Porthoustock beach is a pebble beach surrounded by old quarries. This is not so picturesque as other Cornish coves.
The beach is popular launching beach for divers as Porthoustock’s proximity to The Manacles, a set of treacherous rocks by Manacle Point means that it has lots of shipwrecks.
Limited facilities.
Porthoustock Beach is dog friendly and allows dogs all year.
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 The Lizard in Cornwall
Weather forecast from Yr, delivered by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and NRK
Tides
Our tide forecast for Porthoustock 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.
Coverack has a beautiful seaside location and is another attractive Lizard village that grew up round smuggling and fishing. Protected by a tiny harbour wall built of local materials hundreds of years ago, and moors enclose the opposite side. Everything within the village. We have no dog information for Coverack beach. Read more…
Portbeer Cove is a small sandy and rocky cove, although the sand disappears at high tide. The beach sits to the side of Chynhalls Point and is a popular beach for snorkelling. There are no facilities, best access is to park at Coverack and take a walk along the coastal path. Dogs allowed. Read more…
Lizard Lighthouse is a landfall and coastal mark giving a guide to vessels in passage along the English Channel and warning of the hazardous waters off Lizard Point. Many stories are told of the activities of wreckers around our coasts, most of which are grossly exaggerated, but small communities occasionally and sometimes officially benefited from the spoils of shipwrecks, and Read more…
Mullion Cove Harbour is a working small protected harbour cmpleted in the 1890s. Whilst the village has a wonderful collection of shops, pubs, cafes, restaurants, and art galleries. In the centre of the village, the 15th century church of St Mellanus with its carved oak bench-ends depicting biblical scenes. Read more…
The Lizard lifeboat station is launched from the boathouse down the slipway into the sea. The station features a funicular line to transport lifeboat crews from the boathouse to the clifftop station car park. The lifeboat station was opened here in 1961, the location was chosen because it was sufficiently protected to allow safe launching in all conditions. The old Read more…
Housel Bay is a small sandy cove that disappears at high tide. Visitors need to be careful not to be cut off as the tide comes in! The bay is reached by a walk along the coast path from Lizard Point (approx 20 minutes) and there is a steep climb down to the beach from the coast path. Facilities include Read more…
Polnare Cove is a remote sand/rocky beach situated around the corner from the Nare Point headland below the MOD Observation Post. The path down leads from the old observation post on Nare Point. From this cove, you can explore the rock pools and formations of Nare Point. The beach has no facilities and only accessible by foot. Read more…
Godrevy and Leggan Coves are two beaches separated by Leggan Point. To access Leggan Cove you will need low tide to go around the point from Godrevy. The beach is sandy although does have some shingle and rocky parts. Backed by grass covered shingle banks this is a nice location and rarely busy. No facilities, with the nearest (limited) parking in Read more…
Lankidden Cove is typical of the small coves around The Lizard, with fine sand broken up by smooth boulders and backed by high cliffs. No facilities and to access this beach you will have roughly a 1 mile walk from Kennack Sands. We have no dog information for Lankidden Cove beach. Read more…
Cadgwith Cove is an old world Cornish fishing village with two beach areas. One beach is the home of the village small fleet of crabbing boats winched up on the beach. The second beach is the swimming beach, a small shingle beach with rocks to climb and explore. The boat beach is easily accessible whilst the swimming beach is down Read more…
Loe Bar beach is actually made up of 2 parts; The Loe, which is the largest natural freshwater lake in Cornwall and the Bar, a half mile shingle/flint bank that separates the Loe from the sea. The uniqueness makes this a Designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The sea at this part of the coast is not suitable for swimming, Read more…
Gew Graze beach also known as Soapy Cove after the adjacent soap stone quarry. The beach is stony at high tide but as the tide goes out you then have some great sand interspersed by smooth rocks. This is a classic example of a remote and beautiful Cornish cove, great to get away from everything. No facilities at the beach Read more…