Whitsand Bay after dark
With astrophotographer Toby Sinkinson
By day, Whitsand Bay stretches golden and wide — over three miles of unbroken sand and cliff-backed solitude. You reach it by descending steep, wildflower-lined paths, passing cabins perched on the cliffside. But at night, Whitsand transforms.
We caught up with local astrophotographer Toby Sinkinson, who took to the bay after sunset for our latest Beach Takeover. With a camera, a tripod, and hours of patience, he reveals what the naked eye misses – a night sky dense with stars, constellations and galactic clouds, framed by cliffs, rock formations and sea thrift.
“My name is Toby Sinkinson and I’m an astrophotographer from the South West of England. I’ve been photographing the stars for about four or five years. And I’ve been photographing in general since I was about 10,” he tells us.
Now studying Marine and Natural History Photography at Falmouth University, Toby spends long nights in remote coastal locations capturing the night sky in intricate detail.
“I usually will spend a whole night out on the coast photographing the stars and I’ll only get three or four pictures because I’ll spend hours at a time crafting each and every photograph.”
Whitsand Bay, with its dark skies and faraway feel, is a dream location. “Around here it’s really good because you’re facing out onto the sea, there’s no light pollution in the distance, you’re facing out onto nothing and it’s really beautiful. You can capture thousands of stars.”
Astrophotography is as much about the land as it is the sky. “You’ve got some amazing jagged rocks, which provide some great leading lines out to the stars. The beautiful blue water really makes for a great foreground in the astro photos.”
Colour plays a crucial role too. “Sometimes I like to get the wildflowers on the coast path. The thrift is a really great foreground, the pinks of that is beautiful.”
Whitsand’s unspoiled, untamed setting lets Toby capture the wildness of the sky without interference. “Cloud cover is the biggest challenge and light pollution is another really big challenge that astrophotographers face.”
But here, those issues fall away. “My favourite thing about it is going to really wild places like this, where you can get away from all the lights and you can bring out the really deep nebulas in space and you can really capture what it’s like to observe the stars in a wild place like this.”
Watch Toby capture Whitsand Bay as it turns from day to night:
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Stay at Whitsand Bay
Watch the waves vanish into dusk. Spot Saturn through the lens. Fall asleep with constellations on your mind.
Whitsand Bay might just be your beach – by sunlight or starlight. Find a place to stay.
Your Beach. Found
From the feel of the sand underfoot to the anticipation as you near the sea, your beach is the one that stays with you. Find your beach with the Beach Match Quiz.
Beach Match Quiz
