The scary stories about Sandymouth didn’t stop us from exploring one of Cornwall’s best-kept secrets
Emily is a senior NCTJ-trained journalist for BirminghamLive and CityLife, covering travel, reviews, features, food and drink, shopping and fashion and beauty. She was previously a news reporter, covering community news in south Birmingham and Solihull. Emily can be contacted about stories and reviews at emily.chaplin@reachplc.com.
There’s apparently more than 300 beaches in Cornwall. Call me a rebel, but the beach I was most excited to visit during my first ever trip to the Cornish coast was one tourists are warned to avoid. Sandymouth Bay is a National Trust-managed beach, tucked away behind winding roads and sheep-grazing hills. It’s only a 15 minute drive from Bude, which is where we were staying on our recent staycation.
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The unspoiled stretch of rock and sand is usually quieter than Bude’s main beaches, possibly because of the notoriously-steep walk from the car park down to the sand, which puts some people off from visiting. When we arrived mid-morning, the close-to-empty car park had me slightly worried we’d been too quick to dismiss the accessibility warnings from other visitors online, but the stunningly-rugged setting convinced us to pay for parking and explore some more.
We headed down the rocky path, past the quaint stone hut that houses the beach cafe. Alternative routes veered off up grassy hills and disappeared. Not long later, we were met with a red ‘take care’ sign, warning about the steep steps down to the beach, caused by big tides and swells moving the rocks, it said, but the conditions really weren’t as bad as we’d expected. I didn’t have much difficulty getting down the steps in my sandals, put it that way, but I could see how those with limited mobility might struggle. As a landlocked Brummie deprived of salt air, it doesn’t take much more than a patch of sand, a sea view and somewhere to buy an ice cream for a beach to impress me, but this one had to be one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen. The towering cliffs were broken up by miniature waterfalls, which came trickling down into rock pools and formed spindly streams in the sand. There isn’t much beach when the tide is high, but we quickly found a quiet spot where the sand cut deeper into the cliff to set up our towels.
The place was so peaceful, it felt otherworldly. There were no arcades, donkey rides or donut vans – it isn’t that kind of beach – just solitude and calm.
We effortlessly wiled away a few hours, reading our books, swimming in the sea (which had noticeably less seaweed in the shallows than other beaches we visited) and snoozing in the sun while listening to the waves crashing and waterfalls trickling. By lunchtime, the beach was somewhat busier, but nowhere near crowded, and the tide higher. We had to paddle our way back round to the steps. I’ve found National Trust cafes to be hit and miss in the past, but lunch at Sandymouth Cafe exceeded our expectations and the view from the outdoor seating area was spectacular.
The pasties were as good as any we tried during our trip and the food in general was reasonably-priced.
We had an ice cream and a chocolate tiffin for afters, but we could have had a sandwich, jacket potato or burger instead, or a full English had we got there earlier. There were free-to-use toilets here too.
We didn’t catch the beach at low tide, but we read that it reveals a full mile of golden sands.
Visitors can take the two-mile route to Crooklets Beach at this time of day. Sandymouth is also a hit with surfers and wildswimmers.
It felt like we’d discovered a hidden gem. What were the chances of finding a beach that stunning, free from tourist crowds on a sunny day in July?
I couldn’t help but wonder if the scary stories online about those ‘treacherous’ steps might be the work of protective locals, hoping to keep the beauty of Sandymouth to themselves.
Either way, it has to be one of Cornwall’s best kept secrets… but it might not stay that way for long.