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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.

Brancaster beach

Season: winter

A low tide coincided with cold, clear skies that reflected light from the myriad razor clam shells scattered on the beach. The azure blue skies provided a counterpoint to the rich, recently washed sand on this expansive, flat beach. The sense of scale and perspective here can be mesmerising and uplifting at the same time. Take care close to the sea when the tide turns back in, as it returns swiftly to its high water mark.

An adventurous association with the beach.

A bright winter day at Brancaster.

Season: winter

Brancaster has a stunning beach, which stretches for miles in front of the golf course and the sand dunes. At low tide, you can see the wreck of the SS Vina. The soft sand is ideal for making sandcastles, but there are kitesurfers here too on windy days. This is a well-to-do area and there are excellent shops and restaurants, as well as boat trips that run from Brancaster Staithe. Wildlife, particularly resident and migratory birds, features strongly along this stretch of coastline, including marsh harriers, avocets, oystercatchers and terns. Brancaster is also known for its mussels, in season when there is an ‘r’ in the month.

With Norma on the beach at Brancaster.

A bright, chilly start to the day for Margaret and her dogs.

A crisp winter scene at Brancaster beach.

Season: summer

Bright blue sky and sunshine were the order of the day, as seems to happen each time I visit Brancaster beach. The tide was rising quickly over this expansive, flat beach and the fine weather apparently followed an unsettled spell, so the beach was inhabited by returning locals and visitors, many paddling in the warm springtime water at the sea’s edge.

What the beach means to Tiphaine.

…et en francais.

Bright sunshine at Brancaster beach.

Season: summer

The tide was out for this summer re-visit, leaving an awesome expanse of sand to contemplate in the morning light. The clean, breezy outlook was capped by an enormous blue sky, creating an overwhelming effect. This beach is elemental. As the razor clam shells crunch underfoot, there is a time for contemplation, creativity, rebalancing or just fun, whichever sense guides you.

Trevor’s feelings for the beach.

Porthcothan beach

Season: winter

A subtle mix of grey, black and blue provided the palette for this winter visit. Lively surf, topped with bright white horses, cut through this fused vista in dramatic style. This is a deep, flat beach, so a rising tide always requires due care and attention. At the back of the beach a re-directed stream had wreaked havoc with the dune system, leaving a dangerous fifteen feet high sand cliff and removing considerable natural habitat for wildlife. A highlight of this unspoilt beach is the clash of elements as the sea arrives and claws at the stark black cliffs.

With Chris at Porthcothan in North Cornwall.

What the beach means to Rakhi and Scott, enjoying downtime in Cornwall.

The magnificent natural environment at Porthcothan Bay.

Season: winter

A rising tide greeted me for this winter visit. Clean sets of waves were completing their Atlantic journey at this most elemental of beaches. This was the last day of the year, offering bright sunshine for the reflective beach walkers. The weather-beaten black rock stood starkly against the clear blue sky and the ocean scene was interspersed with the vivid white of the rolling waves.

What the beach means to Sharon and Tristan.

New Year’s Eve at Porthcothan Bay.

Season: summer

This was a chance to enjoy some evening sun on the north coast of Cornwall. As the tide ran in the sun was framed between the headlands, with sand dunes behind. Porthcothan Bay is unspoilt and natural, as it has always been, little known and wild, a great place to come and see what the tide has brought in.

With Abby and Isaac in the evening.

Season: autumn

The best beachcombing beach in Cornwall, home to the late well-known film maker, beachcomber and fisherman Nick Darke, Porthcothan is an unspoilt North Coast beach facing the Atlantic. It attracts flotsam and jetsam from as far away as the Amazon. A deep rather than wide beach, it was being surveyed for erosion damage on this occasion. There is a shop behind the dunes, toilets and plenty of parking to hand in the small adjacent village.

A friendly chat with two proud local residents.

A chat with one of two surveyors who were collecting data for analysis of coastal erosion.

Peace and quiet at Porthcothan, with the beach all to myself.

Kynance Cove

Season: spring

Consistently among the most viewed beach pages at manonabeach®, Kynance Cove is for many people the quintessential Cornish cove and beach. Its combination of characterful islands, serpentine-laced caves, a blowing hole and pristine beaches is exquisite. I frequently encounter visitors experiencing a natural “high” here and it’s intoxicating. The best time to visit is on an ebb tide towards low tide, enabling safe scrambling around the nooks and crannies here.

What the beach means to Karen and Mark.

A bright start to the day at Kynance Cove.

A chance to enjoy the blowing hole.

Season: autumn

The tide had turned back inward at Kynance Cove, but you could still get round to the blowing hole, know as the bellows, to see the caves and their serpentine. Grey clouds cloaked the scene, but the rocks framed a tempting horizon, beyond which lay new adventures and acquaintances, new suggestions and implications, new challenges and opportunities.

Barbara reflects on the beach as a place to look out from and as an inspiration for her work.

A slightly elevated view, looking down to the beaches at Kynance Cove and out to sea.

Season: summer

What a pleasure it was to be the first person on the beach this morning at beautiful Kynance Cove. As the tide turned inwards, my footsteps were washed away and the beach assumed another guise, as it has done throughout time. Recent storms had scoured the sand from the top of the beach, but the elements will conspire to replace it just as quickly. Like Treen Cove and Rinsey Cove, you need to time your visit to coincide with a low tide for the best beach access, although you can get to the cafe at all times.

Vicky’s ongoing relationship with the beach and Kynance Cove for all her family.

In awe of the relentless sea, round by the bellows at Kynance Cove.

Season: winter

I went down early to Kynance Cove to catch the tide halfway in, so I could watch the waves against the rocks. Later, I returned to interview Arthur on the rocky slopes down to the beach, then chat to Gail at low tide by the blowing hole on the beach. This is one of the most photographed beach in Cornwall and never fails to impress. You feel like you’re in another world down on the sand and your mind can fly away if you let it.

A chat with Gail by the water at Kynance Cove in February.

With Arthur, helping to secure the rocky side of the pathway down to Kynance Cove.

The waves and rocks at Kynance Cove on half a tide, seen from just above the sea.

Season: autumn

This is a must-visit beach, probably the most outstanding in the county visually at low tide. It has everything, rolling breakers, sea stacks, caves lined with serpentine, fine sand, a blowing hole and a theatrical setting, when viewed from above on the walk down. Check tide times before your visit to catch it at low tide. There is an excellent café in the cove with facilities and toilets, but access requires a degree of energy from the detached car park, well worth the effort. I always seem to meet interesting people at Kynance Cove.

A chat with Heather and Rachel.

Chatting with Kelly McMahon, who is descended from the first McMahon in Australia.

Serpentine in the caves at Kynance Cove.

Season: summer

An atmospheric mist hung over Kynance Cove, yet a mild breeze still broke through on this invigorating beach. The tide was halfway in and the horizon was temptingly opaque, a gateway to the west and beyond. Beachgoers gazed in wonder out from the beach, including my German interviewees, more used to the beautiful but landlocked Bayerische Alpen in the south of their country. This beach draws visitors from every corner the world and their enhanced responses are universal.

Visitors from southern Germany enjoy the universal appeal of this beach.

…und auf deutsch.

A wild, misty vista at Kynance Cove.