Best Places To Watch the Sunset in Cornwall

Cornwall's north coast faces almost due west, which makes it one of the best counties to watch the sunset. The sun drops straight into the Atlantic instead of behind a headland, so you get the full, slow burn from gold to red before it disappears.

We’re lucky enough to watch most of our sunsets from Scarlet in Mawgan Porth. That's given us a decent excuse to go and check out where else along this coast is worth the drive.

Starting close to home, Mawgan Porth is a wide, flat beach that empties out in the evening once the surf schools pack up. Catch it at a low tide, and the wet sand picks up the light and reflects the colour.

Walk down from the hotel with 20 minutes to spare, or watch it from your bedroom at Scarlet, which has its own balcony or terrace looking straight out over the water. The clifftop hot tubs are also a particularly unique and relaxing place to catch the last of the light.

If you've got a dog with you, the beach allows them year-round, and we've written a guide to dog-friendly holidays in Cornwall if you're planning a longer stay around it.

A 15-minute walk north along the coast path gets you to Bedruthan Steps, where a run of granite sea stacks sits just offshore.

Stay up on the cliff for the best vantage point. The stacks throw long shadows as the sun drops behind them, and it's one of those views that photographs well but looks even better in person.

There's a National Trust car park at the top if you're not walking from the hotel.

Both beaches sit further round the coast towards Newquay, 20 and 25 minutes by car. Watergate Bay is large and open at low tide and mostly empty by evening.

Fistral is livelier, thanks to the surf schools and the beach bars, and it's one of the few stretches on this coast that still faces west enough to see the sun meet the horizon before the headland gets in the way.

If you fancy making it an evening out rather than just a viewpoint, this is the direction to head.

Further south, on the far side of St Ives Bay, Godrevy has the lighthouse that you’ll likely recognise from photographs and a beach backed by dunes rather than cliffs.

It's about 15 minutes from Scarlet, so more of a day trip than a quick evening drive, but if you're already out that way exploring St Ives, stop here on the way back for sunset.

The light off the estuary mouth is softer than that of one of the closer town beaches, with the lighthouse silhouette doing a lot of the work.

This stretch of coast used to be Cornwall's mining country, and the old engine houses are still standing along the clifftops.

Watching the sun go down with a chimney stack in the foreground is a different kind of sunset from a plain beach view, more atmospheric than pretty.

Chapel Porth itself is a small, steep-sided cove that catches the last light well from the car park above, and it's about 35 minutes from the hotel.

Perranporth has a bar that’s actually on the beach, called the Watering Hole. This is one of the best places to watch the sunset if you’re around this area for the evening.

The beach is dog-friendly outside the main summer season and wide enough that you’ll be able to find a quiet spot even in August.

Droskyn is another option, which offers a panoramic view from a high vantage point. It’s ideal if you'd rather stay up top with a blanket than head down to the sand.

This one's a trip, over an hour south towards the Lizard, but it's worth including because of its landscape. Here you’ll find turquoise water, rock stacks and a cove that empties out almost completely once the day visitors leave.

Winter evenings here can feel like you've got the whole place to yourself. Not one for a spontaneous after-dinner walk, but if you're spending a full day exploring the Lizard peninsula, plan to finish here.

Sunset times change across the year, from around 4.30pm in December to gone 9pm in June, so check before you set out. Cornish evenings cool down fast, even in summer, so bring an extra layer. And consider tide times; several of these beaches are dependent on whether the tide's in or out.

If you'd rather watch the sun go down in comfort with a cold drink in hand, Scarlet is the place to be. The clifftop hot tubs and private room terraces mean you can watch the sunset most evenings without ever needing to step into a car.

For a longer weekend built around this kind of slow evening, take a look at our Essence of Scarlet break, or browse more romantic things to do in Cornwall for ideas on filling the rest of the day.