How To Get There
By Car – Follow the signs through the town to The International Surfing Centre at Fistral Beach. There is a paid for Car Park right next to the beach.
By Bus – Take the Western Greyhound route 588 Newquay circular. This route runs from the town centre to the south end of Fistral Beach and takes about 20 minutes. There is a bus stop at the start of Esplanade Road, 100m from the steps to the beach. Just let the bus driver know where you are heading when you get on.
By Foot – You can walk to Fistral Beach from the centre of Newquay which takes 10 -15 minutes depending on where you are staying.
Fistral beach welcomes well-behaved dogs throughout the year.
There is a lifeguard service from May – October.
What you will Find
This walk takes about 45 minutes, starting at the Fistral Beach complex and is about a mile long. It is a great walk to do before a meal at Fistral Blu Restaurant or a sundowner at the Fistral Beach bar.
The International Surfing Centre at Fistral Beach offers a wide range of facilities from Surf lessons to clothes shops, showers, toilets, surf lessons. Not to be missed is the Fistral Blu restaurant, renowned as one of the best restaurants in the area with amazing views of the beach and the perfect place to watch the sun go down.
The International Surfing Centre and Fistral Beach
Fistral Beach is the most famous beach in Newquay and is the home of British Surfing with many domestic and International surf contests taking place here each year. The beach itself is roughly 1 mile of sandy beach with Pentire Head to the south and the most westerly point in Newquay, Towan Head to the north.
Points of Interest to look out for on your walk
As with most Cornish beaches on the north coast, there is an exceptionally large tidal range. Fistral is a great beach at all tides thanks to its sand dunes and numerous access points; this makes it less dangerous than most local beaches which are submerged at high tide. But as with any beach, it is very important to understand the position of the tide and the sea state.
This walk is takes in many different aspects of the area, both natural and historical, so there should be something for everyone to explore.
1. North Fistral Coves
As you walk from the Fistral Complex turn right and head along the gravel coast path. As you round the corner under the Headland hotel, you will able to look down on a series of small sandy bays, perfect for kids to explore or those that want to have a little peace and quiet.
2. Little Fistral
As you pass along the path you will be able to see the beautiful little cove known as Little Fistral.
3. The old lifeboat house and slipway
The Old Lifeboat House and Slipway were completed in 1895. On two occasions the lifeboat crew were nearly killed in rough weather. The Lifeboat House was operational until 1934. After the depression, there were no longer horses available to bring the lifeboat back on to station from the harbour to Town head.
The Old Newquay slipway was officially the steepest slip way in Britain during its working life.
4. Towan Head
As you now climb up from the car park at Little Fistral on to Towan, take a look back at the view towards south Fistral - they really are amazing.
5. The Cribber
At the furthest point of the headland there is a ledge of rock that projects out under the sea. This is known as Cribber reef and when conditions are right, it creates some to the biggest surfable waves in the country The Cribber wave is regularly surfed by accomplished “Tow Surfers” – a group of progressive surfers who pull each other into the waves by high powered jet ski. Waves of up to 35 feet have been ridden here. Standing at the end of the headland watching these massive waves explode on the reef below is an awesome experience even when the wave is not being ridden.
Once you are ready to walk back, stop and have a look at the view from the head looking south towards Pentire headland the view is quite simply breathtaking.
6. The view south to Pentire Head
7. The walk back
As you start your walk back to the Fistral complex make sure you head up to the top of the Head and look North up the coast. Also there are some amazing views of Newquay itself, which give a very different perspective to the town.
8. Just in time for your Sundowner!
The bars at Fistral have a great range of cocktails to finish off your walk in perfect style.
