Porthgwidden Beach (Cornwall)

Information
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.
Why not check other beaches nearby as we have no beaches around Penwith Peninsula, 215 beaches in Cornwall, or check our list of Cornwall Dog Friendly Beaches.
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Beach Water Quality
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.
Tides
7 Day Weather Forecast
Our weather forecast for Penwith Peninsula in Cornwall is split into two widgets. The first shows a timeline containing temperature, wind, sunrise/sunset and chance of rain, whilst the second shows the forecast for the week ahead including severe weather alerts when available.
You may also like ...
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.
- St Ives Food and Drink Festival
  0.94 km
  
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  10th May 2019
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  12th May 2019
  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
- Porthgwidden Beach Chalet Hire
  0.05 km
  
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  Porthgwidden Beach currently has 39 chalets which are available to hire on a weekly or seasonal basis. Located on the beach with views out over St.Ives bay towards Godrevy Lighthouse and Hayle beaches. Porthgwidden Beach is in the heart of St. Ives with access to all of the towns shops and places to eat.
- Bamaluz Beach
  0.14 km
  
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  Bamaluz beach is a small sandy beach with large boulders that all but disappears at high tide. Within St Ives this is the beach for allowing dogs and so is typically used exclusively by dog owners. The beach itself is situated just north of the harbour wall and bellow St Ives Museum. You have car parking and facilities within St Ives and access to the beach is down some steep steps.
- St Ives Harbour Beach
  0.33 km
  
  2 Reviews
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  St Ives Harbour is a working harbour but as the tide goes out you have a small beach protected by the harbour walls and within the heart of St Ives. A very busy area with restaurants and pubs but also you can hire boats and take seal trips from here. All the facilities of St Ives including car parks, boat hire, boat trips, amusements, shops, pubs and restaurants. Car parking is bad in St Ives and it is recommended to park and take the train.
- Porthmeor Beach
  0.5 km
  
  1 Review
  Favorite
  Porthmeor beach is perfect for families, as the beach sits in the town of St Ives and is overlooked by the Tate St Ives. The beach has good sand at the top and then a slope at high water mark takes you to a large expanse of flat compact sand. Surf school is located on the beach. This beach has a cafe and restaurant, toilets, seasonal lifeguards and access to St. Ives town. In the summer it can be very hard to park in St. Ives.
- St Ives lifeboat station
  0.55 km
  
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  St Ives has had a lifeboat since the 1830s and the station today currently operates two lifeboats. Station and shop open weekdays in the summer.
- Porthminster Beach
  0.82 km
  
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  Porthminster beach is in the town of St Ives and sits just below the railway station. Excellent for people who want to swim and spend time on the beach whilst also having easy access to all the facilities available within St Ives.
- Porthminster Cafe
  1.01 km
  
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  Porthminster Cafe is located on one of St Ives best beaches with great views over St Ives Bay towards Godrevy Lighthouse. The café is open daily for breakfast, lunch, dinner or you can stop by for a selection of homemade patisserie and fine coffees.
- Carbis Bay Beach
  2.18 km
  
  1 Review
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  Carbis Bay is a sandy beach about a mile east of St Ives and a resort in its own right. Very safe bathing due to sheltered aspect and calm sea. Also ideal for windsurfing and water-skiing. All facilities close to the beach, although a small car park and lifeguards during the summer.
- St Ives Bay Beach
  2.51 km
  
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  St Ives Bay has two main areas. The town beaches on the St Ives side of the estuary and then the long beach on the Hayle side of the estuary. The Hayle side has 3 miles of sandy beach backed by sand dunes (“Towans”) and cliffs. The beach stretches from St Ives estuary up to Godrevy beach, just off the point you will see the Godrevy lighthouse built in 1859. This whole bay provides a wide range of activities including relaxing on a quite stretch, rock pools, canoeing, fishing, surfing and kitesurfing. As the beach area is so large plenty of room for everyone. When you have finished on the beach move up to St Ives town and browse around the Tate gallery. This is really an ideal spot to base a Cornish seaside holiday!
- Porthkidney Sands Beach
  3.27 km
  
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  Porthkidney is a sheltered beach with about 600m of golden sand and sand dunes, the dunes are also known as Lelant Towans. The beach is separated from Hayle beach by a narrow strip of water. Excellent beach for swimming and becomes a surfers beach in the winter as its sheltered location helps to keep the surf up when other more exposed beaches loose wave height. Bathing anywhere near the river estuary is very dangerous as the currents can be extremely strong, safe swimming area is marked. Seasonal lifeguard and close to all the facilities in St Ives itself. We have no dog information for Porthkidney Sands beach.
- Hayle Estuary Kitesurfing zone
  3.59 km
  
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  You need to buy and display a permit to kitesurf in the estuary zone. The area is administered by the Hayle Harbour Authority and a strict code of conduct must be adhered to.
- The Towans Beach
  3.85 km
  
  1 Review
  Favorite
  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 and plants and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Some dunes rise to more than 50 metres (160 ft) above sea level. A wide section of places to park along this Hayle stretch of St. Ives bay. Dog restrictions: this is one long beach but each section has different dog rules, please check the signs at the point you enter.
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What do others think ...
1 Review on “Porthgwidden Beach (Cornwall)”
- Anonymous
  
  4 years ago
  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.
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