Porth Beach

Porth occupies a narrow, steep-sided inlet on the edge of Newquay, where headlands close in on either side to give the beach an unusually sheltered feel for this exposed stretch of north coast. The tide makes a dramatic difference here: at high water the sand all but disappears, while a long ebb reveals a generous sweep of flat golden beach that is gentle underfoot and easy for young families to enjoy.

The headland to the east, Porth Island, is the beach's great curiosity. Reached by a slender footbridge, this grassy promontory, also known as Trevelgue Head, carries one of Cornwall's finest ancient monuments: an Iron Age promontory fort defended by a series of ramparts, alongside Bronze Age burial mounds and traces of early metalworking. Near its tip a blowhole comes to life around half-tide, forcing spray and a deep rumble up through the rock on a swell.