Readymoney Covewith a dog
A sandy cove on the edge of Fowey with a two-month daytime restriction — and a free English Heritage castle on the headland above it that takes dogs on leads all year.
Not between 10am and 6pm from 1 July to 31 August. Every other hour and every other month, yes
Cornwall Council’s Public Spaces Protection Order names “Readymoney Cove, Fowey” in its 1 July to 31 August group, restricted 10am to 6pm. That is a daytime ban rather than a closure: before 10am and after 6pm the cove is open to dogs even in high summer, and from 1 September to 30 June there is no restriction at all. If you are in Fowey during the restricted window and need somewhere to take the dog, the walk up to St Catherine’s Castle on the headland above the cove is free, open at any reasonable time during daylight hours, and English Heritage’s own visitor page states that “Dogs on leads are welcome.”
The rules, and when they apply
Two months, eight hours a day, and one authority — this is one of the simpler orders in Cornwall. The thing most guides miss is what sits immediately above the cove: a free English Heritage site that is open every daylight hour of the year and welcomes dogs on leads, which turns the restricted window from a wasted trip into a different walk.
| When | Where | What applies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Jul – 31 Aug 10am – 6pm | Readymoney Cove | No dogs. Cornwall Council’s order, which names “Readymoney Cove, Fowey”. |
| 1 Jul – 31 Aug before 10am, after 6pm | Readymoney Cove | Dogs allowed. The restriction is a daytime one, not a closure. |
| 1 Sep – 30 Jun | Readymoney Cove | No restriction. Ten months of the year the cove is open to dogs at any hour. |
| All year, daylight hours | St Catherine’s Castle, on the headland above | Dogs on leads welcome. English Heritage’s own wording. Free entry — but there are sheer unguarded drops in the ruins. |
What it’s actually like with a dog
Readymoney is a small sandy cove right on the edge of Fowey, with the medieval town round one side and the wooded headland carrying St Catherine’s Castle on the other. It is a town beach in the sense that you walk to it, but it does not feel like one. There are tidal rock pools, and on a spring tide there can be no beach at all — the cove is reported to submerge, which is the most useful thing to check before driving over.
The practical constraint is the car park: 60 spaces, and that is it. In season the realistic approach is to leave the car in Fowey and walk out along the road. The walk down from the car park to the sand is short — English Heritage calls it a gentle slope, one beach guide calls it steep, and the truth is it is a few minutes either way and nothing like a cliff descent.
The castle solves the July and August problem. Three quarters of a mile from the car park, along past the beach and then up a steep woodland climb that turns muddy in the wet, sits a 16th century castle that is free, open at any reasonable time in daylight hours and explicitly welcomes dogs on leads. Keep the lead on once you are up there: English Heritage’s own warning is of sheer unguarded drops within the ruins, and climbing on the walls is not allowed.
Two other things. Do not let a dog into the River Fowey itself — it is a working harbour channel immediately round the corner. And the beach guide notes that pollution is possible after storms and heavy rain, so keep a dog out of the water for a day or two after a downpour. There is no lifeguard here at any time of year, only an emergency lifebuoy stand.
Parking at Readymoney Cove, and getting on to the sand
Readymoney car park, Fowey
PL23 1JD · Cornwall Council · 60 spaces · open 24 hours
A short walk above the cove, tarmac, 60 spaces — small enough that it is the constraint on any summer day. Charged 9am to 6pm from 1 April to 31 October with a flat evening rate 6pm to midnight and free from midnight to 9am, and a cheaper winter tariff from 1 November to 31 March. Pay and display takes all coins from 10p to £2, chip and PIN, contactless, Apple Pay and Google Pay, with a JustPark mobile option (location code 8354, 10p transaction fee). Weight limit 3,050kg, no height limit, and no motorhomes or campers between 11pm and 8am.
Parking in Fowey and walking out
operator and charges not verified
With only 60 spaces at the cove, the realistic approach in season is to park in the town and walk out along the road to Readymoney. We could not verify the operators or tariffs of the town car parks, so budget for paying and check the machine — but treat this as the plan rather than the fallback on a July morning.
