2008 Beach Descriptions
These descriptions are a guide to the areas where we provide a service and to help our lifeguards
chose where they wish to work. As we are expanding the service this information may be subject to
change.
North Norfolk
On the east coast of England bordering the Norfolk Broads to the east and The Wash to the west, the North
Norfolk area comprises of 5 beaches – Sheringham, Cromer west and east, Mundesley and Sea Palling. The
beaches range from having large stones (Sheringham) to sandy resort beach with a pier (Cromer) to wide soft
sandy rural beaches (Mundesley and Sea Palling)
The North Norfolk beaches are popular for surfing, swimming, boogie boarding, windsurfing, kite surfing. There
is also a high usage of personal watercraft and dive boats at Sea Palling.
The area is a popular tourist location and continues to attract visitors numbers from East Anglia, London and
the Midlands, keeping the team of lifeguards busy. Their main duties are patrolling the beaches and attending
to 1st Aid cases. They will also deal with MEDEVAC’S, weeverfish stings, and lost children.
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth on the east coast of England and comprises of three beaches, Great Yarmouth, Gorleston and
Hemsby.
Great Yarmouth is a wide soft sandy beach that backs directly onto the town and “Golden Mile” of amusements
and tourist attractions. The beach is flanked by two piers and has an observation jetty in the middle. The
beach is popular with tourists and holds a number of special events on it during the summer.
Gorleston beach is a long curved sandy beach, which extends for several kilometres backed by a wide
promenade. With a sandy gradual gradient into the sea it is popular local families and is the busiest of the Great
Yarmouth beach with several thousand visiotors on a busy day. In suitable conditions, surfing and body
boarding do take place around the harbour wall. An Inflatable rescue boat (IRB) is used as part of the
lifeguards patrol equipment.
Hemsby is wide sandy rural beach backed by dunes. The beach is fed by one road, which has a two large
holiday camps leading off of it which make it popular, mostly with families in the peak summer months.
All of the beaches are easily accessible and the lifeguards main duties are patrolling the beaches and attending
to 1st Aid cases. They will also deal with MEDEVAC’S, weeverfish stings, lost children and inflatables
Poole & Bournemouth
Poole Bay is the 7 mile long stretch of coastline located between Poole and Christchurch Harbours on the
Dorset Coast and including the popular resort of Bournemouth. This sandy beach becomes very busy
throughout the season with up to 100,000 visitors. There are 12 separate beach areas within the bay, all of
which are very accessible.
Around 65 lifeguards are employed in the area dealing with a variety of incidents. There is a relatively high rate
of MEDEVAC's and lost children. They can also be inundated with water related incidents from the strong
currents in the Poole harbour entrance and rips around the groynes. Poole Bay occasionally gets surf
conditions but this is generated mainly from localised wind. The tidal range is relatively small and is rarely over
2.5 metres.
There is a high population of powered craft in the area due to its location between the two harbours. The
increasing numbers of jet skis, windsurfers and kite surfers make the management of inshore water activity very
diverse and complex at times. This is often intensified by the large number of people on the beach caused by
the large number of special events, bars and nightclubs on, or near the beaches. Lifeguards patrol using
Rescue Water Craft (Jet-skis) and Inflatable Rescue Boats and need to feel comfortable dealing with large
crowds of people.
Weymouth
Weymouth is a busy resort beach on the South Dorset coast. It consists of 3 miles of beaches bordering a large
sweeping bay. The main beach is sandy and stretches for about a mile, it gets very busy and the beach
population can be up to 20,000 people during peak times. The sweep of the bay and its sheltered nature has
produced a shallow shelving beach, which appeals to young families. Greenhill is a quieter beach with a steeper
gradient shingle beach and is more favoured by locals.
