Introduction to Newquay

Newquay is a town famous for seaside holidaying with the mild Cornish climate and a wide range of beaches, it's not surprising.  It has 11 main beaches and coves (I think if you include Crantock Beach and Watergate Bay) and they provide quite a huge range of choice for different activities.  Fistral Beach is renowned for it's surfing.  Watergate Bay is a 2 mile expanse of sand just north of Newquay.  Lusty Glaze Beach is a privately owned beach.  There are plenty of options in the centre of town though.  Great Western Beach is beneath the cliffs by the train station where as Towan Beach and Tolcarne beaches are a short walk from the station.  There is even a small beach in the harbour.  

Newquay is mostly on a cliff though and getting to it's beaches requires climbing down.  Not all of the beaches can be reached by road and those that can and are in the centre of town have very little parking, if any.  Most of the beaches are reached by footpaths and steps.  I have to admit, I have not walked on any  of the beaches, except Watergate Bay and that was once, out of season.  Cornwall is so full of beaches that I would generally use a closer, quieter beach to visit.  I am also not much for sunbathing, I much prefer museums etc.  I know that Fistral is not right in the centre of town and has parking.

I have admired some of the beaches from the cliffs on the edge of the town though and she you walk around Newquay, you will find many little points, between buildings, where you can safely admire the views, often from behind railings.  Don't climb over railings or try and climb up any of the cliffs, it just isn't safe.  We heard Lifeguards on the beach telling people to stop and there are plenty of signs around too.

The main street has a lot of shops and bars.  Newquay was renowned for a party atmosphere although in recent years, it has tried to target a more family orientated clientele.  There is a lot going on still though.  At the Northern end is the railway station and from there, things become more residential with plenty of hotels and holiday flats taking the sea views.  The beaches go from Lusty Glaze, to Porth, Whipsiderry and Watergate.  There is a lovely cliff top walk from Narrowcliff to the Barrowfields.

The southern end of the main town is towards Towan Headland, which has Towan Beach and the harbour tucked along it's side.  Towan Headland has a very old watchpoint called Huers Hut which is worth a visit.  Things become more open on the high ground on the headland.  The grand Headland Hotel dominates.  To the south of the headland is Fistral Beach, with Little Fistral tucked away further towards the end of the headland.  Fistral and Little Fistral actually face west.

Beyond this, we have Pentire Headland.  This long thin ridge of rock heads west and has hotels and flats all along it.  You can park towards the end and enjoy an undeveloped area with views on one side across Fistral to Towan Headland and on the other, you have the Gannel and Crantock.

The Gannel is the river that forms the southern border of the town.  It is another ice age river valley that with rising sea levels afetr the ice age, became flooded by the sea.  When it reached Pentire Headland, it couldn't get through the rock and instead turned west along the base of the headland.  The other side of the Gannel is the village of Crantock and Crantock Beach.  At low tide, Crantock Beach is a huge expanse of sand around the river mouth.

From the sea, the town now stretches inland and it is here that much of the residential areas are found but there are still things to tempt visitors, such as Newquay Zoo.

Recently, the Town Council has been encouraging street art around the town and there is a lot of very good art to see.  There is also a new sculpture of a surfer being installed at Killacourt, a green area on the cliff overlooking Towan Beach.  There is a street art trail to follow, as well as additional art not on the trail.  Businesses are also being currently encouraged to add paint art to doors, so there will be even more to see as time goes on.

There is a lot of parking to choose from, some closer to town, others for specific beaches or places such as Pentire Headland.  As well as walking around town, you can get a bus as parking can be difficult and you may wish to go from one end to the other, which is quite a walk.  Public transport avoids trying to park, especially in the summer when Newquay is incredibly busy.  The Transport for Cornwall app is excellent for working out what bus you might need and is great for travelling around Cornwall too.

There used to be a land train but unfortunately it moved to North Wales at the end of last year as no buyers came forward for it in Newquay.  This used to be a good option for getting around town with a commentary.

By train, the Newquay line joins the mainline on the opposite coast at Par.  Most of the stops along the line are request only as the vast majority of travellers are going from Par to Newquay.  Most of those people will have travelled to Par by train.  It is a beautiful scenic route as it passes through the heavily wooded Luxulyan Valley and Goss Moor.  For us, it would have been far, far quicker to drive to Newquay, but going by train was part of the day out.

I have not previously spent much time in Newquay but I intend to visit more, in particular to see more of the beautiful street art.