Porthkidney Beach

The walk down to Porthkidney Beach from Uny Lelant takes you through proper coastal scrubland - gorse, sea thrift, the lot - before the sand opens up below. It's a nature reserve, which means you're looking at a working landscape rather than a manicured seaside attraction. Dunes, marram grass, a decent stretch of beach. The setting is what makes it: backed by cliffs, relatively quiet even in summer, and genuinely wild compared to the St. Ives crowds just over the way.

This is somewhere to potter rather than stage. Families with young kids will manage it fine on a calm day, though the descent is a bit steep for buggies. Walkers get real value here - the coastal path running past it offers miles of exploration, and you can spend a good afternoon just moving between Porthkidney and the beaches towards Godrevy. Birdwatchers and anyone into dunes ecology will find it absorbing. The reserve itself isn't signed like a visitor centre; you're essentially visiting a stretch of coast that happens to be protected.

Free access, and no time limit - come for an hour's walk or make it part of a longer day. Spring and early summer are best when the wildflowers are out along the dunes. If you're based at Haven Riviere Sands or St. Ives Holiday Village nearby, it's an easy morning jaunt. Bring proper shoes, as sand gets in everything, and check the tide before you head down.