Places to Visit

Beaches Near Trevassack

Trevassack Holidays is on The Lizard peninsula, one of the prettiest places in Cornwall surrounded on three sides by sea. With so much coastline you’ll never visit all the beaches in one holiday so we’ve picked out our top ten to tick off your bucket list. Explore the local area, have a Cornish cream tea and pick out an itinerary of things to do at our activity centre – you’ll have a holiday to remember here in Cornwall.

We’ve many beautiful beaches suitable for those with limited mobility but we’ve picked out our top ten beaches with disabled access and they’re all a short drive:

10 minutes – sit on the sand and enjoy the famous food and drink of Poldhu’s namesake café, walk the dog between the two sandy coves at Kennack Sands or be inspired at Gunwalloe Church Cove, a National Trust beach split in two by a stream but made magical by the medieval church sat just above your buckets and spades!

15 minutes – watch sunsets at Mullion Cove harbour or head to the opposite coast to the shores of Gillan Creek where fishing boats perch at St Anthony-in-Meneage beach.

20 minutes – all the ‘Ports’! Pilchards at Porthallow, quarry silos at Porthoustock and diving at Porthkerris where the Divers Beach Café is waiting. And from all three many an adventurer seeks the shipwrecks a mile off shore where the infamous Manacles Reef claims many a vessel.

Under 30 minutes – along the west coast of Cornwall are Praa Sands, a favourite for families with its waterside café and long flat beach and further still, Marazion Beach, famous for the castle on The Mount seemingly floating in the bay.

10 minutes' drive:

Poldhu Cove

Poldhu is popular with holidaymakers and locals alike; tucked between two cliffs it is sheltered and has plenty of facilities to make a day of it.

There is a council-run car park just behind this National Trust beach, and a fantastic beach hut cafe with outdoor seating on the sand that serves hot snacks and instagram-worthy hot chocolates. They’re that good, Poldhu has its own brand of merchandise and stays open practically all year round.

A small surf school operates through the summer, donating £1 from each booking to NT work in the area.

Dogs are not allowed from 1 July to 31 August, 10am-6pm, but you can still walk them on the footpaths around the beach and along the coast path to Mullion, for example.

 

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Kennack Sands

Head south and you’ll find a rocky, sandy, interesting beach popular with surfers thanks to its decent waves and shallow shelving. There are actually two beaches here to explore, separated by a small (but steep) headland, the second beach being a nature reserve so please leave it better than you found it.

It’s also a beach popular with families thanks to the nearby holiday park so is well served by the car park and cafe. There is interesting geology with two coves and old shipwrecks to explore – speak to Kennack Diving for safe scuba expeditions.

Lifeguards keep things in check from mid May to September and dogs are welcome except during July and August (10am – 6pm).

Gunwalloe Church Cove

A fascinating and unique beach made glorious by the little church set practically on the sand. It’s National Trust owned so the car park is free for members and a short level walk takes you past pebbly Dollar Cove to the sands of Church Cove.

St Wynwallow Church makes for a great backdrop in family photos and there are some nice rocks to set up camp around for less sand in your sarnies. Who knows, you may even spot Ross Poldark!

There are no facilities here, so you will need to pack a picnic and dogs are welcome except for July and August, when the lifeguards are on hand to keep everyone safe.

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15 minutes' drive:

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Mullion Cove

A picturesque harbour where on calm days, the water within the walls makes for perfect wild swimming. 

It’s just under a 2 mile walk along the coastpath from Poldhu or you can park up the road in the car park and walk down the slope to the fishing boats, tiny shore and steep paths up to incredible clifftop views.

It’s a good place to stop for lunch on a coast path walk, but don’t try to drive down into it as there is no where sensible to even sit in your car and have a pasty snack.

Dogs are welcome all year round but there are no lifeguards so please don’t get too close when the weather is inclement.

Gillan Creek

It feels privately-owned, secluded, like you’ve just wandered into an exclusive hamlet and by all accounts you have as there is very little public parking, keeping the crowds at bay. But if you do bag a spot on the roadside, it’s a delightful creekside beach with a church backdrop and a feeling of rolling your trousers up and paddling while trigging for cockles. 

