Whitsand Bay: board & breakfast
We caught up with Adventure Bay Surf School and the Cliff Top Café to find out what makes underappreciated Whitsand Bay so captivating
At the end of the path that leads down to a stretch of the bay known as Tregonhawke Beach, there’s Adventure Bay Surf School, looking out over a sweeping arc of sand.
School manager Dan told us what makes the school’s location different. “All of Cornwall’s special but Whitsand Bay… is tucked down in what is known as the forgotten corner. It’s really nice to be able to have a surf lesson where it’s just you and the customers in the water.
“There’s a beautiful cliff, and it really just still feels a little bit untouched, a bit unspoilt.”
This remote setting helps make for a relaxed and stress-free experience where surf students can get the most out of their time in the serene water.
“It’s just so beautiful. Only yesterday there were dolphins here.”
“It’s a really safe way to access the ocean,” says Dan. “You walk off the beach into the water, and you go as deep and as far as you want to go. You’ve got an instructor there with you.”
As well as showing new surfers the ropes, Adventure Bay offers the “silly fun” of a coasteering adventure around Rame Head, along with paddleboard tours.
When Dan isn’t teaching and the waves are good, he’s out in the water with his friends or running the ladies surf club: “We do a local, ladies-only session on a Wednesday and a Sunday morning, just to encourage more girls into the water. We do a children’s club and found that was getting really popular, but when girls hit 16 they left kids club and there was a little bit of a drop off staying in the water.
“So, we started doing the ladies club and there’s one lady who’s 70-years-old: she still comes down, she still surfs.”
A captivating café
After working up an appetite in the water, Whitsand’s Cliff Top Café is a welcome sight at the end of the walk up from the beach.
Café manager, Carmen, settles a long running debate for us by declaring the view from the café to be the “best in the country”.
“It’s just so beautiful. Only yesterday there were dolphins here,” she says.
That view is paired with a friendly atmosphere and affordable dishes sourced using local ingredients from the crab sandwiches to the ever popular all-day breakfasts.
“We meet new people all the time. People on holiday. It’s always got a little bit of a bustle, but not too much. You can just listen to nature all the time,” Carmen says.
She tells us what makes the beach at the bottom of the cliff so captivating: “It’s your typical golden sands, rolling waves, beautiful horizon. And you can always find a quiet spot, so it’s perfect for dog walking or taking your children down or a romantic picnic.”
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
