St Ives Bay ( kw, Roda Ia, meaning "Ia's anchorage") is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...

on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast of north-west

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

, England,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It is in the form of a shallow crescent, some 4 miles or 6 km across, between St Ives in the west and

Godrevy Head Godrevy ( kw, Godrevi, meaning ''small farms'') ( ) is an area on the eastern side of St Ives Bay, west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, which faces the Atlantic Ocean. It is popular with both the surfing community and walkers. It is part ...

in the east. At the most southerly point of St Ives Bay, the

River Hayle A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

flows into the sea through

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

and across the beach. Behind the dunes, the river forms a broad tidal

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

which includes an area of

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is domin ...

and a largely disused

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

(see article on the industrial history of

Hayle Hayle ( kw, Heyl, "estuary") is a port town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England. It is situated at the mouth of the Hayle River (which discharges into St Ives Bay) and is approximately seven miles (11 km) northeast of Penzance. ...

). The estuary is a popular place for

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, b ...

and the

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment throu ...

maintains a reserve there. The eastern coast of the bay is a three-mile (5 km) unbroken sandy

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

backed by a substantial system of coastal dunes known as The Towans which stretches from Porth Kidney Sands in the west to Godrevy Head in the east. This stretch of beach is popular for surfing, particularly in the Gwithian area. The western side of the bay is on higher ground and is more densely inhabited with substantial settlements at Lelant,

Carbis Bay Carbis Bay (Cornish: ''Karrbons'', meaning "causeway") is a seaside resort and village in Cornwall, England. It lies southeast of St Ives, on the western coast of St Ives Bay, on the Atlantic coast. The South West Coast Path passes above the ...

and St Ives. The western coast of the bay is rockier with several small beaches separated by

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Joh ...

s. The Stones

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic processes—deposition (geology), deposition of ...

lies about one mile north-west of Godrevy Head and presents a hazard to navigation - the lighthouse on

Godrevy Island Godrevy ( kw, Godrevi, meaning ''small farms'') ( ) is an area on the eastern side of St Ives Bay, west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, which faces the Atlantic Ocean. It is popular with both the surfing community and walkers. It is part ...

warns mariners of the danger. Inshore hazards include the strong tidal stream around Godrevy Island and the tidal current at the mouth of the River Hayle.

Transport and access

By rail: The Penzance to Plymouth

Cornish Main Line The Cornish Main Line ( kw, Penn-hyns-horn Kernow) is a railway line in Cornwall and Devon in the United Kingdom. It runs from Penzance to Plymouth, crossing from Cornwall into Devon over the famous Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash. It directly ...

railway passes south of the bay with stations at St Erth and

and a branch, the St Ives Bay Line, runs from St Erth to St Ives. By road: The B3301 coast road runs from Godrevy to Hayle behind the dunes, with many points of access to the coast. The A30 trunk road passes south of Hayle. On foot: The

South West Coast Path The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Because it rises ...

follows the coast around St Ives Bay although it makes a detour inland around the Hayle estuary.

Places around St Ives Bay

Towns and villages *

Connor Downs Connor Downs ( kw, Goongoner) is a village in west Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish ...

* Gwithian *

* Lelant *

Phillack Phillack ( kw, Eglosheyl) is a village (and formerly a parish) in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is about one mile (1.6 km) northeast of Hayle and half-a-mile (0.8 km) inland from St Ives Bay on Cornwall's Atlantic ocean co ...

* St Erth * St Ives Rivers *

The Red River The Red River, also known as the Hong River (; vi, Sông Hồng; Chữ Nôm: 瀧紅; Chữ Hán: 紅河), the ' and ' (lit. "Mother River") in Vietnamese, and the (, ' Nguyên Giang) in Chinese, is a -long river that flows fro ...

Other features * Hayle Towans *

* Godrevy Lighthouse * Hayle estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest

References

{{coord, 50, 13, N, 5, 26, W, type:waterbody_region:GB, display=title Bays of Cornwall Surfing locations in Cornwall