Gwithian

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Gwithian
Gwithian shown within Cornwall
Population	3,032 (Civil Parish, 2001)
OS grid reference	SW585412
Parish	Gwinear-Gwithian
District	Penwith
Shire county	Cornwall
Region	South West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	HAYLE
Postcode district	TR27
Dialling code	01736
Police	Devon and Cornwall
Fire	Cornwall
Ambulance	South Western
European Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	St Ives
List of places: UK • England • Cornwall

Coordinates: 50°13′17″N 5°23′11″W / 50.2214, -5.3865

Gwithian is a village in the parish of Gwinear-Gwithian, located in the district of Penwith, in Cornwall, UK. It is located to the east side of St Ives Bay.

The beach near the village

A short distance to the east of the village is Gwithian Towans, which is an area of coastal duneland that forms part of The Towans. Gwithian Towans cover the site of a Bronze Age farm. Beyond the towans is a beach, which is a well known haunt of weever fish, who live near the waterline.

The church and relics of St Gwithian, built in 490, were uncovered from the beach and dunes during the early part of the last century, but were then allowed to be reclaimed by the shifting sands. He is the patron saint of good fortune on the sea. The current church dates to the 15th century.

Chesten Marchant, who died in 1676 at Gwithian is believed to have been the last monoglot Cornish speaker (as opposed to Dolly Pentreath who could speak English as well)

[edit] Beach and tourism

Apart from the infamous weaver fish (which hide just beneath the sand and spike your foot), the main inhabitants of this part of the coast are surfers, dolphins and seals. Gwithian beach is the north-easterly portion of Hayle beach, which is three miles of golden Cornish sand. There is a rip tide as Hayle estuary fills and empties with changing tide, often you find that when surfing at Gwithian you get out of the water by the bluff.

The car park at Gwithian provides a good lookout point, and the Jam Pot Cafe / Sunset Surf Cafe are great places to relax any time of year.

The Red river runs into the sea at Gwithian, named as such because it used to carry effluent from the tin mines, and until about 1990 actually was quite red in colour. The village pub is now named after the river (previously the Pendarves Arms).