Porth Joke, Cornwall

Porth Joke is a sheltered sandy beach, lined by low cliffs, with a stream flowing through, and rocky outcrops exposed at low tide. Although just 2 miles from Newquay it is rarely busy since the access road is a little out-of-the-way, and a quarter mile walk is needed to get here, hence it receives far fewer visitors than the very popular beaches in town.

Porth is a Cornish word for cove, while Joke is apparently a simplification of lejouack, meaning a jackdaw. The beach is known locally as Polly Joke, polly being based on another Cornish word poll, or pool.

The beach has a good amount of golden sand, and the cliffs form many little alcoves, good for secluded sunbathing. The ground slopes very gently so the sea remains shallow for some distance. The enclosing cliffs, containing a few sea caves, are dark and jagged - composed of mudstones and siltstones from the Trendrean Mudstone Formation.

The Beach

Parking for Porth Joke is on the south side of West Pentire village, overlooking farm fields. The quarter mile route to the beach is along a path southwards, then west between two fields, one filled with flowering poppies in early summer, and south again a short distance, descending slightly to the edge of the beach, beside the shallow stream, its waters fanning out across the sands, which at low tide extend about 1,500 feet towards the sea. Either side of the beach the coast remains rocky for a while apart from a tiny inaccessible cove just to the west; the next major beaches are Holywell Bay southwest and Crantock Bay to the northeast.