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Carne Beach

Carne Beach one of Cornwall's best kept secrets

Carne Beach is situated in a secluded bay on the Roseland Heritage Coast. It is well off the beaten track and is renowned for being quiet and unspoilt - it has been described as having all the exclusivity of a private island.

It stretches from the iconic Nare Head to the east and as far as the eye can see towards the Lizard in the west. At low tide it joins the small but charming Pendower beach and forms over a mile of golden sand and a delightful selection of rock pools.

With a refined elegance and wrap around comfort, this award winning country house is blessed with beautiful gardens that tumble down towards the golden stretch of Carne Beach.

Rochelle Venables, Waitrose Garden Magazine

Holidaymakers enjoy the sun and sand at Carne Beach, the best beach on the south Cornish coast.
Carne Beach - one of the best beaches in Cornwall

Carne is perfect for swimming and with acres of golden sand, shallows and rock pools, is a child’s paradise. The gently sloping sand and soft swelling waves of the south coast mean the beach is particularly safe for children, as well as providing an ideal environment for windsurfing, sailing or excursions in the hotel's boats or kayaks.

As one disgruntled TripAdvisor reviewer points out, Carne is “flat, wide and with little to fire the imagination”. There are no amusements, no shops and......only the Tea by the Sea food truck and an unpredictable ice-cream van. There’s no surf school, no phone signal and nowhere to launch a jet ski. In other words, on these outrageously beautiful sands, you have to make your own fun. What a disappointment.

Susan D’Arcy, 50 Best Beaches in Britain, The Sunday Times

Dogs are welcome on the beach throughout the year. During the summer season they should be kept on the lead on the beach during the daytime, though in the morning and evening and during the winter months they can run for miles across the sand.

A woman walks her dog along Carne Beach, south Cornwall.
Carne Beach is dog friendly

Across the Roseland there are many secret sandy coves waiting to be discovered. Some are accessible by car and some have to be discovered by walking down the coastal paths.

The country house hotel by the sea