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About manonabeach

On a beach…welcome to manonabeach.com, where I’ll regularly add video of my beach visits, so you can enjoy a flavour of the beach, even when you’re not there.

Poldhu Cove beach

Season: winter

Poldhu Cove has a deep, flat beach, which is particularly attractive at low tide. In a natural setting and with dunes and a discreet car park behind, there is an unspoilt feel to the beach. Even the beach cafe nestles quietly in the top corner among the dunes. This is a great location to think things through in a pristine environment, surrounded by nature.

The welcoming nature of the beach.

A view from the back of the beach at low tide.

Season: spring

This cove has a charm and a karma which is very welcoming. Perhaps it’s the fact that you don’t just pass by it, that you have to want to go to it, that makes the atmosphere and the beach goers here so welcoming. In truth, it’s hard to pull yourself away from Poldhu Cove. This is a National Trust beach, so it’s well maintained. There’s a friendly, thriving cafe that also offers surf lessons, as well as an RNLI lifeguard post, making this a safe place to surf and swim.

Pete’s intense relationship with the beach.

By the water at Poldhu Cove in Cornwall on a rising tide.

Season: autumn

An attractive beach on the Lizard, near RNAS Culdrose and through the village of Gunwalloe, Poldhu Cove looks west into the prevailing Atlantic surf and wind, giving it the feel of a north coast beach. It has plenty of beach-side parking and toilets. There is an excellent beach café on the beach, which I featured in my interview.

A chat with Chris at the Poldhu Beach Cafe.

Season: winter

At low tide, the beach here is surprisingly expansive and its flat demeanour leaves intricate swirls in the sand, such is the speed of the tidal race. The rocks by the side of the beach have been blasted and sculpted by the Atlantic, a wonder to enjoy when accessible on a low tide like this. Pristine nature abounds here.

The beach as part of Samantha’s routine.

The wild Atlantic makes landfall.

West Wittering beach

Season: autumn

The sun was out for this autumn visit to the wide expanse of sand at West Wittering. On a low tide, with a warm breeze from the south west, a beach walk was mild and enjoyable. Looking across to Hayling Island and to the Isle of Wight, interviewee Peter contemplated the proximity of the human world, with its trade in and out of Southampton and the natural beauty on this side of the water.

What the beach means to Peter.

A low tide at West Wittering.

Season: spring

The most westerly of the manonabeach® Sussex beaches, West Wittering is also one of the most beautiful, with uncharacteristically soft sand and a fine view across The Solent to the Isle of Wight. On this occasion the weather was mild and dry and the tide was low enough to enjoy shell hunting in the flat, lower reaches. There are picturesque sand dunes behind the beach, which is a popular escape from Chichester and further beyond.

What the beach means to Emma and Tom.

Another low tide at West Wittering beach.

Broad Haven South beach

Season: autumn

Broad Haven South beach sits a mile south east of Bosherston village. The beautiful, golden beach is edged by grey limestone cliffs and pointed sea stacks. The sand is soft and child friendly. Sitting between Stackpole and St Govan’s headlands in Pembrokeshire, the main sea stack is known as Church Rock. Behind the beach is a dune system, interspersed with marram grass, a haven for wildlife. In the eighteenth century Baron Cawder dammed tidal creeks which used to run inland from Broad Haven. A large freshwater lake system was created, the Bosherston Lilly Ponds. On this occasion the ponds were covered in white lilies and I was fortunate to catch a glimpse of an otter. The dunes are developing and the seasonal changes in the beach’s appearance, flat in summer, gouged and channeled during winter storms, are part of an elemental appeal here. On the western side there are caves and water springs to explore, while to the east you’ll find a system of smaller caves in the low cliffs.

Why Clive is here.

An early morning view of this beach.