Things to do with kids in St Agnes.

A National Trust beach at the foot of a wooded valley, Chapel Porth offers some of the finest rock pooling on the north Cornish coast — extensive platforms reveal carpets of anemones, urchins, and starfish at low spring tides. The beach itself is a broad sweep of dark sand, dramatic and photogenic. The valley behind has walking trails among the ruins of the Wheal Charlotte mine. The beach café is famous for its hedgehog ice cream (vanilla dotted with chocolate flakes). Tide timing is critical — the beach disappears at high water.

The clifftop walk from St Agnes village to Wheal Coates engine house — a dramatically sited 19th-century tin mine ruin on the headland above Chapel Porth — is one of the most iconic walks in Cornwall. The two-mile route follows the South West Coast Path past old mine workings with Atlantic views on one side and open heath on the other. The engine house itself is accessible and fascinating for children interested in how things work. The National Trust manages the site and has good interpretation boards. Combine with Chapel Porth beach below.

Three miles south of St Agnes, Porthtowan is a wide, Atlantic-facing beach with a strong surf culture and a genuinely excellent beach café — the Blue Bar, which functions as a restaurant in the evenings. The beach is lifeguarded in season, has consistent surf for intermediate-level children who have had lessons, and broad sandy access at low tide suitable for families. The car park sits directly above. Less busy than Perranporth to the north and with slightly better facilities than Chapel Porth.