Rinsey Cove

View map of beach Parking available South West Coast Path National Trust Dog friendly

Season: spring

It was a fine bright day and a chance to enjoy a covering of sand at Rinsey Cove.  The beach looked spectacular on a low tide, with white waves crashing in over the multi-coloured rocks.  It’s always a pleasure to enjoy the wild elements in this corner of the Lizard Peninsula.

Spring visit photo gallery

 

The beach as a metaphor for life.

 

Secrets coves and beaches, ideal for Georgia.

 

A view from the water’s edge at low tide in Rinsey Cove.

Season: autumn

It’s exciting to see a fresh unexplored beach on an ebb tide, such as this morning at Rinsey Cove.  There’s outstanding natural scenery here anyway, including the colours and texture of the rocks on the beach and the cliffs.  On this occasion the fresh sand showcased the geology.  The sea is always lively on this side of Cornwall, with waves crashing relentlessly onto the sand and rocks.  Rinsey Cove is elemental, nature in the raw.

Autumn visit photo gallery

 

With Graham and Judy, explaining their serendipitous union.

 

By the water at Rinsey Cove, surrounded by wild nature.

Season: summer

It was a bright sunny morning at Rinsey Cove, with the high tide acting against the black rock in this geological wonderland.  I met fisherman Peter and another Peter, visiting Rinsey House with his family.  It was good to see the house with its new roof, after watching the renovations during the last visit.

Summer visit photo gallery

 

Tales of whales in Cornwall, by Peter from Wales.

 

Watching the sea against the rocks just before high tide at Rinsey Cove.

Season: spring

A fine, late spring evening greeted me at Rinsey Cove for this visit.  An hour after high tide, the sun played on a pristine new beach, with a calm blue sea rolling relentlessly in.  Two people were fishing for bass off the point and I had the beach to myself.  Above the Cove stood an old, renovated engine house, from the prolific days of mining here.  To the north west stood Rinsey Head House, currently being re-roofed.

I heard from roofer Ben about his links to Rinsey Cove.  The workmanship on the roof was impressive, as you can see, so here’s a mention for the craftsmen, from proprietor Henri Blight to Scott Hocking, Mark Peters and Ben Verry – thanks for your hospitality.

Spring visit photo gallery

 

Ben explains what the beach means to him.

 

By the water at Rinsey Cove.

 

Looking down at Rinsey Cove from the path above.

Season: winter

As one of the most stunning visual and sensory experience of the manonabeach® series, Rinsey Cove sits in the teeth of the Atlantic breakers.  There is a breathtaking array of textures and colours on the beach.  Access is fairly steep and rocky near the beach, but it’s well worth it.  Highly recommended, a special place.

 

With Matt at Rinsey Cove in Cornwall on New Year’s Day.

 

Approaching the beach at Rinsey Cove on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall.

5 thoughts on “Rinsey Cove

  1. Ethel Laity

    Great videos but Rinsey Cove is not on the Lizard Peninsula. It’s about three miles to the west of Porthleven.

    Reply
  2. Mark Vanstone

    Thanks for publishing information about this fantastic location. I wanted to respond to Matt’s interview, which touched on the geology of the cove. The white boulders on Rinsey are from the Tregonning-Godolphin granite. The granite is white because of unusual lithium-rich mica, which also made it suitable as an early source of Cornish china clay. The granite was mined on Tregonning Hill for china clay and around Rinsey for tin and copper. The granite outcrops on the eastern and western sides of the cove, forming the headlands. Dark, altered shales, called the Mylor Slate Formation appear in the middle of the cove, providing the colour contrast that you comment on in the video. Granite tends to form rounded boulders because the natural joints are widely spaced and break it into cuboids, which then get rounded by attrition as they roll around and bash into each other. The blocks are also isotropic, equally strong in all directions, with no lines of weakness, so they are hard to split. This geology is distinct from the geology of the Lizard.

    Reply
  3. Pingback: Top ten dog friendly beaches in the UK by manonabeach® | The Good Dog Guide's Blog

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