and check out the furry friends at the fun farm.

For more information see the Paradise Park website to the right. Open daily from 10am.

Paradise Park, 16 Trelissick Road, Hayle, Cornwall TR27 4HB. Tel info line/24 hours: 01736 751020, or 01736 753365.

Birdwatching around the Hayle Estuary

The Hayle Estuary is a popular site with birdwatchers - it never freezes so is an important resting place in the Winter for ducks, including widgeons, teals and shelducks. Large numbers of waders and seabirds frequent Hayle Estuary too, offering all year round birdwatching opportunities. There is an RSPB Nature Reserve located on the estuary (see weblink right).

You could be in for some treats here, with Pied-billed Grebe having been spotted regularly around Hayle Harbour and towards the eastern end of Hayle at Copperhouse Creek long-staying adult Ring-billed Gulls can be seen. Other birdwatching sites of interest include the seabirds around Godrevy Lighthouse and Godrevy Head, nearby St Ives and Gwithian. All are easily accessed off the A30.

RSPB Nature Reserve Hayle, Cornwall. Tel: 01736 711682 (9 am - 5 pm). Grid reference: SW550370. Also, check with Hayle Tourist Information Centre for more information on birdwatching in the area.

Godrevy Lighthouse

Edward Hopper would have had a field day with Cornwall lighthouses - unfortunately he never popped over to Cornwall. Godrevy Lighthouse is certainly one of Cornwall's most attractive lighthouses, and made famous by Virginia Woolf and her novel 'The Lighthouse'. The lighthouse in question is Godrevy. The Godrevy area, including the headland, lighthouse and northern end of the Towans dunes is a renowned area for wildlife, particularly birds. Take the picture postcard coastal paths along the Godrevy Headland to view a variety of birds including Cormorants, Razorbills and Oyster catchers. Your likely to see a few grey seals too!

At the headland point there's also a Bronze Age burial mound, and you can expect to see nesting Stonechants and grayling butterflies. One of West Cornwall's true beauty spots indeed, with some of the best coastal walking to be had in Cornwall! Moving across to Godrevy Island and Lighthouse, a choice of birds make their home here including Gulls, oyster-catchers and pipits. Godrevy Lighthouse was built finally in 1859 (designed by James Walker) after local residents petitioned Trinity House, incensed by the enormous loss of life from ships coming a cropper on Godrevy, including the horrendous shipwreck of the 700-ton steamer ""The Nile"" in 1854 which lost all hands. The large number of shipwrecks is evident in the use of ship timber in many of the buildings in nearby village Gwithian!

What you can't see is the dangerous reef called the Stone which extends out from Godrevy Island. The lighthouse was modernised in 1995, and today it's automatic and solar powered, with no lighthouse keepers.

For more information on Godrevy Lighthouse check out Antony Charles Thomas' Book ""To the lighthouse' (extracts linked right) and the Trinity House weblink.

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