Newquay is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port on the north Atlantic coast of Cornwall, Great Britain. It is bounded to the west by the River Gannel and its associated salt marsh, and in the east by the Porth Valley. The town has been expanding inland (south) since it was founded. According to the 2001 census it had a permanent population of 19,423.
Newquay is now a major tourist destination, principally on account of the 10 long and accessible sandy beaches. The town has a resident population of around 20,000 but this can increase to an estimated 100,000 or more in the summer because Newquay has a large stock of holiday accommodation. Newquay and Blackpool competed for the name of Jo Whiley for their airports, which was ‘run’ by Radio One. Newquay has been referred to as the “Blackpool of the West Country”.
Newquay is also known for the “Run to the Sun” event, which always takes place during the public holiday on the last weekend in May at Trevelgue Holiday Park. Multitudes of people descend on the town in Volkswagen camper vans, Beetles and other custom cars. The 630 mile-long South West Coast Path runs through the town.
The resort styles itself “The Surfing Capital of Britain” and in terms of popularity and profile few would argue with this. Newquay is firmly established as the centre of the UK’s surf industry with a high concentration of surf shops, board manufacturers and hire shops in the town.
At the centre of Newquay’s surfing reputation is Fistral Beach. Surprisingly enough Fistral lives up to its reputation as one of the best beachbreaks in Cornwall. Surprisingly consistent, on its day Fistral is capable of producing powerful, hollow waves and holding a good sized swell. It even has the bonus of being sheltered enough and sufficiently north-facing in places that it can get away with a south westerly wind. Fistral Beach has been host to international surfing competitions for around 20 years now, most recently the Rip Curl Boardmasters.
Newquay is also home to the legendary big wave sport, The Cribbar. Breaking at up to 20ft, the Cribbar was until recently rarely surfed as it requires no wind and huge swell to break. It was first surfed in 1967 by Jack Lydgate, Bob Head and Rod Sumpter. The recent explosion in interest in surfing large waves has seen it surfed more frequently, most notably by South African born Chris Bertish who during a succession of huge clean swells in 2004 surfed the biggest wave ever seen there.
Towan, Great Western and Tolcarne beaches nearer the town and nearby Crantock and Watergate Bay also provide high quality breaks. Towan Beach is also the location for the proposed Newquay Surfing Reef, a somewhat controversial project that has polarised local opinion.
Newquay is well known for its lively nightlife. Nightclubs such as Berties, Sailor’s attract well known international DJs. The influx of summer party-goers has regularly caused controversy in recent years mainly due to the number of Stag and Hen parties.
Newquay is well-kown as a surfer’s paradise. Therefor it offers plenty of beaches: Crantock Beach - quiet beach, 2km away from the city centre along the coastal path, Fistral Beach - Newquays most popular beach, located to the West of Towards Head. Famous as a surf centre, has life guards during summer months. International surf competitions are held here.
Great Western- a popular family beach, can be accessed from Cliff Road besides to the Great Western Hotel. Harbour - Newquays smallest Beach, very popular with families, Holywell Bay (North of Perranporth) - Lusty Glaze Beach - offers a large variety of shops and restaurants. Porth Joke (Polly Joke), Porth (North of Newquay), Tolcarne Beach, Towan Beach - (Town Beach) - close to the city centre, offers a small, seafilled swimming pool for families. The beach can be accessed from the habour (there are steps leading to the beach right from the end of the quay) Parking space for car is available, dogs are allowed too. Watergate Bay (North of Newquay)
Newquay railway station is the terminus of the Atlantic Coast Line from Par. The railway was originally built as a mineral line in the 1840s to provide a link with the harbour. A passenger service followed on 20 June 1876, and from then on the town developed quickly as a resort. The station is close to the beaches on the east side of the town centre.
Two of the three former platforms were taken out of use in 1987, but Network Rail is planning to restore one of the disused platforms in 2007-2008, to improve capacity. This will assist in particular with the operation of the daily Newquay to Paddington direct First Great Western service introduced in 2007. Newquay is also served by through trains to the Midlands and North on summer Saturdays and Sundays.
Newquay Cornwall Airport provides links to other parts of the United Kingdom and increasingly now to foreign destinations. The rapidly growing airport currently shares its runway with RAF St Mawgan, but in 2008 the Ministry of Defence will hand over the entire site to the recently formed Cornwall Airport Limited, and the transformation into a fully commercial airport will continue. Private jets, charters and helicopters are also served by nearby Perranporth Airfield. One of several new services from Newquay announced in late 2007 is a Ryanair route between Newquay and Girona-Costa Brava Airport, which will start in spring 2008. Altogether, Newquay (NQY) now offers more than twenty routes.
National Express runs coaches from various parts of Great Britain to Newquay. Newquay has a good local bus network: the principal operator is Western Greyhound, but some services are provided by FirstGroup and Summercourt Travel. The bus station is in Manor Road, which runs parallel to the main shopping area of Bank Street.
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