Portreath Beach is a gently shelving sandy beach on Cornwall’s north coast. The bay has high cliffs and a small working harbour. Portreath means “sandy cove”, and Portreath harbour is steeped in history as it exported copper and imported coal to support the Cornish copper mines and included some shipbuilding.
The beach at low tide is a large, flat sandy beach, but when the tide comes in, the beach is split into two with a small cove to the west and the main area in front of the car park.
Portreath Beach has seasonal dog restrictions, not allowing dogs from 1st July to 31st August between 10 am – 6 pm.
You will not see as many surfers as on other Cornish beaches, but you can get a powerful wave alongside the harbour wall. The beach is a great, safe family beach that is very popular for bodyboarding, and at low tide, you can get some good rock pools to explore besides the harbour wall.
You can also find some low-tide tidal pools. The largest is to the east beside the harbour wall, but on the west side of the beach, you should search for the six small baths cut into the rocks, created in the 19th Century for Lady Frances Bassett.
Facilities at Portreath Beach include car parking, toilets, ramp access, seasonal lifeguards, a beach cafe, pubs, and shops, including surf hire and the Portreath Surf Life Saving Club.
