Kynance Cove

    Kynance Cove is quite simply my favourite beach anywhere. It's not as accessible as Poldhu and Church Coves but it's worth the effort. We used to reach it by a rather steep path into the ravine ('kynance' comes from the Cornish for ravine), and going over the bridge where our parents said a troll lived. The path would come out to the right of this photograph. On our way back we would take a different route, the novelty of which was the stretch that ran along the top of a low wall.

   The beach itself is littered with rocks with wide areas of sand at irregular intervals. This picture was taken at high tide when that centre strip of beach is inaccessible, unless you're willing to go through waist deep water. It was August at the time, so quite a few people were ready to strip off and go around. I didn't have a swimming costume though, nor time enough to dry off, so I just hitched my skirt and paddled into the water a little way. Although the skies had clouded over, it was a very warm day, fortunately. At low tide however, you can reach what was always the true attraction for us as children. In that wide central spur of cliff was a cave that linked into another around the corner, forming a tunnel of sorts. The island on the far left of the picture is known as Asparagus Island.

This was taken standing on the rocks to the far right of the first picture. It's not quite mediterranean blue, but the water was beautifully clear that day. You can also see part of a rock pool at the bottom of this photo. Since you can only swim for a fraction of the year, the main beach activity for me has always been rock climbing and hunting out rock pools. These rocks were covered with barnacles, which were handy for gripping (unless you had bare feet, in which case you trod lightly). Frequently, rocks in Cornwall are coated with very slippery seaweed.

    I can't show you Kynance from every angle, but here's one of the more dramatic ones. I was standing on the central spur of land when I took this (although not as close to the edge as it looks) looking down at the side that can't be seen in the first picture. It's not particularly obvious, but I do like the way the seafoam creates a marble effect on the sand. Forget your palm-tree lined tropical beaches with white sand as far as the eye can see. Rocks, waves, cliffs and flung spume are true paradise.