THE village of Rock in North Cornwall, originally a small fishing community, has gathered a reputation as a place where the wealthy and well-connected like to holiday, being nicknamed Cornwall’s Saint Tropez.

Known as a location for fine dining and as a base for watersports, the village is also a starting point for walks in the area and has a lovely sandy beach backed by sand dunes. Care must be taken by beach-goers when the tide is out though because there are some areas of soft sand that need to be avoided. Warning signs about the sand say: “In some places it is quite deep and capable of trapping a person.”

Rock is known as a centre for watersports. (Picture: Andrew Townsend)
Rock is known as a centre for watersports. (Picture: Andrew Townsend)

People catching the passenger ferry from Rock to Padstow at low tide are warned to stay on the higher parts of the sandbanks as they walk out to the vessel. At high tide, the ferry runs from near the main car park in Rock.

The ferry carries the name of Black Tor, an older place-name for the settlement, Black Tor becoming Black Rock and then just Rock. Walkers following the South West Coast Path, which fringes the estuary from Polzeath to Rock, passing through the dunes, need to catch the ferry to continue on the route from Padstow.

You can sit out and watch the world go at Rock in Cornwall. (Picture: Andrew Townsend)
You can sit out and watch the world go at Rock in Cornwall. (Picture: Andrew Townsend)

With the Camel estuary being used for dinghy racing, sailing, waterskiing and windsurfing, there is regularly a need for emergency help and this is provided by the RNLI Rock inshore lifeboat. The lifeboat station is a modern single-storey building in a boat park on the waterfront. The River Camel is tidal up to Wadebridge and beyond.

The principal route into the Rock area is the B3314 which runs from Delabole through to Wadebridge and can be narrow and twisty in places.

Cornwall Favourites For One And All!, a lovely tour around the county, is available as an ebook on Amazon.
Cornwall Favourites For One And All!, providing a lovely tour around the county, is available as a book and an ebook on Amazon. (Picture: Andrew Townsend)

*Andrew Townsend is a journalist and writer. He further explores the county in the travel book, Cornwall Favourites For One And All!: A Quick Guide To Good Places To Visit Across The County, which is available in print and as an ebook. More details on Andrew’s books and ebooks can be found via this link to his author page on Amazon - https://bit.ly/AndrewTownsendAuthor