St. Agnes
We believe Aggie has everything. It’s an unspoilt spot on the North Cornish coast within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a World Heritage Site. It’s home to some of the most beautiful beaches in Cornwall and it has access to some stunning coast paths and walks. The town is full of independent shops, businesses and great places to eat. St.Agnes is one of the most wonderful and vibrant communities in Cornwall.
Places to eat
Our location means you can enjoy the best food St. Agnes has to offer without needing to get in your car. Here’s a selection of our local favourites.
SCHOONERS BISTRO
A relaxed and informal restaurant with the best view right above the beach at Trevaunance Cove. Good pizza and a decent range of drinks.
DRIFTWOOD SPARS
Take a left out of the front door and onto Quay Road to find The Driftwood just before you reach the beach. Good pub food, open fires and stunning ale from their own award winning microbrewery just yards from Trevaunance Cove. A note on the amazing ale, be careful of ‘Alfie’s Revenge’, a lovely red ale, but at 6.5% you’ll discover why it’s called Revenge the next morning… Seat yourself in any of the three bars or the dining room, which overlooks the cove. During the summer the Crib Shack opens which offers food, drinks and ice cream with outdoor seating. The building itself is steeped in history having been a tin mining warehouse, chandlery, sail making loft and fish cellar over the years. The Drfitwood is popular with both locals and tourists so you’re advised to book during the high season. Dogs are welcome in the bars but not the dining room.
CORNISH PIZZA COMPANY
If you’re thinking take away then the Cornish Pizza Company does amazing thin crust pizza for takeaway or delivery. The pizzas are dedicated to the area’s colourful mining history with names such as Wheal Kitty, Wheal Prosper and Wheal Friendly. The pizza dough is made daily on the premises using organic unbleached flour. Locally sourced toppings including Cornish cheeses such as Cornish Blue, Old Smokey, Cornish Yarg and Cornish Brie. They also stock a lot of good beers from local brewery's. Opening hours vary. Out of season they don’t open Monday, but during July and August they are open 7 days a week. Will deliver free if order is over £25 – otherwise it’s £2. It’s only a five minute walk through the village, turn right out of the door.
THE TAPHOUSE
The Tappy is just a short stroll down to Peterville. It serves good food seven days a week alongside a good selection of wines and beer. In the evenings it can be lively and hosts great live music nights from both local talent and larger bands.
ST. AGNES HOTEL
Just a few yards away in Churchtown the St. Agnes Hotel is family run 17th century hotel that prides itself on more traditional home cooked food. Nice sunny back garden that does lovely pizzas during the season.
FISSION CHIPS
Tucked away in the corner of Churchtown Square, Fission Chips is your good honest local chippy who have been doing it right for over 50 years.
THE SORTING OFFICE
A lovely artisan coffee shop in Churchtown. Great coffee, cakes, pastries, bagels and conversation. The inside is small and cosy with a rustic, cool interior design. Definitly one for your early morning coffee - opens at 8.30.
SELF CATERING
Self catering is simple as there’s loads of local shops to cater for what ever you need. For basic groceries then Select Convienience is 100 yds away and open until late every night. They cover a lot of your basics and are now the location of the local Post Office. Opposite is the excellent Churchtown Fruit and Veg. They sell the obvious plus a good range of health and organic related stuff. There’s also a butchers in Churchtown and Trunk Deli. Further up the main street you’ll find a Spar, another fruit and veg shop and another bakery, as well as a Boots chemist and a newsagent. If you feel the need to do a ‘big shop’ or get something more specialist there are a range of Supermarkets within a reasonable distance in Truro and Redruth.
GENKI
Just turn left out of the front door and head down the Stippy Stappy and onto Quay Road to find Genki, a lovely little beach hut with a license to chill less than 5 minutes away. Good brunch, smoothies, cakes, coffee, beer, wine and cocktails are all available. Friday night themed eating during season. In case you wondered Genki means health and happiness in Japanese. Open from March to November.
BLUE BAR
The Blue Bar is right on the beach at Porthtowan. Stunning views, we've often seen dolphins whilst sitting outside on an evening. It's very casual and friendly. It serves pretty good bar food, coffee and alcohol all day. Good for families, kids and dogs. We often park up at Chapel Porth at low tide and walk across the beach, one of our favourite walks in the whole world. You can walk back over the cliff path if the tide is heading in.
ST. AGNES BAKERY
The nearest possible source of food to the house is the very excellent St Agnes Bakery, some morning you can smell the ovens if you’ve got the windows open. They have been baking fresh bread and pasties in the village since 1905. The pasties are the more authentic kind plus they do a good selection for vegetarians too.
