Dogs welcome back on Cornwall’s beaches as summer bans lift

If you have spent the summer steering the dog away from a favourite stretch of sand, this week brings a bit of relief. A big chunk of Cornwall’s dog restrictions on beaches have just come off, though it is not a blanket free-for-all everywhere you look. Some of the county’s best-known beaches still have rules running into next month, three are banned to dogs all year round, and one asks for a lead rather than a ban.

What changed this week

Cornwall Council operates its beach restrictions through a Public Spaces Protection Order, and the biggest single group of beaches on that order ran their restriction from 1 July to 31 August, between 10am and 6pm. That window closed yesterday, so dogs are now free to go back on those beaches at any time of day. The list is long and covers a wide stretch of the coast, including Cadgwith Cove, Castle Beach and Gyllyngvase in Falmouth, Kynance Cove and Housel Bay on the Lizard, Porth Beach in Newquay, Porthcurno, Porthgwarra, Praa Sands, Readymoney Cove in Fowey, Portreath, Portmellon Cove near Mevagissey, and the harbour beaches at Cawsand and Polruan, among many others.

Beaches now clear (restriction ran 1 July to 31 August)

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, Penzance

Longrock level crossing to Marazion

Perranuthnoe

Poldhu Beach, Mullion

Polruan Beach (and the slopes, staircases and promenade leading to it)

Polurrian Cove Beach, Mullion

Porth Beach, Newquay

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 Cornwall beaches still restricted until the end of September

Not every beach is in the clear yet. Cornwall Council notes that beaches holding Blue Flag or Seaside Award status carry a longer restriction to meet the requirements of that award, running from 15 May to 30 September. Dogs are still banned between 10am and 6pm on these until the end of the month, among them Carbis Bay, Porthminster and Porthmeor in St Ives, Sennen, Polzeath, Porthtowan, Widemouth and two of Bude’s main beaches.

Beaches restricted until 30 September (10am to 6pm)

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

The beaches banned to dogs all year round

A small number of spots stay off limits whatever the season, all of them around the Hayle estuary. Carnsew Pool, Copperhouse Pool and Hayle Estuary itself carry a full 24-hour, all-year prohibition rather than a summer-only window.

The one beach where it is a lead, not a ban

Summerleaze in Bude takes a different approach entirely. Rather than banning dogs outright, the council requires them to be kept on a lead between 21 May and 30 September, 10am to 6pm, so it is still worth clipping the lead back on there for a few more weeks.

Exemptions and where to check before you go

The restrictions come with exemptions built into the order itself, and Cornwall Council points out that other privately owned beaches may run their own local rules on top of the council ones, so it is worth a quick check for an unfamiliar stretch of coast. Full detail, including the exemptions, sits in the council’s own dogs on beaches guidance, and any questions can go to the council’s Animal Welfare and Enforcement Team on 0300 1234 212 or [email protected].