About Holywell Bay

Instantly recognisable by the distinctive Gull Rocks – the pair of humped island standing half a mile offshore – Holywell Bay is one of Cornwall’s best loved beaches.

Surrounded by National Trust-owned land and backed by imposing sand dunes, the beach extends to 3/4  mile low tide from Penhale Point at the western end, towards Kelsey Head. There are many natural delights to be explored with sand dunes that rise up to 60 metres behind the beach and the half hidden grotto-like interior of Holywell Cave. At low tide, a 70-year-old shipwreck can be seen in the water just off the beach.

Holywell Bay owes its name to a spring-fed well which is said to cure all who bathe in it. In the past, parents have brought their sick children and dipped them in the well. Penna family members Ryan, Josh and cousin Andrew have all been christened in the holy well and seem to be doing just fine!

Holywell Cave can be found near the north end of the beach, although it is only accessible at low tide. The dunes are crisscrossed with a network of footpaths giving access to the beach and linking up with the South West Coast Path, which runs all the way around the Cornish coast. The dunes are home to a variety of wildlife and provide hours of fun for children looking to find the creatures that live there.

Running between the dunes is a stream which fills with the tide and is perfect for those family members not quite old enough to venture into the sea. Children can scramble around in the rock pools, play with the abundant fish in the river, splash around in the sea, or go mad in the dunes.

Holywell Bay is patrolled by lifeguards from the RNLI who are in place from May until the end of September.

Holywell Bay is a very popular location and it’s been used for countless movies, adverts and TV programmes. Here are just a few of the ones you may have seen:

• The 1984 comedy “Top Secret!” filmed its “skeet surfing” scene here, standing in for California.
• The opening scenes of the Bond film “Die Another Day” were filmed on the beach, where it stood in for North Korea.
• Many scenes from the recent version of “Poldark” were filmed at Holywell Bay, including encounters between Ross, Demelza and George Warleggan, and horse races between Dwight and Caroline.
• Scenes from the 2015 BBC miniseries “Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None” were filmed here.
• Most recently Holywell Bay has featured in “House of the Dragon“, where it has been used to portray the beach underneath High Tide castle at Driftmark. It was also featured in episode 7, where Princess Rhaenyra and Prince Daemon walk along the beach by moonlight.