Oooo here’s one for the skinny dippers! Cornwall has a good handful of naturist beaches across its coastlines but Basset’s Cove has to be one of the best as it’s so secluded and beautiful. Feel the wind on your cheeks and be sure you won’t get pickpocketed here. Yes, we’ll stop that now or we risk becoming the butt of the jokes…
Seriously, Basset’s Cove, which is named after the Basset family that made good out of the tin mining in this industrious area of Cornwall, is gorgeous. The scenery all around is stunning and the sands are fine and soft. If naturism is your bag, you really must hit this enclave up but do prepare for a fairly dangerous climb down to it. Also known as Spratting Cove, this is a small beach at the bottom of some sheer cliffs that are pretty difficult to descend so come prepared and take it easy. The path can get slippery.
If you do navigate the climb down, though, the rewards are marvellous, particularly when it comes to the vistas and the fact that you can bare all with no worries in the world. There’s no lifeguard cover here, though, and we don’t mean their clothes. So be careful out in the waves when the water is choppy. But dogs are allowed on the beach throughout the year and there’s a decent car park at the top of cliffs from which there’s a short walk to the edge before that hazardous descent to the beach.
Surfers occasionally head into the waters here as there can be some decent north coast waves and there are some good rock pools to explore at low tide too. Word of warning, though: the beach disappears at high tide. Basset’s Cove is a few miles north of Redruth and Camborne and a little way down the coast from Portreath, meaning there are some fab walks around the coast from here, including a three-mile stroll to nearby Portreath Beach, taking in spectacular cliffs, wildlife and flowers along the way. But, of course, put your clothes back on for that. We wouldn’t want you startling the natives.