Daymer Bay

Daymer Bay is a sandy beach on the east side of the Camel Estuary, about 5 miles north of Wadebridge. The beach faces west across the estuary towards Padstow and Stepper Point, sheltered from the open Atlantic by the headland. The calm, shallow water makes it one of the safest swimming beaches in north Cornwall and a favourite for families with young children. Sand dunes back the beach and extend inland.

The church of St Enodoc sits among the dunes between Daymer Bay and Rock. The church was buried by sand for centuries - parishioners had to enter through the roof to hold services - and was restored in the 1860s. The poet John Betjeman, who spent childhood holidays in nearby Trebetherick, is buried in the churchyard. A footpath from the Daymer Bay car park reaches the church in about 10 minutes.

Daymer Bay has a camera-operated pay-and-display car park at the end of Daymer Lane, toilets and a seasonal cafe, but no shops. Rock is about a mile south along the coast path, and Polzeath about a mile north. The water taxi from Rock to Padstow is a practical way to reach restaurants across the estuary. Windsurfing and kitesurfing are popular on the estuary here when conditions allow. Daymer is not on Cornwall Council’s list of summer dog bans, unlike neighbouring Polzeath, which bans dogs from 10am to 6pm between 15 May and 30 September, but check the signs on the day.