A picturesque cove sheltered from the wind and waves of the Atlantic Ocean, Trevaunance cove at St Agnes faces North with long cliff walls protecting it from the predominate South-Westerly winds that affect most Cornish beaches.
There are several car parks within walking distance to the beach - some smaller ones close to the sand and a larger one further up the road. As you walk down to the beach, you'll pass the Driftwoods Spars public house, which is a favourite with the locals, has live music in the evenings and serves a great pint.
Surf lessons are available at Breakers Surf School, situated on the slipway to the beach. Breakers provide lessons at St Agnes and surrounding beaches; depending where surf conditions are best suited each day. After a tiring surf lesson, just a short walk up Quay Road you'll find Genki, serving energy-boosting smoothies and a selection of healthy food.
St Agnes is one of the few surf breaks that produce good waves in South and South-West winds. Porthmeor in St Ives, and Towan Beach in Newquay are the nearest beaches that also produce good waves in these conditions. Due to this, St Agnes can be a little crowded when the conditions are right, but wait your turn and you can catch some great waves here.
For the more advanced surfers, St Agnes produces fast, hollow and powerful waves; the very talented locals call this their 'Home Break'. However, if you're new to surfing, there's always plenty of white water to hone your skills on first.
At high tide the waves sometimes reach right up to the cliff, so its always best to check the tide times before heading here for a day at the beach. RNLI Lifeguards operate on this beach during the summer months between the hours of 10am to 6pm. There can be strong rip currents here so always swim between the red and yellow flags and follow the lifeguards' advice. The RNLI also has an inshore lifeboat station in the village; you can regularly see the lifeboat carrying out training exercises.
St Agnes is still a working fishing cove for small boats, and on most days you can see the old tractor towing the boats up and down the beach with their catch. At low tide, rockpools appear across the sand reaching towards Trevellas beach, which will keep the children (and adults) entertained for hours.
St Agnes is the home of the charity 'Surfers Against Sewage' who campaign for cleaner waters around our coastline. They organise hundreds of beach cleans every year, working hard to ensure the waters we swim and surf in are as clean as possible.
There's ample to do in St Agnes and plenty of cafes, shops and restaurants to spend time enjoying after a day at the beach.
Browse our Holiday cottages in St Agnes.