Watergate Bay is the spectacular two-mile stretch of sand and cliffs north of Newquay. The beach is huge — at low tide you can walk for what feels like miles between the cliffs and the sea — and the surf is reliable.
The Watergate Bay Hotel and Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Cornwall (now closed but the building remains) put the beach on the foodie map; the Beach Hut at the back of the sand is a more relaxed option for fish and chips with a view. A bus or short drive from Newquay town centre.