Falmouth’s premier beach has much to recommend. It comprises a wide expanse of coarse white sand with great views across Fal Bay with all the shipping activity to view. Facing south, it is fairly sheltered and close to the town centre with hotels and holiday accommodation nearby. It has a range of facilities on the beach. It is owned by Cornwall Council. Queen Mary Gardens next to the beach, with its exotic plants, provides a fitting backdrop.
TR11 4PA - Access and parking details are shown in overview for Falmouth. It is about 800m from the main shopping centre and easily accessible with car parking close by. Castle Beach is 700m along Cliff Road towards Pendennis Castle whilst Swanpool is 500m in the opposite direction along the Coast Path. There are a number of points of access from Cliff Road down steps or the main access down the gently sloping slipway next to the main facilities. There is also access from Queen Mary Gardens.
It is a fine stretch of sand which is over 300m long at high tide and offers a sizeable area of space with families. In 2012 it received Blue Flag status, being one of the few in Cornwall to receive the award; access is good for pushchairs and wheelchairs. At either end of the beach there are flat rocky areas with numerous pools.
There is rescue safety equipment located by the Lifeguard base at the rear of the beach. There is RNLI Lifeguard cover between mid May until the end of September.
Details are shown in the overview for Falmouth.
Dogs are permitted from October until Easter Day but not during the spring and summer.
There are toilets at the back of the beach which are open all year and have facilities for the disabled. There are a number of cafe/restaurants and beach shops (some of which are open all year) which cater for the wide variety of demands for such a popular beach. One of the cafes has terracing overlooking the beach whilst others have tables on the beach.
Although there is a slipway it is not really usable during the height of the summer and not really designed for the access of craft.
The beach is cleaned daily and the water quality is excellent. Queen Mary Gardens are of Edwardian origin and were originally known as Kimberley Marshes as the site was once a river mouth which silted up after the development of the shingle bar now known as Gyllyngvase Beach.
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