Carlyon is a wild card on this list of beautiful Cornish swim spots, but bear with me. It’s a very large sandy beach, stretching over 2 miles, so you can get a good distance swim here along the shoreline. And when the tide is high enough, you can swim around the enormous rock that sits on the sand which is always a pull for me.
Once the entertainment hub of St Austell bay, Carlyon was home to a huge music venue and was a vibrant, busy place, the most popular beach on this stretch, by far. Currently there is a lot of work underway and the rear of the beach is littered with shipping containers and ugly fencing. The sand here is actually a fine gritty mix of mineral waste from the tin and china clay industries. It’s still popular with tourists in summer though, and dog walkers out of season. There’s a decent-sized car park (steps down to the beach) and there are several food places and entertainment if that’s what you are after.
But that’s not why Carlyon made this blog. It made the cut because if you swim out to the right of the rock, only just off the low water mark, you will discover an underwater wonderland that is just buzzing with life. Kelp and other seaweeds in all colours, huge spider crabs ambling along the bottom and clinging to rocks, and fish of all sizes darting in and out of rocky crevices. Perhaps all the more beautiful because of the contrast to the less than pretty beach, it’s a stunning and easily accessible swim that you definitely want your goggles/mask for. Visit out of season and the car park is usually free too.
Similar spots: For snorkelling swims ~ Porthpean
