When we stayed in Praa Sands In Cornwall we found a coastline of beaches we could visit but we wanted to walk from Praa Sands to Bessys Cove as it meant we didn’t have to drive. It had been a very wet morning here, so we started this walk late afternoon. Which ended up being beautiful as we got to see the sun setting over the hills. I will go through the route we took, but following the coastal path along is very easy, well not footing but finding it!
Starting at Praa Sand beach side you will see a small gate with a footpath up the hill, this is a signposted route and you just follow the pathway up the hill to see this view.
We could see the house we were staying in from this view! Keep following the path along, it is very rugged and narrow in places.
You will come across little beach areas that you most of the time you cannot access, but some you can.
Once you’ve followed this pathway along, you will spot Prussia Cove beach and these grey buildings, these are the houses at Prussia Cove, and Bessy’s Cove is tucked around the corner of this hill. The story of these are amazing and the history of these buildings is fascinating. Prussia Cove is best known as the site of the Carter family’s home and hideout. The Carter Family were infamous smugglers and shipwreckers who were active during the 18th century. The cove’s smuggling past is still evident today with man-made tunnels rumoured to lead to the houses on the cliffs above and donkey-cart tracks cut into the rocks.
Bessys Cove is named after Bessy Burrows, a local inn (wink) keeper that Carter supplied with contraband brandy. Currently, these houses are all used as Prussia Cove holiday cottages and are very tucked away with very limited access by car, beaches are accessed only by footpaths.
As you follow the footpath around a little further you will see Bessy’s Cove, you can see it’s just tucked in the hills and this is not accessible when the tide is in, so look up your tide times for Bessys Cove to make sure you can access it.
Walk past all the holiday cottages, it feels like you’re walking through the driveway of the big houses, but keep going and you will see the signs for the beach. You need to scramble down the cliffs to make it down to the beach.
Once on the beach, it’s amazing seeing the tunnels that have been boarded up on the beach, amazing they made all these so many years ago and smuggled so much in!
The beach is made up of very sharp stones/sand so make sure you’ve got some beach shoes on if you’re walking barefoot on it, pretty black and white sand though. The exposed rocks are great for rock pooling and seeing what has been left in them.
Bessys Cove is dog friendly, and mine loved swimming out. The waves were quite strong here, so be aware of that, Gus is very confident in the water but he would have to let the wave pull him in as he couldn’t swim against the wave!
It was such a nice evening in August on this beach, quite a few families came down to play on the beach and sea, with lots of Kayaking around the cliffs. I think they might have walked down from the holiday cottages as it’s such a fun beach to have so close.
It’s very rugged and you have to climb down the cliff with this underfoot, so be aware of this.
We headed back home following the same path backwards but we needed to be quick as the sun was setting, but once we were back on Praa Sands beach we turned back and looked at this beautiful scene.
Praa Sands has a great bar where we stopped for a drink before heading home.
Pictures Taken August 2023
Tips For A Walk From Praa Sands To Bessys Cove Cornwall
- Bessys Cove is dog-friendly
- Take your pick with the beach as Prussia Cove is there too
- Can only visit when the tide is going out.
- Very rugged underfoot
- Small paths on coastal path
- Steep parts and drop offs
- Beach is sharp sand
- No facilities
- Parking at Praa Sands to start the walk