Bessy’s Cove is one of a collection of rugged little inlets that make up Prussia Cove on the south coast of Cornwall, west of Praa Sands.
This place is just brimming with Cornish tales and has a real air of history about it. It’s named after Bessey Bussow (what a name!) who owned the Kiddlywink Inn above the cove in the 1700s. A ‘wink’ was an unlicensed pub so naturally she was great mates with brothers John and Harry Carter (known as the King of Prussia, hence ‘Prussia Cove’), who with the help of the ‘Cove Boys’ ran one of the most successful smuggling rackets in Cornwall.
Tunnels ran from the inn down to the beach, and you can still see the track marks made by the wagons carved into the rock. John armed the headlands above Bessy’s Cove with a range of defences and was respected among the locals – and customs officials – as an ‘honest man’.
There’s a small car park above Bessy’s Cove, and it’s a short 5/10 minute walk down from there. There are several places to swim, whether you get in from the slipway on a calm day, or follow the track marks across the rocks to the little shingly beach on a low tide.
Watch the winds and the swell though – it’s a very rocky, narrow cove so it can be a bit sloshy and dangerous to swim if rough.
Similar spots: another place rich in smuggling tales ~ Polperro
