All About Hayle
Hayle is a great place for your West Cornwall holiday. Whether it is a beach holiday on St. Ives bay, along the fabulous sandy beach with some of the warmest waters or a countryside holiday set in beautiful West Cornwall, exploring the lanes and byways, industrial relics or small villages, full of interesting shops and galleries, Hayle has something for everyone.
Hayle has a huge range of great places to eat as well as many take aways to suit all tastes.
There are old world pubs and the latest bars and restaurants with great menus offering local dishes to Italian, Thai, Chinese, Indian and more.
The beaches around Hayle are some of the best in the country. A necklace of beaches skirt St. Ives bay from Godrevy Lighthouse to St. Ives with Hayle being centrally situated, with a large ever changing estuary and busy harbour, where boats come and go with the tide.
Ideally situated for all west Cornwall has to offer, Hayle is on the north coast in St Ives Bay but is only 6 miles from the south coast at St. Michael’s Mount, near Penzance.
St. Ives across the bay from Hayle is only a short drive, 6 miles by road but try taking the picturesque train ride from just outside Hayle at St.Erth or Lelant Saltings into St. Ives. A great day out.
Nearby is a range of activities including walking and watersports as well as attractions such as Paradise Park, Country Skittles and Coast2Coast Kartiing.
Hayle is a great place for nature lovers. With miles of walks and coast path, there are protected areas of SSSI, wild dunes, country lanes full of wild flowers and the Saltings provide a welcome resting place for migrating birds. There are seals and dolphins in the bay and fields of daffodils in early spring. Look carefully and you can see rare pyramidal orchids and glow worms lighting the marram grass in the dunes in summer.
The climate is some of the most temperate in the country. With mild winters,and early springs, warm summers and beautiful autumns, whether a short autumn break of lazy summer holiday, Hayle holidays can offer your perfect holiday home.
Bird watching on the Hayle Estuary
Birdwatching in West Cornwall offers the chance to see rare species and migrating birds throughout the year.
The Nationally renowned RSPB Hayle Estuary nature reserve incorporates a variety of habitats. During cold winters up to 18,000 birds can be found here, on the most southerly estuary in the UK. Due to the mild climate it is one of a few that never freezes. The site has SSSI status protecting wintering wildfowl and waders and includes Ryan’s Field, an area across the road from the main estuary .
In the spring and autumn migrating waders, gulls and terns can be seen while in the summer, an Osprey might be spotted. The estuary is also home to numerous residents, including Curlew, Little Egret, Oyster Catchers and flocks of Widgeon.
The excellent bird watching conditions continue along Copperhouse Creek,. The eastern end of the creek is best at high tide when waders and gulls gather on exposed grassy areas, while the western end has rare birds of passage, Ring-Billed Gull and the Pied-Billed Grebe.
Both sites are good for walking, with pushchair-friendly paths.
