Cornwall

A small shingle-and-sand cove wedged between the highest cliffs in Cornwall, with contorted rock beds on either side. It carries the long restriction, 15 May to 30 September between 10am and 6pm, so an early start is the only way to use it in season. The coast path out to High Cliff is exposed, unfenced and very steep with a dog.

The northern of Bude's two town beaches, backed by the old lifeguard buildings and a grassy hill. Dogs are excluded 10am to 6pm from 15 May to 30 September, the longer award-beach window. Northcott Mouth, twenty minutes up the coast path, is not on the council's list.

Falmouth's main town beach, a gentle curve of sand with gardens behind it and the coast path running along the top. As an award beach it carries the long restriction, closed to dogs from 10am to 6pm between mid-May and the end of September. Swanpool, ten minutes west, only closes in July and August.

Two linked stretches of sand backed by dunes and a nature reserve on the Lizard's eastern shore, gentler than anything on the west side. Dogs are out 10am to 6pm in July and August only. The eastern beach is the quieter of the two and the walk between them is cut off at high water.

Serpentine stacks and islands in turquoise water, probably the most photographed cove in Cornwall and a stiff walk down from the National Trust car park. The ban is the shorter one, 1 July to 31 August between 10am and 6pm, and the cove largely disappears at high tide anyway. The clifftop path here is exposed with sheer drops.

The long flat sweep of Mount's Bay running west from Marazion towards Penzance, with St Michael's Mount offshore. The restricted stretch is defined as Longrock level crossing to Marazion and applies 10am to 6pm in July and August only. East of Marazion towards the causeway the pebbly shore is outside the order.

A broad sandy cove with a stream running across it, below the headland where Marconi sent the first transatlantic signal. The restriction runs 10am to 6pm through July and August, so June and September mornings are unrestricted. Church Cove at Gunwalloe, the next cove north, carries the same dates.

The small beaches below Polruan village, across the water from Fowey and reached by the passenger ferry. This is the one place in Cornwall where both council orders bite: a July and August daytime ban, and a leads requirement that runs all the way from Easter Day to 1 October and covers the slipways, staircases and the promenade as well as the sand.

A wide, shallow-shelving Atlantic bay that is the busiest learn-to-surf beach on this coast. It carries the longer award-beach restriction, so dogs are shut out from 10am to 6pm right through from mid-May to the end of September — before ten and after six the whole bay is yours. Daymer Bay, a mile south, has no ban at all.

Coarse shell-white sand at the foot of the valley below the Minack, with granite cliffs on both sides. Dogs are excluded only in July and August between 10am and 6pm, which leaves the shoulder months clear. The path east towards Pedn Vounder runs along unfenced clifftop above a very long drop.

A small sheltered cove tucked behind the Island, the calmest of the St Ives beaches and the one with the beach huts. It falls under the shorter ban, 1 July to 31 August between 10am and 6pm, unlike Porthmeor and Porthminster next door. Early June and late September are quiet and unrestricted.

The north-facing surf beach below the Tate, catching the swell that St Ives' harbour beaches never see. It holds award status and so carries the long restriction, 10am to 6pm from mid-May to the end of September. All four St Ives beaches are restricted in season, which is why the terrace at the beach café matters.

A small sandy cove a steep half-mile south of Mevagissey, where the sea wall gets overtopped in winter storms. Dogs are excluded only between 1 July and 31 August, 10am to 6pm, leaving most of the year open. Parking is very limited, so walk in from Mevagissey.

A pocket of sand at the mouth of the Fowey estuary, ten minutes' walk from the town along the water and below the little Tudor blockhouse. The ban here is the shorter one, 1 July to 31 August between 10am and 6pm, so June and September are unrestricted. The Hall Walk on the far bank is the better dog walk.

A mile of white-gold sand at Whitesand Bay, the last proper beach before Land's End. The award-beach window applies, so dogs are out from 10am to 6pm between 15 May and 30 September. Gwynver, over the rocks at the northern end, is not on the council's list at all.

Bude's harbour beach, with the sea pool cut into the rocks at the far end and the canal lock behind. Unusually for Cornwall this is a leads beach rather than a banned one: between 21 May and 30 September, 10am to 6pm, dogs may be on the sand as long as they are on a lead and under close control. Outside that they can run.

Shingle and coarse sand below a nature-reserve lagoon on Falmouth's western edge, with a dog-friendly beach café on the sand. The shorter window applies here — 1 July to 31 August, 10am to 6pm — which makes it the better Falmouth choice in June and September. The coast path continues from here to Maenporth.

A square of sand between low cliffs a couple of miles west of Padstow, with a blowhole in the field behind it. The council lists it under the long award-beach window, closed to dogs 10am to 6pm from mid-May to the end of September. Harlyn Bay, next along, is not on the council's list.

A mile and a half of sand and low reef south of Bude, split by a rocky spine at low tide. The restriction is the long one, mid-May to the end of September between 10am and 6pm, which catches out a lot of visitors who assume the Cornish ban is July and August only. The southern end at Black Rock empties out first.