How To Get There
By Car – Take the B3276 out of Newquay and head north. Watergate is clearly sign posted and is about 10 minutes drive from the centre of town. There are two car parks to choose from, the most popular is the beach car itself. There are alternatives at the top of the hill as you come in from Newquay and opposite the Beachcomber Apartments. Both are paid for car parks.
By Bus – Take the Western Greyhound route 556 from the centre of Newquay, the journey takes about 20 minutes. There is a bus stop right next to the entrance to the beach.
By Foot – You can walk to Watergate Bay from the centre of Newquay heading out along the Barrowfields, past Lusty Glaze Beach, down the hill past Porth beach and up the other side to pick up the Cliff path. This will take you directly to Watergate with the most incredible views that the Cornish coast has to offer.
Watergate Bay is a privately owned beach. Well-behaved dogs are allowed throughout the year.
What you will find
This walk takes about an hour and is about 2 miles long.
Your first glimpse of Watergate bay is usually as you come down the hill into Watergate on the B3276 as you arrive from Newquay. There is a lay-by half way down the hill which is the perfect place to stop and take in this amazing view. It is one of the truly great views of the British coastline.
Watergate Bay has changed a huge amount in the last 10 years from sleepy a hamlet to a major tourist attraction based around the Extreme Academy. The Watergate Bay Hotel and most recently …and famously Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Restaurant are located here.
There is a very good “gastro pub” called “The Phoenix”, named so after it was renovated having been burnt to the ground. There are also car parks, surf hire shops and bus stop to get you into Newquay or further North to Padstow.
On the beach, you will find The Venus take away café who pride themselves on their organic menu. Or try the wonderful “Beach Hut” for a cold beer or an evening meal with terrace looking out over the beach. Of course, there is also Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner twelve months of the year.
The Extreme academy offers a wide range of activities from surfing, wind surfing to kite boarding and lots more. Right next to the extreme academy is the surf shop with a wide range of top surf brands offering fashion to hardware.
Points of Interest to look out for on your walk
Watergate Bay is a tidal beach that exposes a huge amount of sand at low tide but at high tide the beach is almost totally submerged. It is extremely important that you know what the tide is doing at the time you plan your walk. It is worth investing in a Newquay Tide Table (£1.30p from most Newsagents and surf shops).
We would suggest that the best walk is to head north (right if you are looking out to sea). The first point of interest is a big cave that you will see is under the high cliff that rises up and juts out from the back of the Watergate Bay Hotel. It is usually filled with sand which is great for the kids to explore. Due to the recent storms much of the sand has been stripped leaving a very large rock pool, still very beautiful with amazing rock formations to look at.
1. The cave
As you walk further you will see some huge cliffs full of crumbling Cornish stone. Must be worth a fortune at a garden centre! Huge rocks still tumble down the cliffs, so keep a safe distance and don’t climb - they are extremely dangerous.
As you get further towards the north end of the beach, look out a large finger of rock that comes out from the cliffs. At the base of the cliff is a giant archway cut out of the rock, go through it…. you are entering ” the land that time forgot”.
2. “Durdle Door”
As you pass through the “Door”, the scenery is breathtaking with giant rock stacks, caves, rock pools, mini waterfalls, and wild life such as Sea Hawks hunting along the cliffs above you.
3. A Sea Hawk hunting along the cliffs
The beauty of this area is that you are totally out in the wilderness, which is what all great walks are about.
4. The land that time forgot
5. The giant cave
At the furthest point at the north end of the beach you will find a huge cave, which is cut a long way back into the cliff. It is worth taking a torch so that you can have a good look around.
Once you are ready to walk back, stop and have a look at the view from the cave mouth back up the beach it really is quite incredible.
6. The view south from the cave
7. The walk back
If you haven’t had enough beauty already the walk back along the beach to the car park also allows for some stunning views south to Porth Island Newquay and Towan Head.