CHAPEL PORTH CAFÉ
For the best ice cream (the hedgehog is the most well known ice cream in North Cornwall) and a decent Croque Monsieur overlooking the best beach in the UK head down to Chapel Porth Café. Chapel Porth Beach 1st April – 1st November 10am to 6pm 7 days a week 1st November – 1st April – Saturday and Sunday 10am to 4pm. In the season keep an eye out for Night Hatch on Friday and Saturday evenings, amazing food cooked by local chef Adam Vasey.
Beaches
Cornwall is full of incredible beaches. Whether it's surfing, walking, sunbathing or rock-pooling you'll find a beach you love. Here's our local favourites.
TREVAUNANCE COVE
This is St. Agnes's beautiful local beach. Just a 10 minute walk from the front door of 2 Stippy Stappy. A great sandy family beach backed with cliffs and remnants of the areas mining heritage. There is Breakers Café, Schooners Restaurant and limited surf hire during the season. It's a great starting point for coastal walks to Perranporth or around St. Agnes Head towards Chapel Porth.
It's a good surfing beach that works well in big swells when other beaches are too big. The break can be busy in season (and out of season) but if conditions are right you'll see world class surfing here from some amazing local talent. There's surf hire at Aggie Surf Shop in Peterville and if you want a lesson then Tom at Breakers Surf School is your man on 07725842196.
PORTHTOWAN
Porthtowan beach is part of the same large expanse of sand that joins up with Chapel Porth at low tide. Unlike Chapel there's still a reasonable sized beach at high tide. It's a beautiful sandy beach backed by cliffs and small dunes as you head up into the village. Known for its clean water, the beach has been awarded Blue Flag status for exceptional quality and cleanliness. Great for families and walkers. There's a reasonable sized pay and display car park and the beach is also home to the well known The Blu Bar , if you fancy food and drink. We often park at Chapel Porth, wander across the beach to the Porthtowan, grab a drink here and head back over the cliffs if the tide is on its way in.
Again it's a classic North coast surf spot, forming part of the 'Badlands' along with Aggie and Chapel. There's surf hire at Tris Surf Shop in the village, one of the original surf pioneers of Cornwall.
CHAPEL PORTH
Just around the headland from St. Agnes is Chapel Porth. At high tide it looks like a tiny cove, but at low tide a huge expanse of beautiful sand opens out along the cliffs right up to Porthtowan. The beach walk beween the two is one of our favourite things to do in the world. Sometimes after a heavy winter storm the beach never fully clears for you to walk across, but the views out to sea towards St. Ives to the South and St. Agnes Head to the North are stunning from the beach or the South West Coast Path cliff walks.
Perfect family beach in the summer with lots of sand and easy body boarding.
If you're heading to Chapel during the season the small national Trust car park fills up by 10am. You can drop your stuff off and park up the hill if it's full. There's a great little café at the back of the car park. Again it's a good surfing beach but only when conditions allow, definitley not one for beginners.
GODREVY
Godrevy beach overlooks the the Godrevy light house which stands on it's own island just out to sea. The beach is lined by rocks with many rock pools and steep cliffs. There's stunning views across the bay towards St. Ives on a clear day.
A large seal colony lives at Godrevy and can be seen on an enclosed beach from the cliff top.
Godrevy is managed by the National Trust, there are two car parks. The main car park acts as good parking for both Godrevy and the Northern end of Gwithian, and is also home of the excellent Godrevy Beach Café. The field car parks, closer to the light house and the seals is open from Easter to October.
GWITHIAN TOWANS
Gwithian is at the end of St. Ives bay, a huge stretch of sand that runs from Hayle up to Godrevy. It's bordered by dunes and cliffs, popular with surfers, kayakers, walkers and families. There is a large pay and display car park with the Sunset Cafe offering good food and drink.
Gwithian and the nearby Hayle area offer some good surfing. As it's so big there's always a spot somewhere. The breaks do get crowded in the summer, but they offer waves for all skill levels and, critically in the winter months, several options when the exposed beaches are taking a battering. Follow Down The Line surf shop on Instagram to get a look at the bay everyday.
MEXICO TOWANS
Another part of the large expanse of beach around Gwithian is Mexico Towans. It's slightly harder to find than the others, but is worth it if you want the same huge beach with a few less people. Follow the signs to Sandy Acres Camp Site on Sany Acres Lane. You have to pay for parking as you enter the site and follow a really bumpy track to the car park. From the car park high up on the cliffs you get a great view of the whole beach. A safe, sandy and steep footpath winds down onto the beach.
There's the small but lovely Sandy Acres Beach Café in the car park.
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