Trebarwith Strand
Trebarwith Strand is located on the north coast of Cornwall, 1½ miles south of Tintagel and is one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline along the South West Coast Path. Dogs are allowed on the beach all year round.
Trebarwith is a tidal beach. At high tide the sea covers the rocks and the gully that leads down onto the sand. Many visitors drive down to the beach at high tide and have no idea that there is a beautiful golden mile of sand hidden below! This is partly what makes Trebarwith so special...it's a secret beach which gets washed by the tide twice a day.
At low tide there is lots to explore...to the left (known as Port William Beach) are caves and to the right (known as Lil Cove) there are lots of rock pools and weathered rock formations. Look out for the beautiful pink rock pools, lined with quartz. On days when there are spring tides and the sea goes out a long way, you can walk down to Hole Beach, at the far right end. It's a beautiful spot to get away from the crowds, but gets cut off quickly when the tide comes in.
To get the hang of when is best to visit the beach, you need to get a tide timetable! Around the time of a New Moon and a Full Moon, the beach is at its best and there is sand for 2-3 hours either side of low tide. At other times, the tides are 'neap;' this means the tide doesn't go in or out very far, so you get a smaller beach for less time. An easy tip to remember is that if it's low tide at lunchtime (between 12 and 3pm) there is a big beach and you can spend most of the day on the sand.
Lifeguards patrol the beach from 10am until 6pm every day between May 17th and September 23rd. Swim between the red and yellow flags to avoid nasty rip currents!
Surfing
Trebarwith is a great surfing beach, with something for everyone. (For details of surf hire and the Trebarwith Surf School look under 'Things To Do.') At low tide there is usually lots of white water, great for beginners, foam longboards and for kids with boogie boards. For 'real' surfers, Trebarwith is a heavy west facing beach break, with fast rights and lefts. It has left hander below the Port William which produces barrels in the right conditions. Best surfed mid tide, especially incoming.