Welcome to Perranuthnoe

SAFETY FIRST - In flat calm conditions, Perranuthnoe can be a very safe beach. I’d still try and swim on an incoming tide and I’d avoid swimming around the ‘point’ or headland etc…unless you know exactly what you are doing. For flat, calm conditions you’d be avoiding swell from a southerly direction and moderate to strong wind from the south. Light northerly wind or cross-shore winds will do. With surf, Perranuthnoe can have some strong rip currents running off the beach. Last year, summer of 2024 there was a beauty of a rip current running diagonally across the beach all summer long! The beach is currently lifeguarded over the main peak weeks of the summer. Have a chat to the lifeguards before jumping in.

Perranuthnoe is on the bus route. You can also walk the coastal path, although it’s slightly tricky from the west and quite a long (but stunning) walk from the east. The beach has a small car park, approx 30 cars and an overflow for the summer of an additional 40-ish.

At low-mid tide there’s plenty of sandy beach and 2 delightful cafes. Beach Cabin Cafe, right on the beach - CLICK HERE or the Peppercorn Cafe just up the road.

To the west - we have what I call the ‘Moon Beaches’. Not ideal if you aren’t steady on your feet but perfectly manageable, if you are. Nice quiet beaches. Swims here are magical. You have an underwater forest, loads of sea life and some crazy rock formations.

To the east - some beautiful, remote and quiet sandy/rocky beaches. Does require a good 10-20 minutes of stunning walks, although the path can get muddy and wet. Especially in the winter months. Again, there aren’t many people around…so be careful swimming, adopt the ‘buddy system’ etc. Swim-wise, you have gorgeous rock formations to swim around. One we’ve called the ‘doughnut’ (low tide) and an arch way (at high), if you can find them.

There are also a number of amazing swims a little further out, in either direction!

Cornwall's Lidos

Cornwall has 3 lidos to choose from in Bude, Hayle and Penzance. Here’s a little rundown of each.

BUDE SEA POOL : is a sea pool at Summerleaze Beach. The pool is currently run by a local charity - Friends of Bude Sea Pool (FoBSP). It offers free entry and there’s no need to book. The pool itself is around 91m x 45m in size and holds 4 million litres of water.

MORE INFO & WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

FOOTAGE OF THE POOL - CLICK HERE

 

JUBILEE POOL : is the largest salt water art deco lido in the country. Again, run by a local community group. The Jubilee Pool offers cold water swimming, has a geothermal pool and cafe/shop. Tickets can be purchased online or bought in person, on the day. It’s approx 98 x 56m and holds around 5 million litres of water.

MORE INFO & WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

FOOTAGE OF THE POOL - CLICK HERE

 

HAYLE LIDO : is a small outdoor pool, sat on the bank of the Hayle estuary. Typically opens in May and offers swimming until the start of September. The pool is run by Hayle Council. As a smaller outdoor pool, with an overnight thermal cover, the pool regularly reaches temperatures of 20-24 degrees through the summer.

MORE INFO & BOOKING : CLICK HERE

 

UNA LIDO : is a very new, high end lido in St Ives, Cornwall. Onsite spa and a number of facilities. Open year round.

MORE INFO & BOOKING : CLICK HERE


As well as shorter list of various counties lidos, we also have a comprehensive guide to the UKs lidos. Simply follow the button below :

Sea Swim Cornwall have also put together their own Top-Trumps style game, featuring a number of the UKs lidos. CLICK HERE to find out more.


The Devil's Chimney Cave Swim

We’re fairly certain this cave doesn’t have an official name, so we’ve named it the ‘Devil’s Chimney’. There’s a small, dark opening that could easily be missed and has been at least once by us! From the outside it looks very unimpressive, simply a small dark opening under a large rock. When you swim into the cave it’s quite narrow, it’s dull and not particularly impressive. Once you get into the cave, that’s where the magic. There’s what we like to describe as a chimney that allows light to flood in and suddenly this dark cave is transformed into this bright, rather spectacular space. The light seems to bounce off the seabed and illuminate the whole cave. One swimmer on the last swim we did here summed it up perfectly. We arrived at the cave and she said “is this it!?”. Once she’d gone the whole way through her entire facial expression had changed and she said “…can we do it again!?”.

Before I’m inundated with exact location requests I’ll point out that to get to the cave you need the right conditions and tides. If you don’t do your research you could get in trouble. I won’t be handing out location info in a hurry.