Cornwall Tide Times

Cornwall has one of the larger tidal ranges in England - up to 8 metres between high and low water on spring tides. That moves the coastline several hundred metres twice a day. Walking onto a beach without checking the tide is the single most common reason coastguards launch a rescue here.

Live tide times - free sources

For real-time tide data, use one of these. All are free, all are accurate, all work offline once loaded.

• Easy Tide (easytide.admiralty.co.uk) - the UK Hydrographic Office's official service. Seven-day forecast for every UK port, including Newlyn, Falmouth, Devonport, Padstow, and St Mary's. The authoritative source.
• Tides Today (tides.today) - clean visual interface with sun, moon, and weather data alongside the tides.
• Tide Times UK app - free mobile app with offline mode. Caches data so it works without signal at remote beaches.
• BBC Weather - tide tables embedded in the regional weather pages for major Cornish locations.
• Magic Seaweed (magicseaweed.com) - aimed at surfers but shows tides alongside swell, wind, and surf forecast.

Cornwall's tide reference ports

UK tide tables are published for "reference ports." Other beaches use a small offset against the nearest reference port. Pick the one closest to your beach for the best accuracy.

Reference port	Region covered	What to use it for
Newlyn	West coast (Penzance, Mounts Bay, the Lizard)	Reference port for the south west; closest data for St Michaels Mount, Marazion, Mousehole, Porthcurno
Falmouth	South coast (Roseland, Helford, Falmouth, Truro)	Use for the south coast estuaries and Falmouth area beaches
Devonport	East Cornwall (Looe, Plymouth, Saltash)	Best for Looe, Polperro, the Tamar, and east-coast estuaries
Padstow	North coast (Newquay to Bude)	Tides on the north coast lag the south by ~30 minutes; check Padstow for Watergate, Mawgan Porth, Polzeath
St Marys (Isles of Scilly)	Isles of Scilly	Distinct from mainland - smaller range, different timings

North coast tides typically run 30 minutes behind the south coast. If you are checking Newlyn data for a north coast beach like Bedruthan, add 30 minutes.

Beaches that get cut off at high tide

These are the Cornish beaches where checking the tide is mandatory, not optional. Each entry shows risk level and what specifically goes wrong.

Beach	Risk	What happens at high tide
Holywell Bay	High	The big sandy bay narrows to nothing at high tide; rocks block the route back to the dunes. Strandings are weekly in summer.
Kynance Cove	High	The iconic stacks become an island, and the path to the lower beach disappears. Steps from the car park stay open.
Pedn Vounder	High	The white-sand bar connecting two coves vanishes at high water. Coastguards rescue people from here most weekends.
Bedruthan Steps	High	The beach below the cliffs is fully covered at high tide; never descend within 2 hours of high water.
Lansallos / Lantic / Lantivet Bay	Medium	Small east-coast coves where the path back climbs sharply if you leave it too late.
Porthcurno	Low-medium	Most of the beach stays accessible but the southern end and rocky steps get cut off.
Porthgwarra	Medium	Small, sheltered cove; access via the slipway is unaffected, but rock-pooling areas disappear.
Crantock	Medium	The Gannel river estuary fills at high tide; the pedestrian crossings to Newquay flood twice daily.
Daymer Bay	Low-medium	Wide bay stays accessible but the rock pools near Trebetherick Point get cut off.

Spring tides vs neap tides

Twice a month - around full moon and new moon - tides reach their largest range. These are spring tides. The highs are higher; the lows are lower. Cornish spring tides on the north coast can swing 7 to 8 metres between high and low water in 6 hours.

Between the springs, around the moon's first and last quarters, neap tides have a smaller range. Falmouth on a neap might only move 2.3 metres - barely enough to expose the rock pools.

Spring tides matter for visitors because:

• Beaches cut off faster. The water comes in further and quicker.
• Better rock-pooling. A spring low tide exposes pools that neaps never reach.
• Bigger surf. Spring tides change shape of the surf zone twice a day, sometimes generating heavy shore breaks.
• Tidal causeways. St Michael's Mount, Burgh Island, and the Camel Estuary crossings only walk-able at low water - much longer windows on a spring tide.

How to read a tide table

A standard tide table for a single day looks like this:

Newlyn - Tuesday 14 May
03:42  HW  5.2m
10:08  LW  0.8m
16:05  HW  5.1m
22:30  LW  0.9m
        

Reading clockwise: high water in the early morning at 5.2 metres above chart datum, low water mid-morning at 0.8 metres, second high water in the late afternoon, second low water at night. Range that day is 5.2 - 0.8 = 4.4 metres - a moderate tide.

Numbers below 4 metres for Newlyn or Padstow indicate a neap. Above 5.5 metres indicates a strong spring tide.

Planning around tides

For beach days

Aim to arrive at the start of a falling tide - more sand will be exposed through your visit, not less, and you will not be racing the water back. Best beach windows are 2 hours either side of low tide.

For rock-pooling and fossil-hunting

Spring low tides only. Check what's coming up at Easy Tide - look for low-water heights below 1 metre. Best rock-pooling beaches are Penberth, Cadgwith, Castle Beach (Falmouth), and Trevaunance Cove.

For surfing

Most Cornish surf beaches work best on the push of the tide - the 2 hours before high water. Watergate Bay and Fistral can also work mid-tide. Croyde, Polzeath, and Sennen prefer mid- to high-tide. Local surf schools post daily forecasts on their websites.

For St Michael's Mount

The granite causeway from Marazion is exposed for around 2-3 hours each side of low tide. Outside that window, you take the Mount Boat (£3 each way). Pre-book the castle online and the Mount website lists the day's walk-able window.

For the Camel Estuary (Padstow / Rock)

The Padstow-Rock ferry runs at all states of the tide but uses different boarding points. At low water, the ferry leaves from a sandbank rather than the harbour wall; signs direct you. Walking across is not safe at any tide.

For coast walks

Several beach-to-beach Coast Path sections route along the sand at low tide and require a clifftop alternative at high water. The classic example is the Daymer-to-Polzeath section: a 5-minute beach walk at low tide, a 25-minute clifftop loop at high tide. Always have the high-tide option in mind.

If you get caught

If you are cut off by an incoming tide:

• Do not panic and do not enter the water. Cold-water shock disables strong swimmers in under a minute.
• Move to higher ground and stay there - rocks above the high-tide line, the base of a cliff if it is not crumbling, the back of a cave.
• Phone 999 and ask for the Coastguard. Mobile signal works on most Cornish beaches; if not, send 999 SMS (you must register first - text "register" to 999 once, before you need it).
• Stay visible. Wave a brightly coloured jacket, use a torch in the dark.
• Wait. The high tide turns and starts dropping within 30 minutes; the rescue boat or helicopter will reach you long before the water reaches dangerous depth on most beaches.

See our beach safety page for the full RNLI guidance on Float to Live, cold-water shock, and rip currents.

FAQs

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Last reviewed 2026-04-30. Tide predictions can be affected by weather and barometric pressure. Always cross-check with a second source before walking onto a tidal beach.