Polzeath
Encyclopedia
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
in the civil parish of St Minver
St Minver
St Minver is the name of an ecclesiastical parish, a civil parish and a village in north Cornwall, United Kingdom.The civil parish of St Minver is in Bodmin Registration District and is nominally divided into St Minver Highlands and St Minver Lowlands .The combined parish is bounded on the south...
in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is situated approximately six miles (10 km) north of Wadebridge
Wadebridge
Wadebridge is a civil parish and town in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel five miles upstream from Padstow....
on the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
coast.
Polzeath is known for its sandy beach and is popular with holiday-makers and surfers
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
. The beach is 1500 feet (457.2 m) wide and extends 1200 feet (365.8 m) from the seafront at low water
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
; however, most of the sand is submerged at high water. At exceptionally high spring tides the sea floods the car park at the top of the beach.
Polzeath beach is patrolled by lifeguards during the summer and is described on the RNLI website as : ... a wide, flat beach with some shelter from winds, it sees good quality surf and is quite often extremely crowded.
Dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
s may sometimes be spotted in the bay and the coastline north of Polzeath is a particularly good area for seeing many types of birds including corn bunting
Corn Bunting
The Corn Bunting, Miliaria calandra, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae...
s and puffin
Puffin
Puffins are any of three small species of auk in the bird genus Fratercula with a brightly coloured beak during the breeding season. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among...
s
The main street through the village runs along the seafront and has a parade of shops catering to holidaymakers and residents. There are also pubs, cafés, restaurants, a caravan site and several camping sites in the immediate area. The road rises up steep hills at both ends of the seafront; towards the neighbouring village of Trebetherick
Trebetherick
Trebetherick is a village on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the east side of the River Camel estuary approximately six miles north of Wadebridge and half-a-mile south of Polzeath....
to the southwest and towards New Polzeath
New Polzeath
New Polzeath is a coastal settlement immediately north-east of Polzeath in north Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately five miles north-northwest of Wadebridge at ....
to the northeast.
History
In 1911 a Methodist chapel was built on the road towards Trebetherick at Chapel Corner. The original building was demolished in 1932 when the village street was widened, and the new village hall was opened on 15 April 1933.Until 1934 the main street through the village crossed the stream by means of a long ford
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
. A footbridge was provided for pedestrians (it was occasionally washed away by winter storms). In 1934 the present road bridge was built across the stream.
The stream rises near St Minver
St Minver
St Minver is the name of an ecclesiastical parish, a civil parish and a village in north Cornwall, United Kingdom.The civil parish of St Minver is in Bodmin Registration District and is nominally divided into St Minver Highlands and St Minver Lowlands .The combined parish is bounded on the south...
two miles (3 km) to the south. Before reaching Polzeath, it is joined by a tributary stream which rises north of Pityme
Pityme
Pityme is a small village at in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Pityme is at the junction of the road from Wadebridge to Polzeath and the road from St Minver to Rock. It straddles the boundary between the civil parishes of St Minver Highlands and St Minver Lowlands. It is situated between...
. Shilla Mill stands at the confluence of the two streams. Built around 1590 it ceased working as a mill in 1885 and was later converted into a house.
Literary associations
Polzeath was a favourite haunt of the late poet laureate, Sir John Betjeman and is celebrated in some of his verse. He is buried in the nearby St Enodoc Church, Trebetherick. Another poet, Laurence BinyonLaurence Binyon
Robert Laurence Binyon was an English poet, dramatist and art scholar. His most famous work, For the Fallen, is well known for being used in Remembrance Sunday services....
wrote the Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth...
ode For the Fallen in 1914 while sitting on The Rumps
The Rumps
The Rumps is a twin-headland promontory at the north-east corner of Pentire Head in north Cornwall, United Kingdom.The promontory is formed from hard basaltic rock and projects north into the Atlantic Ocean. Its headlands lie east-to-west...
, Polzeath or "Polseath" as it was then called, during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
In the first of Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton was an English children's writer also known as Mary Pollock.Noted for numerous series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups,her books have enjoyed huge success in many parts of the world, and have sold over 600 million copies.One of Blyton's most...
's Famous Five
The Famous Five (characters)
The Famous Five is the name of a series of children's novels written by British author Enid Blyton. The first book, Five on a Treasure Island, was published in 1942....
novels, the eponymous children express disappointment that their holiday will not, as usual, be spent at Polzeath. The authoress Joolz Denby
Joolz Denby
Joolz Denby is a poet, novelist and artist based in Bradford, UK.-Biography:...
lived in a caravan in Polzeath for a year while researching her novel Borrowed Light (ISBN 1-85242-905-4), published in England by Serpent's Tail in February 2006. The novel is largely set in Polzeath, though the village's name is changed to Polwenna to allow some artistic licence with locations and buildings.
The cartoonist Posy Simmonds
Posy Simmonds
Rosemary Elizabeth "Posy" Simmonds MBE is a British newspaper cartoonist and writer and illustrator of children's books. She is best known for her long association with The Guardian, for which she has drawn the cartoons Gemma Bovery and Tamara Drewe , both later published as books...
created a fictitious place in Cornwall called "Tresoddit". When the BBC made the short film Tresoddit for Easter in 1991, it was filmed in and around Polzeath.