Introduction
This site is a collection of mostly digital photgraphs of the coasts, ports and creeks of Cornwall - anywhere that tidal water flows. It's by no means complete, and I have more photos to add. I've now started loading some photos that were taken on colour film, up to 2004. These pre 2005 pictures (several of which were taken on the water) have a black border to distinguish them at a glance from the digital ones.
(Latest site update: 19. 07. 2015.)
I have covered a good part of the coasts, rivers and creeks of Cornwall. The pictures are grouped geographically, but dates are given too. There are seven main Groups, corresponding to the links at the head of each page, although many also have sub-groups attached. The main Groups are:
(Latest site update: 19. 07. 2015.)
I have covered a good part of the coasts, rivers and creeks of Cornwall. The pictures are grouped geographically, but dates are given too. There are seven main Groups, corresponding to the links at the head of each page, although many also have sub-groups attached. The main Groups are:
Tamar to Zone Point
The River Tamar is Cornwall's eastern boundary; it empties into Plymouth Sound in the south, but it rises only a few miles from Morwenstowe on the north coast. (So Cornwall is almost an island!)
Zone Point is the east side of the entrance to Falmouth Harbour, so this group covers mainly the south coast from Plymouth Sound to Falmouth.
Zone Point is the east side of the entrance to Falmouth Harbour, so this group covers mainly the south coast from Plymouth Sound to Falmouth.
Falmouth Harbour
This large, sheltered harbour has many creeks that run into it, and several of these, like the Truro River, have their own sub-group.
Falmouth Bay
The Bay includes the coast and beaches from Zone Point to Manacle Point, and also the Helford River and some of its tributaries.
Manacles to Penlee
This Group includes the coast around the Lizard Peninsula, and on to Mounts Bay, Penzance and Newlyn. Penlee Point is just south of Newlyn, and is the site of the old Lifeboat Station, now a memorial to the loss of the RNLB Solomon Browne.
Penlee to St Ives
This Group follows the coast around Land's End, past Cape Cornwall and Pendeen Lighthouse, to the resort of St Ives (home of the Tate Modern), and the coast just south.
Hayle to Holywell Bay
This Group starts with Hayle harbour and its creeks, then follows the coast north, passing St Agnes Head and the beach at Perranporth, to the Gull Rocks off Holywell.
Newquay to Padstow
From Newquay itself, this Group follows the coast north, including Trevose Head and then explores Padstow Harbour and the River Camel up to Wadebridge.
Notes on navigating this website
The top-of-page links use these abbreviations: FH for Falmouth, and NQ for Newquay. (Also Pt, Hbr, and B for Point, Harbour, and Bay.)
At the bottom right of every page there's a Next page button: Clicking that takes you to
the next page in the Group, or to the first page of the next Group if you just finished one group.
So you could work your way through the whole website just using Next page. But that is probably not what you want to do!
To select the Group(s) you want to explore, press the Home button on your keyboard
to return to the top of the page, and make your choice from the menu there.
(Bottom left of all pages bar this one is a Previous page button: this takes you to the previous page in the Group, or the last page
of the Previous Group if you're on the first page of a new Group. This is for a quick check on something you just read or saw.)
A brief note on Tides
Tides are caused by the gravity of the Moon and the Sun pulling on the seas. The revolution of the moon and Earth about their common centre of gravity (which is actually about 1,000 M below the surface of the Earth) also plays an important part. But to keep it simple, I'll just note that when Sun and Moon reinforce each other (around New Moon or Full Moon) we get Spring Tides, which are bigger than average. When Sun and Moon are at cross-purposes, however (at First or Third Quarter Moon) we get Neap Tides, which are smaller than average.
EG, in Falmouth in May 2013, a particular Neap tide had a Tidal Range of 2.3 m (7.58 ft)
About a week later, the Spring Tide had a Range of 4.8 m (15.82 ft). Quite a difference!
(The tidal range is the vertical difference between High and Low Tide on any particular day.)
The tidal cycles of Neaps and Springs recur every two weeks, and they follow the movements of the Moon, which has the greatest
gravitational effect on the sea, being much closer to us than the Sun. This means that the tide gets on average 50 minutes later from day to day.
But there are other factors that affect the tides, and anyone using the sea or a tidal coastline would be wise to get a local tide table.
In Cornwall, High Water Spring (HWS) tides occur roughly at 0600 and 1800 (GMT, or an hour later in BST). This means that for much of the day the tide is mostly 'out', which is fine for people who just want to play on a sandy beach. But there can be problems when the tide begins to rise. At half-tide the water can be rising at about three or more feet per hour, and a flat sandy beach can cover remarkably quickly when this happens, so people suddenly find themselves surrounded by rising water. But many places on the Cornish coast have tides that come right up to the cliff face, and often these cliffs are unclimbable. Every season brings stories of terrified people 'trapped by the tide' having to be rescued from such places.
Don't join their numbers - GET A TIDE TABLE!
You can also get online tidal predictions from the UK Hydrographic Office
The top-of-page links use these abbreviations: FH for Falmouth, and NQ for Newquay. (Also Pt, Hbr, and B for Point, Harbour, and Bay.)
At the bottom right of every page there's a Next page button: Clicking that takes you to
the next page in the Group, or to the first page of the next Group if you just finished one group.
So you could work your way through the whole website just using Next page. But that is probably not what you want to do!
To select the Group(s) you want to explore, press the Home button on your keyboard
to return to the top of the page, and make your choice from the menu there.
(Bottom left of all pages bar this one is a Previous page button: this takes you to the previous page in the Group, or the last page
of the Previous Group if you're on the first page of a new Group. This is for a quick check on something you just read or saw.)
A brief note on Tides
Tides are caused by the gravity of the Moon and the Sun pulling on the seas. The revolution of the moon and Earth about their common centre of gravity (which is actually about 1,000 M below the surface of the Earth) also plays an important part. But to keep it simple, I'll just note that when Sun and Moon reinforce each other (around New Moon or Full Moon) we get Spring Tides, which are bigger than average. When Sun and Moon are at cross-purposes, however (at First or Third Quarter Moon) we get Neap Tides, which are smaller than average.
EG, in Falmouth in May 2013, a particular Neap tide had a Tidal Range of 2.3 m (7.58 ft)
About a week later, the Spring Tide had a Range of 4.8 m (15.82 ft). Quite a difference!
(The tidal range is the vertical difference between High and Low Tide on any particular day.)
The tidal cycles of Neaps and Springs recur every two weeks, and they follow the movements of the Moon, which has the greatest
gravitational effect on the sea, being much closer to us than the Sun. This means that the tide gets on average 50 minutes later from day to day.
But there are other factors that affect the tides, and anyone using the sea or a tidal coastline would be wise to get a local tide table.
In Cornwall, High Water Spring (HWS) tides occur roughly at 0600 and 1800 (GMT, or an hour later in BST). This means that for much of the day the tide is mostly 'out', which is fine for people who just want to play on a sandy beach. But there can be problems when the tide begins to rise. At half-tide the water can be rising at about three or more feet per hour, and a flat sandy beach can cover remarkably quickly when this happens, so people suddenly find themselves surrounded by rising water. But many places on the Cornish coast have tides that come right up to the cliff face, and often these cliffs are unclimbable. Every season brings stories of terrified people 'trapped by the tide' having to be rescued from such places.
Don't join their numbers - GET A TIDE TABLE!
You can also get online tidal predictions from the UK Hydrographic Office
Foot of 'Introduction' |