Sea kayaking in North Cornwall near Tintagel

Kayak Tour at Port Quin

• If you haven't been sea kayaking before and would give it a try, or would like an organised tour then there are few organisations who do kayak tours:
  • Cornish Coast Adventures based at Port Quin.
  • Cornish Rock Tors based at Polzeath
  • Shoreline Activities although based in Bude do tours along the Tintagel Coastline e.g. Port Quin to Boscastle
  • Atlantic Pursuits do kayaking and canadian canoeing around the Bude area
  • Harlyn surf school near Padstow do kayak tours and hire
• You can also hire kayaks for a day (or the whole week) from Camel canoe and kayaks.

Trebarwith Strand

Camel Estuary at Daymer Bay

If the sea is really flat then you can launch a kayak from Trebarwith Strand which is not only nearby but a great bit of coastline.

If there is a swell, the surf on many west-facing Atlantic beaches can be a pain for launching and landing kayaks. Luckily there are some sheltered places nearby you can launch from that don't have this problem:

• Port Quin is ideal with a very short walk from the carpark to the slipway.
• Port Gaverne is also ideal though you might need to drop your stuff off and then park up at the top of the hill in Port Isaac
• Boscastle is very good at high tide and when it's not too crowded.
• Tintagel Haven (Castle Beach) - there is hardly any parking near the castle and there is a landrover service going up and down you might meet on the single track road so it's only really viable after about 6pm and there are also quite a few steps down to the beach to carry your gear down... but it is a great bit of coastline.
• Rock or Daymer Bay are good places to explore the camel estuary from.

Other areas in North Cornwall you might also want to explore by kayak are Bude Canal and the river Camel (you can kayak from Wadebridge down to Rock if you have a patient partner who is willing to drive to collect you!)

Caves opposite Tintagel Castle

Coastline around Bossiney

You can explore this stretch of coastline from either Trebarwith Strand or Tintagel Haven (Castle Beach). From Trebarwith Stand you can paddle out to Gull Rock in 5-10 min or left past Dennis Point to Backways Cove and Tregardock.

If you head right from Trebarwith Strand past Penhallick point it's about an hour's leisurely paddle to Tintagel castle. In between Penhallic point and the castle is a HUGE sea cave which you can paddle inside at high tide (NB only attempt this if there is no swell) - take a torch.

There are also some sea caves in the side of Barras Nose, just out from Tintagel Haven. Grey seals may have pups in these caves in the Autumn - don't get to close if they do as you might get chased off by a protective mother. From Tintagel Haven, in about an hour you can paddle round Barras Nose and Willapark to Bossiney Haven and Benoath Cove and where Rocky Valley meets the sea and in about another half an hour to the rock stacks at Trevalga.

Boscastle coastline

Razorbills near Pentargon

Pentargon

From Boscastle there is an island directly out from the harbour with seabird colonies. If you paddle to the left you can reach the rock stacks at Trevalga in about an hour. If you want to go further, see the section above on Tintagel.

To the right from Boscastle you can reach Pentargon in about three-quarters an hour. On the way there are lots of razorbill colonies and a sea cave that goes in a LONG way (see the video below and note the razorbills flying past at the start).

In about another half an hour you can reach the tiny beaches at Beeny. In about another three quarters of an hour from there you can reach The Strangles. Don't even think about attempting this unless the sea is completely calm - The Strangles got its name for a good reason!

Port Quin

If you launch your kayak from either Port Gaverne or Port Quin you can explore this stretch of coastline. To the right of Port Gaverne are some small coves the can only be reached by sea. To the left of Port Gaverne it's a couple of hours paddle to Port Quin.

From Port Quin it's about 15 min paddle to the left to Lundy Bay. From here it's about half an hour to Pentire Point and the Rumps and about another half an hour to Polzeath.

Fishing at Tintagel Castle

Bass at Hole Beach

Fishing from a sea kayak with a handline is very effective - we often pop out for a few fresh mackerel for a family barbeque. A tandem kayak is ideal so one person can paddle and the other can unhook fish, but as long as you can stow your paddle easily it's perfectly possible in a one-man kayak (we have friends that do). Handlines with just 2 or 3 feathers are best (a string of 6 is a nightmare to unhook).

Trolling with a lure for bass can be effective as the video below shows:

If you are bait fishing then consider carefully what you might have to deal with:

• We do get fairly large sharks following mackerel shoals so if you are fishing with e.g. half a mackerel as bait you are auditioning for the Darwin awards. Don't be silly.
• There are less drastic forms of family planning available than landing an angry conger eel between your legs; fishing over rocks at dawn/dusk/night is unwise.
• Fishing over sand you are reasonably likely to catch dogfish which are no fun when they are sandpapering their way around your bare arm. Make sure you have a cloth or glove in case you need to unhook one.