Tourists and locals say they are not deterred by the thousands of visitors heading to Cornwall located on a peninsula on England’s southwestern tip. Here, there are hundreds of sandy beaches, beautiful harbor villages, and seaside resorts amid the towering majestic cliffs. People come to surf in Newquay and enjoy the coast that has earned the nickname, the Cornish Riviera.
The irony of it all is that tourists are attracted to Cornwall for its tranquility. But on a given day, for example, Perranporth beach gets up to 10,000 visitors. Yes, in one day.
Mass overcrowding of the area has caused the “Visit Cornwall” Tourist Board to stop promoting two of its beaches because of what it has called “unprecedented gridlock.”
The summer heatwave is driving more people to the region, accounting for a 20 percent increase in visitor numbers. Malcolm Bell from Visit Cornwall said an influx at Porthcurno and Kynance Cove in the west was due to the locations being heavily promoted on social media, and the “massively hot weather.”
Still, Visit Cornwall said not all of the beaches have been inundated. Some of Cornwall’s 400 beaches and coves are still hoping for more visitors. From iconic sandy beaches to intimate sheltered coves, Cornwall’s beaches are gloriously varied. Dog friendly, family friendly, golden, pebbly, bustling or even blissfully empty. Visitors can get out in the surf at Fistral Beach, dip their toes in the turquoise waters at Porthcurno, or hunt for crabs at Treyarnon Bay.
