Porthgwidden beach is a small sandy sheltered beach to the north of St Ives harbour. The beach is backed by grass slopes and beach huts and as well as the sand you have some interesting rocks to explore.
The beach is positioned within the town between the bigger St. Ives beaches and more visitors tend to head to these bigger neighbours of Porthmeor or Porthminster beaches.
Plenty of facilities as this is in the heart of St. Ives although parking can be a problem.
Porthgwidden beach does not allow dogs between 1st May and 1st October.
Water samples are taken at regular intervals during the bathing season and at the end of the season the water quality is classified as:
Excellent: the highest classification meaning the water is cleanest
Good: generally good water quality
Sufficient: meets minimum standards
Poor: You are advised not to swim. The beach will stay open and an action plan should be in place to improve the water quality.
Our weather forecast for Penwith Peninsula in Cornwall
Weather forecast from Yr, delivered by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and NRK
Tides
Our tide forecast for Porthgwidden Beach in Cornwall.
In this 'you may also like' section we attempt to answer what else can I do? Here you have a list by order of being the closest some more beaches, things to see and do, places to eat and upcoming events.
The festival runs for three days at Porthminster beach in St Ives. Activities include: fantastic demonstrations from nationally renowned celebrity chefs artisan traders with high-quality food and drink music performances children’s play area water sports activities Read more…
Porthmeor Cove beach is a small sheltered cove with a combination of sand, pebbles and rocks. Not to be confused with the larger sandy Porthmeor beach in St. Ives town. No facilities, access from the coastal path. We have no dog information for Porthmeor Cove beach. Read more…
The Telegraph Museum tells the story of how submarine cables from Porthcurno beach connected all corners of the world. The Telegraph Museum along with a large collection also includes the only complete working telegraph station left in the world. Visitors can explore: Eastern House, home to the World’s biggest telegraph station from the turn of the 20th Century. Grade II listed Cable Read more…
Trenow Cove beach is made up of sand and rocks and the beach lies between Perranuthnoe and St Michaels Mount. None, nearest facilities in either Perranuthnoe and Marazion. We have no dog information for Trenow Cove beach. Read more…
The Towans refers to a 4 mile stretch of beach and each individual area of the dunes behind the beach have their own identities. The individual areas include: Hayle Towans, Black Cliff, Riviere Towans, Mexico Towans, Common Towans, Phillack Towans, Upton Towans and Gwithian Towans. The Towans mix of sand, sand dune and grassland has a wide variety of wildlife Read more…
Treen Cove (Gurnards Head) has excellent scenery and a lot of history: the site of a Cornish Iron Age fort, tin mine and pilchard works. Not an area for family beaches but very interesting for walkers. Parking available and a nearby pub. Read more…
Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens is a beautiful sheltered valley near Penzance, surrounded by woods, streams and dramatic 22-acre exotic and sub-tropical garden. The gardens provide the perfect backdrop to art, with internationally renowned artists creating permanent works, all harmonising with their garden setting. Facilities include a cafe, design shop, toilets, car parking and well-behaved dogs are welcome on a lead throughout Read more…
Tater Du Lighthouse was built by Trinity House in 1965 as an automatic installation. It marks a headland on the south Cornwall coast to the west of Penzance. A red sector light warns shipping of the Runnelstone Rocks. Read more…
This is a great example of an art deco lido. The Lido was designed in the 1930s and in February 2014 it was severely damaged by storms and was re-opened in May 2016 after refurbishment. Read more…
Perran Sands or Perranuthnoe beach is a flat beach with sand except at high tide when it all the beach disappears leaving a few pebbles. Good surfing beach and boasts a reef break along with the beach break. Perranuthnoe has remained undeveloped, with car park, one pub, an art and craft centre and a small cafe catering for beachgoers. Read more…
The Gwithian Academy of Surfing’s surf school and shop are situated at Gwithian which is the Northernmost point of the lonh Hayle beach in St Ives Bay. Read more…
North Cliffs beach, or Deadmans Cove is a pebble beach although you will get some sand as the tide goes out. A couple of small car parks but nothing else. Read more…
Good small town beach.
An ideal small beach in the beautiful Cornish town of St. Ives. Smaller than some of the other St Ives beaches but we found it nicer as you don’t get the emphasis on surfing as it is more sheltered.
Porthgwidden beach does not allow dogs between 1st May and 1st October.
1 Review on “Porthgwidden Beach, Cornwall”
Good small town beach.
An ideal small beach in the beautiful Cornish town of St. Ives. Smaller than some of the other St Ives beaches but we found it nicer as you don’t get the emphasis on surfing as it is more sheltered.