Cornwall Life – October 2019

(^90) ŠCornwall Life: August 2019
H
ow lucky are we? With
more than 250 miles
of coastline, nearly
a third of Cornwall
is designated as an Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty
(AONB), where there are more
than 300 beaches along one of
the most varied and beautiful
coastlines in the United Kingdom.
The statutory designation of
Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty covers ten coastal
sections in Cornwall plus two
inland areas of Bodmin Moor and
the Camel Estuary and this year
is particularly special as it is 60
years since the AONB designation
in 1959. Being designated an
Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty provides the same
protection as a National Park,
this was further endorsed in the
Countryside and Rights of Way
Act 2000.
We are also very fortunate
to have some of the cleanest
swimming spots in Europe.
Thanks to the work of local beach
champions, Cornwall Council and
Sharp’s Brewery, 22 iconic Blue
Flags were awarded in May 2019.
A Blue Flag is not just awarded
for the quality of the water but also
involves educating and informing
the public and this is all taken into
consideration when awarding the
Blue Flag standard. Many of the
Blue Flag beaches are situated
within the Cornwall AONB with
additional Seaside Awards being
given to a range of beaches also
within the 10 coastal sections of
the Cornwall AONB (see: cornwall.
gov.uk/Leisure-and-culture/
beaches-in-cornwall).
The latest addition to the
Seaside Award list of winning
Cornish Beaches is Crackington
Haven, located between Bude
and Boscastle. The beach at
Crackington Haven has a stony
foreshore intermixed with
golden sand.
Beyond the shingle beach
Crackington Haven provides
clear, clean waters and is a
perfect place to snorkel, with
RNLI Lifeguard cover between
July and September. For those
who prefer to stay on dry land
there are plenty of rock pools
to explore making it an ideal
beach for both adults and
children. Crackington Haven is
also an area of great geological
interest which can be explored
both above and below the
water, it even has a geological
occurrence named after it; the
globally recognised, Crackington
Formation, is a fractured shale
that has been bent and contorted
by the Earth’s movements
millions of years ago and is
clearly visible today. Landslips
tend to be common where the
Cornwall’s beaches are among the world’s most
beautiful – but they are also among the world’s
cleanest thanks to the hard work of many
Seeing blue
ABOVE: The
golden hour hits
Gwithian beach
LEFT: A hot
summer’s day
at Crackington
Haven
WILD CORNWALL
Jane Davies is Development Officer for
th e Cornwall AONB Partnership
Photo: Ewen MacDonald
Photo: Julie Folley