Polzeath Beach

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    The popularity of Polzeath has grown over recent years. This results from the combination of a beautiful sandy beach, laid back beach town feel and ideal conditions for learning to surf. The beach itself is enormous at low tide, extending around half a mile in all directions. At high tide however the beach shrinks to just a small patch of sand in front of the village.

    Polzeath is one of the safest beaches along this stretch of coast with its gently shelving sand and seasonal lifeguard cover. Along with all the facilities and water quality you would expect from a Blue Flag beach Polzeath is a great family beach. Another great feature is the parking on the beach - yes, actually on the beach!

    Polzeath is located just north of the Camel Estuary in the lee of Pentire Point. The beach is only around 2 miles from Padstow as the crow flies but crossing the estuary makes for a significant detour and in fact Port Isaac is a shorter drive.

    This area is rich in both sealife and birdlife with dolphin sightings common along with the odd puffin too.

    Type of beach

    Sandy

    Lifeguard service

    RNLI lifeguard cover: Easter bank holiday, weekends during April, daily from 5 May to 30 September and weekends during October

    Dogs friendly beach?

    Seasonal dog ban. No dogs on beach from 15th May to 30th September / 10am to 6pm

    dog friendly beaches »

    Disabled access

    As would be expected of a Blue Flag beach there is good disabled access and facilities. Sand chairs are currently unavailable

    Postcode

    PL22 6TB

    OS grid ref.

    SW 9376 7908

    Parking

    There are several car parks in the vicinity of the beach, including the beach itself. Owing to the popularity of Polzeath these can fill up relatively quickly in the summer months.

    Awards

    Blue Flag AwardSeaside Award

    Polzeath Beach Reviews (13)

    Fantastic beach...

    Aug 06th 2021

    We have been visiting for years and love the beach and atmosphere of Polzeath. The village has everything you need for a relaxing break. We love it now that we can enjoy the beach with our dog, and the majority of owners are responsible, we haven’t noticed any issues although we know some people are anti-dog ????

    Best bodyboarding beach

    Ms Maria Maxwell

    Feb 08th 2021

    Great lifeguards, great surf, amazing waves.

    Beautiful, clean beach

    Richmond Surrey

    Apr 23rd 2022

    Polzeath beach is a wonderful place to go with family, friends or dogs!  Had a lovely time and did not see any dog mess at all on the beaches in the several days of my stay. Well behaved dogs with their owners playing with their balls and keeping away from the toddlers. A few more bins for rubbish (not only dog mess but general litter) would be a good idea stationed around the entrances to cliff paths and also on a cliff path where there is access for vehicles (eg halfway along the cliff path between Daymer Bay and Polzeath beach).  Plus a wooden sign to remind everyone to take their litter with them.  A few plastic bottles were seen in the undergrowth.

    Fantastic clean family beach

    Robin

    Oct 23rd 2021

    A beautiful beach at Polzeath. Beach was very clean with no litter or mess. Local shops provide all you need including excellent Cornish pasties ! Car parking easy. Surfing brilliant. Clean public WC’s available 2 mins walk from the beach. A lovely village resort well worth a visit offering all you need for a great family day out at the beach ⛱

    Sep 10th 2021

    Such a shame that dog owners can’t adhere to the 10am to 6pm ban in the summer. They always seem to think it can’t possibly include their pet!
    Today a dog off its lead during the afternoon ran off with a game we were playing. Instead of an apology we got a mouthful from the owner about how his dog had every right to be there.
    Read the signs and stick to the rules like the rest of us.

    beautiful peaceful memories

    Jul 18th 2022

    My husband and I visited Polzeath many years ago as a young couple, my father being a Cornish man encouraged us to appreciate the beauty of this special place , my memories of Polzeath are of very few visitors and an almost empty beach where we could spend happy hours, then walk across the cliffs to Rock and get on the little boat which took us across to Padstow , again a quiet village ,we ofter bought a pasty and sat on the harbour wall to eat them. to now learn of the chaos that thoughtless people are creating breaks my heart and I hope that I never return to see it.

    No dogs please!

    Aug 16th 2023

    It was such a great beach before the dog ban was relaxed. Dogs running around, dog poo - please reinstate not everyone is a dog or dog poo lover. There are beaches nearby where dogs are allowed all day. Relaxing the ban to allow dogs sometimes needs to be policed for it to work and it isn’t so there is little adherence to the restrictions. Dare tell someone dogs are banned after 10am and prepare for the wrath that comes. Selfish! The car park also needs organising as people don’t seem able to park in a straight line and space is wasted. Such a shame that it had become a toffs paradise full of people who believe they are entitled. Not for me anymore.

    Lost it's appeal

    Disappointed beach lover

    Jun 02nd 2022

    It used to be beautiful. The tractor used to comb the beach early morning. Now its full of sharp sticks and leftovers from pretentious second home-owner’s entitled teenager’s evening bbq’s.  Parking is ridiculous on the beach carpark. Nobody monitors it, as to where people park, and the carpark full sign is hardly ever used any more. People with dogs are leaving piles of poo when they are allowed on. It has gone downhill fast..mostly due to the toffs who aren’t ever told ‘no’ in life, so think money buys them the right to do what they want! We will be moving yo another beach. It’s no wonder the locals get so annoyed. I pity them. I’ve been visiting for 30yrs plus. No more.

    Beautiful beach.

    Peggy Belsey

    May 02nd 2022

    The beach at Polzeath was exceptionally clean and uncrowded for a bank holiday. Easy parking too. No dog mess anywhere.

    Dog poo everywhere

    May 19th 2021

    Was so much better when dogs were banned 24/7

    Lots of poo

    Aug 03rd 2021

    Been before but was surprised by the amount of dog poo these days. What’s happened? Are walkers just not bothering to clean up ?

    Trouble to come for Cornwall Council and their visitors….

    Prof David Tranfield

    Mar 23rd 2022

    Just come home after 3 weeks in Polzeath. Dog poo everywhere on the c beach, cliffs and, coast path. Heaven knows what it will be like in the heat of July and August given the change of policy by Cornwall Council. We have all heard of the phrase ‘dog friendly’- how about ‘family friendly’?  Prepare to defend yourselves (and kids) this summer if you intend going to Cornwall!!

    Dog poo and wee everywhere

    Jul 26th 2021

    At polzeath today before 10. Dogs roaming everywhere, weeing all over the place even right in front of us. And poos left right and centre.  Cleanliness gone right down.

    Polzeath so much better in previous years with no dogs over the summer. It’s a family surfing beach….

    Should lose blue flag status for that.

    Show all 13 reviews