Bow Beach or Vault Beach in Gorran Haven
Location
The beach is located on the South Coast of Cornwall - about 20 km West of Falmouth. The closest village is Gorran Haven which is about 1km North of the beach
Access and Parking
The easiest access to the beach is from Gorran Haven where there is a public car park. From the village, head South on the Coast Path for around 1 km around Maenease Point. Where the Coast Path heads inland (and uphill!) follow a path to your left which will lead downhill to the beach.
It’s also possible to approach the beach by foot from the West. You can park in a small (around 10 spaces) National Trust car park at Penare Farm. This is on a very narrow single track road which isn’t for the faint-hearted (having no passing places and no visibility of what might be coming the other way!)
The nearest post code to the NT car park is: PL26 6NY
From Penare, follow a footpath opposite the car park out to the Coast Path (this is signed) and turn left / East when you reach the coast. Don’t follow the South West Coast Path, but instead follow the smaller path that runs closer to the cliff edge and directly above the beach. Turn right downhill when you reach the Eastern end of the beach
Both routes onto the beach are on good paths and provide relatively easy access
The Beach
The beach is a mix of coarse sand, pebbles and larger rocks. It is widest at its Eastern End and gradually narrows as it runs Westward. At most times there should be around 1km of usable beach and a low tide it would be possible to climb even further West along the beach over rocks
The beach is backed by cliffs along its whole length and is only accessible from paths at its Eastern end.
The beach is safe for swimming, with the cliffs at the Western end of the beach providing natural shelter. The beach shelves quite steeply below the shoreline which might be a problem for less confident swimmers. The relatively sheltered nature of the beach means that seaweed can also accumulate in the water, which might be a problem for some people.
There are no facilities of any kind on the beach - the closest shops and public toilets are both in Gorran Haven.
Naturism
The beach is well established for Naturism but not ‘official’.
As there is always a long stretch of beach available, naturists and non naturists tend to occupy different parts of the beach, with naturists using the Western end of the beach (furthest from the access path). The ‘boundary’ will vary, but there is a white paint marking on rocks about half way along the beach which seems to mark an unofficial starting point.
There are rocks along the length of the beach that will give more privacy / shelter if required. There is no access to anywhere else at this end of the beach, there will be few non naturists walking past.
The access path in from Penare would also be pretty quiet on most days so it should be possible to walk this naked as well without meeting too many people (if this is a consideration for you!).
Updated 5.5.19 Aw