Quiet, sheltered and eclectic, it’s surrounded by trees giving it a lush vibe and you can paddle across the creek at low tide (please be mindful of tide times or get the ferry) to reach St Anthony-in-Meneage. Sailaway provides a ferry service on demand across the creek.

Bring your crab nets, binoculars and a picnic – there are few facilities in this hamlet, so it’s probably best as a stop along the coast path (check routes carefully as there are several diversions in place).

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Coverack

Coverack is a popular holiday destination – for good reason. It has a good sweep of beach with a level road all around, although the car parks are a little up the hill. There is a great pub down by the harbour wall, fish and chips and several little shops, everything you need to spend a day here.

Interestingly it is also one of only a few places on Earth where you can ‘journey to the centre of the earth’ – sort of. The Earth’s Crust, Mantle and boundary between the two are visible along the fossilised ‘Moho’ layer, where visitors will unknowingly sit and eat an icecream on a 380 million year old Mohorovicic Discontinuity…

There’s an active community holding several events throughout the year but it’s a picturesque place to visit any time of year with thatched roof cottages, fishing boats and little chapel.

20 minutes' drive:

Porthallow

A small fishing village with remnants of pilchard industry, the beach is mostly shale with some sand and plenty of pretty fishing boats docked up off the water. The car park is close to the shore and there are toilets as well as a small quirky cafe.

It’s an unusual sight to see fishing boats pulled up on the frontage of a pub, but this pretty thatched building is named the Three Pilchards Inn for good reason.

The beach itself is actually owned by the residents so please be respectful of their rules and way of life when visiting, either on a day trip or as part of your journey along the coast path.

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Porthoustock

Thankfully the car park is right on the beach as the drive down to this little cove is very steep – but once there, it’s quite level. A few houses are dotted back from the shore and there’s a small play park and often a food van in among the boats in the boatyard.

The most obvious feature of this beach is the strange square concrete formation to the left hand side – left over from the quarrying days of this area, but makes for fun explorations and quirky photos. You can walk over the top of it if you follow the coast path up and out (but follow the path inland else you’ll end up at a private farm).

The beach itself is shingly but usually quiet as it’s quite private so a nice place for a picnic and paddle rather than buckets and spades. There’s also a plethora of flora and fauna to spot. Fun fact – it’s the halfway point of the full South West Coast Path!

Porthkerris

This formerly industrial beach is on a small headland and only really accessible by road, so a bit of a deadend for those who like to walk along the coastpath. However, dogs are allowed all year, there is a car park and most importantly, the diving school.

Porthkerris Divers can take you out among the shipwrecks and fascinating underwater world around this part of the coastline and it’s a magical experience. Otherwise you can spot abundant wildlife safely from the shore and explore the leftovers from the local quarry spoils – including the abandoned secret torpedo testing centre!.To get around to Porthoustock etc, you have to walk inland – not so bad when it takes you past the Fat Apples Cafe at Porthallow.

Under 30 minutes' drive:

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Praa Sands

There are three car parks at this long, family-friendly beach, the closest one (technically three small car parks situated together!) at the end has ramped access to the sand and is next to Sandbar restaurant, which is wheelchair friendly and has lovely big picture windows overlooking the beach.

The concrete ramp to the beach is quite steep and the sand fairly soft so you would need a decent beach wheelchair if you want access to the sand for the physically disabled, but people do manage. It’s a lovely place to go, with an accessible outside deck at Sandbar to watch the goings-on below if you don’t want to traverse the beach itself.

There is also a shop and a couple of small eateries up away from the beach near the main Penzance road on the way in/out. 

Mount's Bay

Home to the famous St Micheal’s Mount, this is a stunning, fairytale bay with a cobbled walkway to the Mount itself (we don’t consider the mount to be accessible) – but watch the tide! The beach is massive and flat, with fairly solid sand that you may be able to use a wheelchair on, but we’ve mainly included this one for the fantastic accessible sand-side walkway that takes you from Marazion all along the seafront, along Penzance promenade to Newlyn. 

The Council have funded a sculpture trail along the level concrete walkway and in Penzance there are often classic car meets on the front. It’s a really beautiful section of coastline that is nice and flat, with seaside townscapes to explore with the backdrop of the ocean. However, during peak season, parking can be tricky at Marazion, Penzance and Newlyn.

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