Cornwall’s New Beach Rules for Dogs

Cornwall has announced its new seasonal beach regulations and it is great news for dogs!

If you’re a fan of St Ives and its surrounds, you’ll know all too well the appeal of heady summer days. With crystal clear seas lapping white-sand beaches, ice cream by the bucketful and plenty of daylight hours to draw out sun worshipping and sea swimming, it’s enough to have anyone running out of the door, towel in hand.

Despite the all but irresistible appeal though, many beautiful beaches have had seasonal dog bans in place, making them out of bounds for dog owners throughout the summer. Spanning from May to September, the old regulations meant owners and their pups could only snatch brief moments of sandy-pawed bliss early in the morning or late in the evening – but this is about to change!

Thanks to new regulations brought in by Rob Nolan, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Public Protection, Cornwall’s dog restrictions on beaches will be reduced from four months to just two. Including a number of St Ives’ beaches, the new restrictions will only be in place in July and August (except on beaches with Blue Flag status) and limited to the hours between 10am and 6pm.

Not just excellent news for our four-legged friends, these new regulations will also make things clearer for owners too. Commenting on the updated rules, Rob Nolan stated: “At present they are different from place to place – some are 24 hours, some start at 7am. This is complicated and confusing, particularly for our visitors, so harmonising dates to two months, and times to 8 hours a day, will make them easier to comprehend and to enforce.”

Which beaches will be affected by the change?

As well as Cornwall’s year-round dog-friendly beaches, you can now head to the following beaches from September to June throughout the day and from 1st July to 31st August outside of the hours of 10am and 6pm. These include some of our very own St Ives beaches, including Porthminster and Porthgwidden!

Cadgwith Cove, Cadgwith

Castle Beach, Falmouth

Cawsand Beach, Cawsand

Chapel Porth Beach, St Agnes

Church Cove, Gunwalloe

Crackington Havern, Bude

Crooklets Beach, Bude

Great Western Beach, Newquay

Harveys Towans, Hayle

Housel Bay, the Lizard

Kennack Sands Beach, the Lizard

Kynance Cove, the Lizard

Maenporth Beach, Falmouth

Mousehole Beach (to Skilly Beach), Mousehole

Newlyn Beach to Battery Rocks, Newlyn

Penzance Harbour to Marazion, Penzance

Perranuthnoe, near Marazion

Poldhu Beach, Mullion

Polurrian Cove Beach, Mullion

Polzeath Beach, Polzeath

Porth Beach, Porth

Porthcurno Beach, Porthcurno

Porthgwarra Beach, St Levan

Porthgwidden Beach, St Ives

Porthleven West Beach, Porthleven

Porthminster Beach, St Ives

Porthpean Beach, St Austell

Portmellon Cove, Mevagissey

Portreath Beach, Portreath

Praa Sands Beach, Praa Sands

Readymoney Cove, Fowey

Sennen Beach, Sennen

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

 

Blue Flag Beaches

Not affected by the new regulations, Cornwall’s Blue Flag status beaches will retain their original restrictions from 15th May to 30th September, between 10am and 6pm each day. These are:

 

Carbis Bay Beach, Carbis Bay

Gyllyngvase Beach, Falmouth

Porthmeor Beach, St Ives

Porthtowan Beach, Porthtowan

Trevone Beach, near Padstow

Widemouth Bay Beach, Bude