The team of 14 lifeguards mainly deal with minor first aids, but also deal with MEDEVAC's, lost children and can
also be inundated with water related incidents resulting from prevailing southwesterly winds, which blow offshore. Weymouth beach is adjacent to a busy harbour and a popular water sports area; common sports include
jet skis, water-skiing, windsurfing, kite surfing, sailing and power boating. These activities all require a degree
of management and often conflict with bathing, which may lead to lifeguard involvement.
West Dorset
West Dorset has a moderate climate and experiences warm summers. The area has World Heritage Status and
is marketed to encourage visitors to come to the coastline for a range of activities. This coast is exposed to
oceanic swell and to any storm events from southerly directions.
Lyme Regis beach is a pebble bank recently reconstructed as part of a sea defence scheme. At high tide the
beach shelves quickly into deep water and at low tide the tidal terrace is exposed or becomes shallow. Lyme
Regis also includes Cobb beach which has a more gentle profile and gradient and opens out onto the low tide
terrace. The harbour defences here provide shelter to the beaches to all but the most extreme conditions.
Charmouth beach, in Lyme bay is a mixture of sand, shingle, pebble and rocks backed by clay cliffs. The beach
shelves gently and comprises of a mixture of sand banks and small rock reefs with some inshore holes and
channels. The river Char runs out on to the central part of the beach.
West Bay beaches are a mixture of sand, shingle and pebble bank that is backed by cliffs, car park, town and a
harbour. The beaches are split by the harbour-mouth (mouth of River Brit). West Bay is regarded as the start of
the South Westerly facing Chesil Bank. The shingle beach shelves quickly into deep water. The harbour wall
provides some protection to the shore.
Sandy bay is a long stretch of sand backed by high cliffs, which becomes very busy during the summer months
due to the nearby holiday park and tourist attractions. At low time the beach connects all the way to Exmouth.
South Hams
The District of South Hams is located on the south Devon coast bordering Plymouth to the west and Torbay to
the east. It comprises 7beaches – Blackpool Sands, Torcross, Thurlestone, Bantham, Burgh Island, Sedgewell
Cove and Challabrough. All beaches are easily accessible and were voted the best in the South West in a
recent poll by the BBC. The South Hams beaches are popular for surfing, swimming, boogie boarding,
windsurfing and kite surfing. There is also a high usage of powered watercraft and yachts that visit these
beaches.
The area is a popular tourist location and continues to attract large visitor numbers keeping the team of 23
lifeguards extremely busy patrolling the beaches and attending to 1 st Aid cases. They will also deal with
MEDEVAC’S, weeverfish stings, lost children, tidal cut-offs and call-outs from other beaches requiring the use
of the IRB.
Caradon
Four rural beaches – Tregonhawke, Freathy, Sharrow & Tregantle form Whitsand Bay on the South East
Cornish coast. The beaches in Whitsands Bay were voted to be some of the best in the South West. The
sweep of the bay and its sheltered nature has produced shallow shelving beaches & rocky coves, which appeal
to young families although the steep climb down to the beach does put off some people.
The Caradon beaches are around 35 minutes from the City of Plymouth, making them popular for all water
sports. Common activities include jet skiing, water-skiing, windsurfing, kite surfing, sailing & power boating,
surfing & body boarding, scuba diving, fishing and sea kayaking. These activities all require a degree of
management and regularly require lifeguard assistance.
A team of 16 lifeguards patrol this area and are called upon to deal with minor first aids, MEDEVAC’s, missing
persons and tidal cut–offs as well as monitoring bathing and other water activities.
Carrick
The Carrick area comprises beaches on the north and south coasts of Cornwall. Holywell Bay, Perran Sands,
Perranporth, Chapel Porth & Porthtowan are all sandy surf beaches located on the North Atlantic coast. They
are exposed to the prevailing southwesterly wind with medium to large surf breaking through a tidal range of up
to 8m. St Agnes, while on the North Coast, is more north facing and protected from the southwesterly wind
although can still be exposed to sizeable surf.
