Cornwall Council Dog Beach Restrictions Now in Force Until September

If you’re planning to take the dog down to the beach this summer, there’s a long list you need to check first. Cornwall Council’s seasonal beach restrictions are back, and from now until the end of September, dogs aren’t allowed on dozens of beaches across the county between 10am and 6pm.

Early morning and evening walks are still on the cards, and plenty of beaches stay open to dogs all day. But if you turn up at the wrong cove at the wrong time, you could be turned away.

When the restrictions apply

The bans run on two different timetables depending on the beach. Blue Flag and Seaside Award beaches have longer restrictions to meet the requirements of those awards, so they’re already in force from 15th May through to 30th September. Most other restricted beaches kick in from 1st July and run until 31st August.

A handful of locations are off-limits to dogs all year round, with 24 hour bans in place at Carnsew Pool, Copperhouse Pool and the Hayle Estuary, all of which are protected wildlife areas.

Beaches with the longer 15th May to 30th September ban

These are the Blue Flag and Seaside Award beaches where dogs are prohibited between 10am and 6pm from now until the end of September:

• Carbis Bay Beach, Carbis Bay
• Crackington Haven, Bude
• Crooklets Beach, Bude
• Gyllyngvase Beach, Falmouth
• Polzeath Beach, Polzeath
• Porthmeor Beach, St Ives
• Porthminster Beach, St Ives
• Porthtowan Beach, Porthtowan
• Sennen Beach, Sennen
• Trevone Beach, Padstow
• Widemouth Beach, Bude

Summerleaze in Bude isn’t a full ban but does require dogs to be kept on leads between 10am and 6pm from 21st May to 30th September.

Beaches with the 1st July to 31st August ban

The shorter peak-summer restriction covers a much longer list. Between 10am and 6pm across July and August, dogs are prohibited on:

• Cadgwith Cove, Cadgwith
• Castle Beach, Falmouth
• Cawsand Beach, Cawsand
• Chapel Porth Beach, St Agnes
• Church Cove, Gunwalloe
• Harveys Towans to Godrevy Point, Hayle
• Hoodny Beach, Portwrinkle
• Housel Bay, The Lizard
• Kennack Sands Beach, The Lizard
• Kynance Cove, The Lizard
• Maenporth Beach, Falmouth
• Mousehole Beach to Skilly Beach
• Wherry Town to Battery Rocks
• Longrock level crossing to Marazion
• Perranuthnoe
• Poldhu Beach, Mullion
• Polruan Beach (including any slope, staircase or promenade leading to the beach)
• Polurrian Cove Beach, Mullion
• Porth Beach, Porth
• Porthcurno Beach, Porthcurno
• Porthgwarra Beach, St Levan
• Porthgwidden Beach, St Ives
• Porthleven West, Porthleven
• Porthpean Beach, St Austell
• Portmellon Cove, Mevagissey
• Portreath Beach including the Harbour
• Portwrinkle Harbour
• Praa Sands Beach, Praa Sands
• Readymoney Cove, Fowey
• St George’s Well, Padstow
• St Ives Harbour Beach, St Ives
• Summer’s Beach, St Mawes
• Swanpool Beach, Falmouth
• Tattam’s Beach, Portscatho
• Tunnel Beach, Falmouth

The year-round bans

Three locations remain off-limits to dogs 24 hours a day, every day of the year:

• Carnsew Pool
• Copperhouse Pool
• Hayle Estuary

All three are protected wildlife areas with their own individual restrictions.

Worth knowing

The restrictions are enforced by Cornwall Council and form part of a Public Spaces Protection Order. Some exemptions do apply, and those are set out in the orders themselves.

It’s also worth remembering that privately owned beaches may have their own rules in place that don’t appear on the council’s list, so it’s worth checking locally before you set off.

For the official maps of each beach and the full Public Spaces Protection Order, head to the Cornwall Council beach restrictions page.