Great Western Beach

Great Western sits right in the heart of Newquay, a sandy cove tucked beneath high cliffs between its better-known neighbours Towan and Tolcarne. Despite being only a few minutes from the town's shops and harbour, it has a slightly tucked-away feel, reached down from the clifftop and sheltered to either side by headlands. The cliffs that frame it give the beach its own pocket of sand, busy in high summer yet easy to reach for a quick swim or an evening by the sea.

The shape of the day here is set by the tide. At high water Great Western is a compact crescent, but as the sea draws back it opens out and joins with Towan and Tolcarne to form one continuous expanse of golden sand, so you can wander the whole town shoreline without leaving the beach. Low tide also uncovers caves and rock pools at the base of the cliffs, the kind of nooks that reward a slow afternoon of poking about.

Facing the Atlantic, Great Western catches the same dependable swell that turned Newquay into Britain's surfing capital, though here it tends to arrive gentler than on the bigger exposed beaches, which suits learners and bodyboarders as well as more confident surfers. It makes an easy, central base for a day on the coast, with the rest of Newquay only a short stroll away.