Porthmeor Beach is possibly my favourite beach in St Ives (and not just because it is the closest one to our house). Every time I get to the top of Porthmeor Hill and see the beach vista, it takes my breath away. It is so incredibly vast, dramatic and beautiful. Even if I see it every day for a month, it never lessens!
It is the best surfing beach in St Ives, with waves of some sort on all but the very calmest of Summer days.
Porthmeor Beach is a pretty big beach, even at high tide, with lots of different places to sit, depending on what you fancy doing.
Lifeguards On Porthmeor Beach
Porthmeor Beach is lifeguarded from 29th March to 3rd November between 10am and 6pm.
Visit the RNLI website for more info >>
Dogs On Porthmeor Beach
Dogs are not allowed on Porthmeor Beach between 15th May and 30th September between the hours of 10am and 6pm. Outside these dates and times dogs are allowed.
Just to reiterate you are allowed to bring you dogs to Porthmeor Beach during the Summer months, BEFORE 10am and AFTER 6pm. It is not a complete ban.
Visit the Cornwall council website for more info >>
The Layout Of The Beach
The best way of describing Porthmeor Beach is by dividing it into 3 parts
- Island Side - this is the part of the beach right over by The Island. There are few facilities here and it is often sheltered and quiet.
- Middle Beach - this is the part of the beach by the Tate. There are lots of facilities and this is where you will find the surf school and lifeguards.
- West Beach - this is the part of the beach right over the other side by Man's Head. It is popular with locals and has 2 places to eat and drink.
Porthmeor Beach On The Great St Ives Pasty Dash Game
Porthmeor Beach is of course featured lots on our game, The Great St Ives Pasty Dash. It has it's very own corner, surfboard piece and lots of postcards all about it.
Island Side
This is the side of the beach by The Island. It is tucked into the cliff (beware of falling rocks).
Sheltered
It is often more sheltered than the main beach as it doesn't face out to sea, and is also usually a bit quieter on a very busy Summers day.
Calm Sea
When the tide is in here the sea can be lovely and shallow. On a calm day it looks almost like the Mediterranean.
Rocks
Underneath The Island are some good rocks for scrambling over.
Low Tide
The tide on Porthmeor Beach goes quite far out. On the Island Side it goes out to the edge of The Island.
Shipwreck
At very low tide here you can see the wreck of the SS Alba with it's boilers sticking out of the sand.
Access
To access the Island side you can walk from The Island car park down the road to the slipway between the flats and Upper and Lower Saltings. Or if you are walking from The Island there are steps and a slope down from there.
Facilities
There are no facilities at this end of the beach - the nearest loos are either by Porthgwidden Beach, or on Middle Beach in the buildings below the Tate.
The nearest shop is on Porthgwidden Beach, or on Back Rd where you will find Norway Stores.
The lifeguards on Porthmeor Beach tend to be more in the middle of the beach, so do look out for your children if they go in the sea here.
Middle Beach
Middle Beach is the part of Porthmeor Beach in front of the Tate St Ives. There are lots of facilities here including a cafe, shop, takeaway and toilets. The downside of this part of the beach is that it does get crowded in the height of Summer.
Lifeguards
The lifeguards are usually stationed around here. If you are going in the sea, please be aware of what the flags mean.
Red and Yellow flags = swimming and body boarding
Black and White flags = surfing.
Orange windsock = no inflatables.
Red flag = dangerous sea conditions, stay out of the water.
Read more about lifeguarded beaches in St Ives >>
Is The Beach Always Busy Here?
Out of the school holidays there is always space on the beach, even Middle Beach.
However, this part does get really busy in the height of Summer, especially when the tide is in.
Low Tide
The tide goes out pretty far on Porthmeor Beach - this is what it looks like on Middle Beach at low tide.
Facilities
There are lots of facilities on this section of Porthmeor Beach, which makes it very popular. People can come for the day and not need to leave - unless the sunshine turns liquid!
Porthmeor Beach Cafe
Looking up at the row of buildings on the beach, the building on the very top part is Porthmeor Beach Cafe. This is a lovely cafe, with lots of seating areas both inside and out. My favourite place to sit is in one of their little pods. These are covered with a side open to the sea and they can be heated.
Porthmeor Beach Cafe website >>
Toilets
Below the cafe, next to the steps are the toilets.
Takeaway
Further along is the takeaway selling drinks, snacks and hot food. They have picnic tables for you to sit at. This is a favourite spot of ours to grab a beer and watch the sunset from!
Ice Creams
Next to this is a kiosk selling shakes, smoothes and ice cream.
Beach Shop
And next door to that is a beach shop selling all sorts of beach paraphernalia.
St Ives Surf School
Further along the walkway brings you to the St Ives Surf School.
Here you can take surfing lessons and hire equipment.
Read more about learning to surf in St Ives here >>
And you can hire deckchairs and windbreaks.
Surf Shop
St Ives Surf School also have just opened a very cool surf shop.
Lifeguard Station
Right at the end of the row of building is the lifeguard watch tower.
And the showers.
Access To Middle Beach
You can get onto Middle Beach two main ways, both from the road by the Tate.
There are some steps by the loos.
Or the slipway by the Lifeguard station.
Sunset House
If you walk towards West Beach and look up you will see the controversial Sunset House and it's pretty ugly concrete shorings. I'm hoping that eventually this mass of concrete will get covered in greenary.
West Beach
I'll let you into a secret, West Beach on Porthmeor is used a lot by the locals. It is often fairly quiet and is pretty fun for kids to mess around on.
Rocks
There are some good rocks to sit against or climb on.
Waterfalls
Tucked behind the rocks are two little waterfalls.
Channel
The waterfalls create a channel of water which flows into the sea. At the moment it is pretty deep - I'm not sure if this was done by storms or by overzealous digging!
Man's Head
The outcrop of rocks jutting into the sea is called Man's Head.
Read more about Man's Head here >>
Rockpools
The large stretch of rocks underneath Man's Head is good at low tide for looking in rockpools and general mooching about in.
Read more about rockpooling in St Ives here >>
Facilities On West Beach
Beach Chalets
There are 2 rows of beach chalets at the back of West Beach.
Find out how to hire beach chalets in St Ives here >>
West Greek
West Greek is new for 2024 and looks fantastic. We haven't visited yet but I can't wait to try their stuffed vine leaves (dolmades).
The Fish Shed
Above West Greek is The Fish Shed. This is a lovely, laid back restaurant that serves local sustainable seafood.
Access To West Beach
To get onto West Beach you need to walk through Porthmeor Car Park and down lots of steps.
More about car parking in St Ives >>
There are toilets on either side of the Surf club building in the car park.
Sunsets On Porthmeor Beach
If you are wanting to watch the sunset in St Ives, Porthmeor Beach is where you want to be. Grab yourself a beer from one of the cafes, bring a rug and some snacks and watch the most incredible colours dip into the sea over Man's Head.
Watching the sunsets in St Ives >>
