![\"Porthkidney](\"https:\/\/www.carbisbayholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/17\/2021\/06\/Porthkidney-Sands-from-Hawkes-Point.jpg\")
<\/a>Porthkidney Sands from Hawke’s Point<\/p><\/div>\n
It\u2019s thought that Hawke\u2019s Point may have got its name from a Mr Hawke, a smallholder who lived here and used to collect flotsam and jetsam from the beach. You can still climb down the old miners\u2019 steps he used at the southern end of the beach, that were carved in the 19th century when a small copper and tin mine was in operation here.<\/p>\n
The steep cliff stairway isn\u2019t the only way to access the mile-long beach: slide down marram-topped dunes from the coast path, follow a short track from St Uny Church in Lelant, or \u2013 on very low tides \u2013 simply pad around the foot of the cliffs from Carbis Bay. Dubbed \u2018Happy Dog Beach\u2019 by the locals, the crowd-free Porthkidney Sands is indeed where hounds can frolic year-round \u2013 unlike on many of St Ives\u2019 busier beaches where dogs are banned during peak season.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Happy retriever on Porthkidney Sands<\/p><\/div>\n
It\u2019s not just walkers and their four-legged friends that enjoy the lack of crowds; surfers come here as well, to catch perfect little peelers that form in the shelter of the cliffs. If you don\u2019t fancy hitting the waves, you\u2019ll no doubt be tempted to dip your toes in the emerald sea, look for unusual for shells or even collect driftwood after a winter storm. Originally called \u2018Porth Kinnis\u2019, meaning \u2018firewood beach\u2019, its name suggests that Porthkidney was historically a haunt of wreckers long before Mr Hawke\u2019s days, and it\u2019s still a good spot for combing the shoreline to this day.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Checking out the surf at Porthkidney Sands<\/p><\/div>\n
Once you reach the banks of Hayle estuary the beach peters out and the calmer waters attract an abundance of birdlife. Follow the footpath up to St Uny Church (past the oldest links course in the UK), and you can carry on along the coast path that skirts the estuary, or pick up the St Michael\u2019s Way \u2013 an ancient Pilgrimage route to Mount\u2019s Bay. However, if you\u2019d prefer to get back to the art, food and culture of St Ives, it\u2019s only a 3.5-mile walk back along the South West Coast Path. Or you can take the easy route on the coastal railway from Lelant Saltings, soaking up the views that inspired John Miller\u2019s artwork<\/a> from your window seat.<\/p>\n