Praa Sands Beach

Located on the south coast between Penzance and Helston, Praa Sands is a large beach of fine golden sand.

Praa is a great family beach with plenty of facilities and a seasonal lifeguard service. Right on the beach is a surf/beach shop and with great views over the surf is the Sandbar. 

Praa Sands is one of the best known sur spots on Cornwall's south coast and can produce some excellent waves, particularly during the winter. The surf can get pretty big here and the waves are more powerful than a lot of other Cornish beaches. 

 Like many beaches the further you go from the car park, the quieter it gets, and Praa Sands is no exception. With the car parks being at the far western end of the beach this means the opposite end (Hendra) is often pretty quiet. There did used to be parking here too, but that disappeared for some inexplicable reason many years back. 

 On the green behind the middle of the beach is a memorial to the crew of a British seaplane which crash landed here in 1943. The plane was heavily damaged by German planes over the Bay of Biscay, 800 miles away, but the pilot managed to get the plain home without loss of life. 

 As far as I know the name is pronounced "pray" and not "prah" although I still hear both from people who live close by.