Being surrounded by the sea on three sides, Cornwall is home to a rich and diverse coastline, from sandy beaches, tall jagged cliffs, hidden coves, muddy estuaries and expanses of rocky shores. Hidden beneath the waves are landscapes just as varied as those we find onshore, with undersea cliffs, chasms, mountains and dunes. Once the waves have retreated, rock pooling reveals these hidden worlds between the tides and the wonderful creatures that call these places home!
Here at The Rock Pool Project, we are all mad about rock pools and driven by an insatiable curiosity spend masses of time poking around in the nooks and crannies of rock pools to see who we can find! I’ve asked the team where they think delivers the best rock pooling spots in Cornwall!
Trevone Bay
A stone’s throw from a quaint village near Padstow, lies Trevone Bay. Sheltered by towering, weathered cliffs on one side and adorned with rocky slabs and outcrops on the other, the bay is a heaven for naturalists. As the sea retreats and the beach’s rocky labyrinth emerges, a treasure trove of gullies and pools from everywhere.
Turning over one rock you may be surprised at what you see! Aggregations of Celtic sea slugs can be found here like no other place! Often called the liquorice sea slug, its distribution in Britain is limited to the North coast of Cornwall and a few parts of Devon. In fact our team recently found a total of 8 just hanging out on one rock! Upon turning over another rock, we were greeted with an abundance of cowries, usually a rare sight to see. These are charming little sea snails that uniquely move with their mantle over their shell.
Trevone Bay is rich in species, particular those that are on the smaller side. Definitely a contender for Cornwall’s best rock pooling spot!
Porthcurnick
Portcurnick is situated on Cornwall’s southern coast, looking over Gerrans Bay, a popular hotspot for larger marine life like whales, dolphins and tuna! This secluded beach has some excellent tidal pools, and rocky areas which are just perfect for exploring.
It’s our community director, Laura’s favourite spot because there’s anemones everywhere! Big groups of them can be found huddled together, filling the cracks, creating beautiful displays. Clusters of snakelocks anemones burst out of crevices, looking completely other worldly. These anemones like to position themselves in sunny spots within rock pools, to soak up the rays, as they are able to photosynthesise! But the snake locks aren’t the only anemones you’ll find at Porth Curnick, bouquets of bead-lets, strawberry, dahlia and daisy anemones everywhere.
If you’re after a rock pooling experience which transports you into an alien-like world, with flowing tentacles and mesmerising colour patterns then Porth Curnick will be one of the best!
Stackhouse Bay
A clamber down overgrown cliffs just past Marazion will bring you out at Stackhouse Cove. Characterised by wave cut platforms and rocky overhangs, this cove takes its name from the 18th century marine biologist, John Stackhouse, who studied the incredible biodiversity of seaweeds here. His research identified that this cove contained the widest range of seaweed species ever recorded in Britain!
Safari guide Eleanor says “I have visited twice and am always blown away by the diversity of marine life that I find!”. With swaying forests of leathery kelp, and bushes of rainbow wrack you might be surprised by the smallest of creatures adorning the array of seaweeds found here. Stalked jellyfish and blue rayed limpets can be found clinging onto the fronds, glistening in the sun’s rays. Growing to a maximum of 2 cm, these blue rayed limpets are hard to spot but when seen in the swathes of seaweed, these tiny jewel like limpets are quite something, shining blue only because of zig zag shapes in their shells!
These tiny wonders aren’t the only species found here, the wealth of seaweeds creates a whole underwater forest bursting of life. A worthy competitor for the title of best rock pooling spot!
The Helford River
More commonly known for its ancient oak woodland the Helford river is home to some unlikely inhabitants. As a SSSI, it is rich in biodiversity and habitats, from long stretches of perfect rock pools at Prisk Cove and luscious seagrass meadows just around the corner at grebe. But it is further into the Helford, up the estuary and hiding in the mud, where some extra large intertidal species call home!
At low tide moving between the rocks, large orange tongues can be found pulling monstrous cockles over the muddy shore, and great scallops can be seen shooting water jets from their burrows in the mud. But perhaps it is the sheer size of the sea hares and spiny starfish which makes this place an unexpected favourite for me, safari guide Eden. With sea hares getting up to 20 cm in length, they appear to be gargantuan on the Helford, and vary greatly in their colour due to the types of seaweeds available for them to eat. Although the spiny starfish here can get bigger than your head, there is also a world of miniature underneath the rocks, with masses of crabs, coatings of sponges and smaller starfish making home in the mud.
The Helford River provides an unexpected display of biodiversity and a very muddy experience!
Castle Beach
At the heart of Falmouth lies Castle beach, a perfect place for rock pooling. With easy access down to a shingle beach and large expanses of rocky crevices and nooks, there is never a dull moment rock pooling here. Our safari guide Owen sums it up pretty well, “the diversity there is incredible and there’ll always be something to find that you don’t expect – whether that’s a blue ray limpet, a porcelain crab or a velvet swimmer tucked away in a crevice. Recently I found a nursehound egg case in one of the pools there, and it really puts things into perspective as to how many species rely on the rockpools we have here.”
Our nudibranch lover and safari guide Vicky, has found the perfect nudibranch pool on the left hand side of castle. Coming down off silver steps, a popular local dive spot, is a pool festooned in sea weeds, proving to be nudibranch heaven. Vicky’s most recent find there being the Calma glaucoides, an egg eating sea slug, with
Llimited records within Britain! This just goes to show that you never know what might turn up on a rock pooling session at Castle Beach.
But Owen really is right, we’ve recorded hundreds of different species here and are always finding new surprises, a guaranteed fun time! And that’s why we all think this has got to be THE best rock pooling spot in Cornwall!
If you’re after rock pooling tips check out our rock pooling guide here and if you want an experience like no other, with your very own guide in the best rock pooling spot in Cornwall book a safari with us!
