Godrevy Beach

The lighthouse at Godrevy is what stops you in your tracks - a stubby white tower standing on a rocky island about a hundred metres offshore, accessible only by a causeway at low tide. It's been guiding ships away from the granite reefs since 1859, and Virginia Woolf apparently used it as inspiration for her novel. The beach itself stretches wide and golden, backed by dunes and scrubby vegetation, and it's genuinely one of the better stretches of sand in this part of Cornwall.

You can walk out to the lighthouse if the tide's right, though check local conditions first because the causeway disappears fast. The walk takes maybe twenty minutes across rocks and sand. When you can't reach it, the view from the beach is still worth the trip - there's something proper hypnotic about watching the light work on stormy days. The whole area is great for walkers and photographers. Families with older kids will manage fine; younger ones might find the initial scramble over rocks tedious.

It's free to visit and accessible year-round, though winter brings Atlantic swells that make it spectacular if you like dramatic seascapes. Allow two to three hours if you're combining it with a beach walk. Hayle is just three miles away, making this an easy addition to a park holiday at Haven Riviere Sands or Higher Trevaskis. The dunes are wild enough that it never feels rammed, even in summer. Worth doing once, definitely. Go on an incoming tide and you'll have the place nearly to yourself.