All the beaches mentioned are highly popular with surfboard riding, body boards and swimming. However, the
bigger the surf, the stronger the rips and it is therefore essential that lifeguards on these beaches have a
thorough knowledge of surf conditions and the necessary skills to deal with rescues in surf and strong currents.
It therefore follows that a high standard of swimming and board paddling ability is required for lifeguards
working on these beaches.
Gyllyngvase, near Falmouth, although still in the Carrick area is located on the south coast. It is steeply shelving
with a smaller tidal range and is not renowned for its surf conditions. It is however, more popular with
windsurfers, swimmers and other water sports. The prevailing wind tends to be offshore and can cause
problems with inflatables in particular. The team of 50 lifeguards in Carrick may also have to deal with a variety
of first aid incidents from weeverfish stings to the more serious types such as spinal injuries and injuries
resulting from adventure sports.
Kerrier
Kerrier District encompasses Portreath Beach on the north coast and the more isolated beaches of Praa Sands,
Porthleven, Poldhu, Gunwalloe, Polurrian and Kennack Sands on the Lizard Peninsular. All these locations are
valued as natural assets that contribute to the local
community and economy alike, and the District Council is actively seeking to develop beach awards along the
coast.
While Portreath and Praa Sands are larger and busier exposed beaches that attract both the traditional
holidaymaker and surf sports enthusiasts, the Lizard beaches tend to be sheltered rural coves that are generally
quieter. Each beach has the potential to become extremely crowded during the peak summer months
depending on local weather conditions.
All Kerrier beaches, with the exception of Kennack Sands, are exposed to consistent swell and experience
strong rips. It is therefore essential that Lifeguards working at these sites have thorough knowledge, experience
and ability in surf rescue.
Kennack Sands is a newly lifeguarded beach for 2008 that will no doubt be subject to local publicity and
scrutiny. The beach is located at the South East tip of the Lizard Peninsular and is a popular family beach
adjoining a number of holiday parks. Although the beach has a reduced southwest aspect, it is subject to strong
currents and occasionally
heavy surf due to the exposed location and the need for competence in surf rescue is again important.
Penwith
The peninsular of Penwith District offers a variety of beaches on the North, West and South Coast. All West
and North Coast beaches are subject to surf of varying size with Sennen Cove and Gwithian/ Godrevy being the
busiest. The 3 mile stretch at Hayle allows for surfers to move away from Gwithian/ Godrevy to find smaller
waves further down the beach towards the Hayle river. Gwenver receives probably the largest surf and has
very strong rips at most states of the tide. The St Ives area boasts 2 main beaches with Porthmeor receiving
the majority of surf. Although quite small surf during the summer, there are times when this is the only sheltered
beach from the strong SW wind and so becomes very busy with surfers.
The South Coast beaches are mainly Marazion and Porthcurno. Porthcurno can still get large surf especially at
low tide due to it's proximity to Landsend and the effect of a large north coast swell rapping round to line up on
this beach. Marazion is generally a non-surf beach but can be prone to large swells when a southerly wind
blows.
Nearly all of the beaches in Penwith (15) have loyal followers who will take part in all of the normal beach
activities as well as the more extreme sports that seem to be more prevalent year on year. Lifeguards
interested in working on these beaches will need to be multi-skilled in terms of rescue.
Restormel
The Restormel area comprises 9 beaches in and around Newquay on a 11 mile stretch of the Atlantic facing
coast of Cornwall. From the West going North are the surf beaches of Crantock and Fistral before the more
sheltered town beaches of Towan, Great Western and Tolcarne which are all easily accessible from Newquay
town centre, further North is Porth then the surf beaches of Watergate Bay, the home of the Extreme
Academy and finally Mawgan Porth
Newquay is a very popular tourist location with most visitors coming to the area for the surf but there are also an
increasing number participating in other maritime leisure activities including kite surfing, coasteering and
boating. The popularity of surfing has brought major events to the town especially at Fistral and
Watergate which can cause overcrowding of both the beach and water during peak weeks. This often causes
problems requiring a diplomatic sensible approach by the Lifeguards chosen to work in this area.
