Fabulous beaches in Cornwall

Fistral is probably one of the most well known beaches with surf competitions, seaside pub/restaurant and walkable distance into the Newquay town. Fistral however is one of those beaches that everybody knows about, and unless you go there in the winter it will be crowded, so if you don't like a crowded beach fistral definitely isn't for you. For the hardcore surfers, Newquay is also home to the cribbar - intense!

Dogs: Allowed outside the months of Easter - October
Tourism Factor: 10 - Extremely busy in summer months
Surf Factor: 10 - Best beach in Britain for one main reason!

Perranporth is a fantastic beach in a fantastic location, within short walking distance from the town which features many "touristy" shops (typical fudge, ice cream, beach goods shops) alongside many Cafés and Perranporth has ample parking. Surfing isn't fantastic here but it is far from as busy as most beaches which should allow for plenty of room to relax with the family but also enjoy the various rock pools and man made swimming pool carved into the rock.

Dogs: Allowed
Tourism Factor: 4 - Tourism facilities but never as busy as elsewhere
Surf Factor: 5 - Fairly flat at times, but can be a nice place for the novice surfer to go

My personal favourite beach, Gwithian and Godrevy are two fantastic beaches that are along the same strip of coastline stretching for well over a mile. Be aware though, when the tide is in, there is very little beach left and it is far from sandy and more pebble laden beach at that point. During the peak summer months, the beach can get busy (albeit no where near as bad as Fistral but busy all the same). For surfing, the far east of the Godrevy beach has a dangerous rip tide that can be devastating to the novice surfer but other than that at mid-tide the beach is a fantastic surf spot with waves reaching 6-8 ft at times! This beach offers waves for types of surfer with surf schools available all summer long for novice surfers along with a challenge for the more adventurous surfer.

Dogs: Allowed
Tourism Factor: 7 - Busy but not overly busy in summer months
Surf Factor: 8 - Great beach which doesn't get overly crowded with surfers either.

There are plenty of places to stay in Cornwall, a great place to find Holiday Cottages is Classic Cottages, we used their Cornwall Guide website for inspiration and some information.