It is essential that lifeguards on all of Restormel beaches have a thorough knowledge of surf conditions and the
necessary skills to deal with rescues in surf and strong currents. A high standard of swimming and board
paddling ability is required for lifeguards working in this area. It is also desirable that lifeguards hold current
Rescue Water Craft licences (IRB, RWC). Lifeguards working in this area should also be able to deal with large
numbers of people and have good public relation skills.
The team of 48 lifeguards in Restormel may have to deal with a variety of first aid incidents including spinal
injuries and injuries resulting from adventure sports.
North Cornwall
North Cornwall consists of a 70-mile stretch of Atlantic coastline running from the Cornwall/Devon boundary in
the north to Restormel in the south. There are 15 beaches and for RNLI Lifeguard management purposes they
are divided into 2 groups: The Northern area consisting of six beaches between (Black Rock - Sandymouth) is
called Bude and is managed separately under the Bude / North Devon area banner.
The nine beaches that fall under the North Cornwall banner are Porthcothan,Treyarnon, Constantine, Booby’s,
Harlyn and Trevone making up some of the beaches within the Seven Bays south of the Camel Estuary. This
group of beaches, spread around Trevose Head, range from the busy family beach to the reputed surf break.
Polzeath, Trebarwith, and Crackington Haven are located North of the Camel estuary.
These beaches are varied cove-shaped bays that range from the rural family destination to the hugely busy
surfing beach of Polzeath.
Bude
The beaches that make up the Bude area are Sandymouth, Northcott, Crooklets, Summerleaze, Widemouth
and Black Rock. This stretch of coast faces due west with little protection from Atlantic swells and winds. They
are all busy sandy surfing beaches
All beaches in North Cornwall and Bude require an excellent knowledge of surf and tides and the ability to deal
with large crowds both in the sea and on the sand. The North Cornwall and Bude lifeguard teams deal with over
3,000 incidents each season ranging from mass rescues in IRBs to Search and Rescue Incidents with the
Coastguard and medical emergencies alongside the Ambulance Service.
North Devon
Torridge beaches Westward Ho! and Sandymere face North West and offer sheltered bathing and surfing
during most conditions. At high tide the beach disappears with only the pebble ridge and some of the redundant
sea defence structures exposed. As the tide recedes, the beaches open up to provide over two miles of sandy
beach with a tidal pool to the southern end.
The beaches of North Devon are Croyde and Woolacombe. Croyde is a popular surf beach offering a range of
beach break waves which increase in power and intensity as the tide recedes. Croyde is also extremely popular
with families and has an IRB. Woolacombe is a very popular family resort beach with excellent facilities. It
stretches from Puttsborough in the south the town of Woolacombe in the north. It has 2 patrol areas based near
the town during peak season and one patrol area from May to September. This is also a consistent surf beach
with its own RWC.
Pembrokeshire
Situated in the south west of Wales, Pembrokeshire has over 100 miles of picturesque coastline and is a
popular area for tourism during the summer school holidays. Large sections of the coastline come under the
management of the National Park whose aim is to maintain the natural beauty and wildlife of the coastline.
The lifeguard service in Pembroke extends from Amroth in the southeast to Poppet Sands in the north.
Lifeguards are provided at 13 beaches ranging from a number of rural beaches to the busy resort beaches in
Tenby. The beaches at Newgale and Whitesands (St Davids) are the most popular for surfing.
At present, none of the beaches have any powered rescue craft. All 13 lifeguard units in Pembrokeshire operate
during the peak season only – mid July to early September.
Competition for certain areas is very strong. If you wish to be considered for a specific area please
state the preferred areas on your application form, unfortunately we cannot guarantee placement on a
specific beach. However, by not selecting a specific area you are increasing your opportunities of a
placement.