Facilities, access and what to watch
| What | Detail |
|---|---|
| Beyond the council order | The headland above the cove is St Catherine’s Castle, a free English Heritage site open at any reasonable time during daylight hours, whose own visitor page says “Dogs on leads are welcome.” It is about three quarters of a mile from the car park, going along and past the beach and then up a steep woodland climb that gets muddy in wet weather. English Heritage also warns that “There are sheer unguarded drops within the castle ruins” and that climbing on the walls is not allowed — so keep the lead on at the top, not just on the path. |
| Getting on to the sand | A short walk down from the car park. English Heritage, describing the same route on its way to the castle, calls it a gentle slope down to the beach; one beach guide calls it a steep footpath. Either way it is a few minutes rather than a cliff descent — the genuinely steep part of this trip is the woodland climb to the castle afterwards. |
| Tide | This is the thing to check before you drive over. The cove can be submerged on spring tides, so there are times when there is effectively no beach here at all, and a cove that looks generous at half tide can have very little dry sand at the top of a big one. |
| The estuary | Do not swim in the River Fowey itself. It is a working harbour channel and it is immediately round the corner from the cove. |
| Lifeguards | No RNLI cover at Readymoney. There is an emergency lifebuoy stand on the beach, and that is the extent of the provision. |
| The slipway | There is one, but it is restricted to kayaks and paddleboards rather than boats. |
| Toilets | Seasonal public toilets, including an accessible toilet. “Seasonal” comes from a beach guide rather than from the council or the town council, so treat the dates as approximate and do not count on them out of season. |
| Food | A beach shop selling refreshments at the cove. Everything else is in Fowey town, a short walk away, and that is where both the verified dog-friendly pubs are. |
| Fresh water | No tap, dog shower or bin provision was verified here. Carry water, particularly if you are going on up to the castle. |
Dog-friendly pubs and cafés near Readymoney Cove
Both venues we can stand up are St Austell Brewery pubs in Fowey town, a few minutes from the cove. The “Dog Friendly House” tag is the brewery’s own, which is the operator speaking — but it is a category tag rather than a description, and we could not find water bowls, dog menus or garden detail stated anywhere official.
The King of Prussia
3 Town Quay, Fowey PL23 1AT · Dog Friendly House
A pub with rooms on the quay in the centre of Fowey, overlooking the river, a few minutes’ walk from the cove. St Austell Brewery’s own pub page lists it as a Dog Friendly House. It has outdoor dining and drinking areas on the quay, which is where you would sit with a wet dog.
The Ship Inn
3 Trafalgar Square, Fowey PL23 1AZ · Dog Friendly House
In the middle of the old town, also a few minutes from Readymoney, and also listed as a Dog Friendly House on St Austell Brewery’s own pub page. A Grade II* listed building of the 1570s with several small period rooms, so it is the indoor bad-weather option rather than the terrace one.
Local tips for Readymoney Cove
Signage changes, car parks fill, streams run dry. If you walk this beach, add what you know — which car park still has spaces at 11am, where the water is, which end stays quiet in August.
No tips yet.
Be the first — anything you’d tell a friend before they drove down.
Questions people ask
Are dogs allowed at Readymoney Cove?
Yes, except between 10am and 6pm from 1 July to 31 August. Cornwall Council’s order names “Readymoney Cove, Fowey” in that two-month group. Outside those hours, and from 1 September to 30 June, there is no restriction on the cove at all.
Can I take my dog to Readymoney Cove in August?
Early or late, yes. The restriction runs 10am to 6pm, so a morning walk before ten or an evening one after six is within the rules. For the middle of the day, Par Beach four to five miles west has no restriction, or walk up to St Catherine’s Castle instead.
What is open to dogs near Fowey in July and August?
St Catherine’s Castle on the headland above the cove — free, open at any reasonable time during daylight hours, and English Heritage says dogs on leads are welcome. For sand, Par Beach is the nearest unrestricted one. Polruan Beach across the water is itself restricted in the same two months.
Is there parking at Readymoney Cove?
Cornwall Council’s Readymoney car park is a short walk above the cove, but it has only 60 spaces, which is the real constraint on a summer day. The council’s own record gives the postcode as PL23 1JD. In season the realistic approach is to park in Fowey and walk out.
Are there lifeguards at Readymoney Cove?
No RNLI cover. There is an emergency lifebuoy stand on the beach and nothing else, so nobody is watching the water. The advice locally is also not to swim in the River Fowey estuary itself, which is a working harbour channel round the corner from the cove.
Does Readymoney Cove disappear at high tide?
It can. The cove is reported to be submerged on spring tides, so there are times when there is effectively no beach here. Check the tide as well as the date before you set off, because a big spring tide will cost you the trip just as surely as the summer restriction will.
Is the walk to St Catherine’s Castle hard with a dog?
It is about three quarters of a mile from the car park, along and past the beach, then a steep woodland climb that gets muddy in wet weather. Manageable for most dogs, but keep the lead on at the top — English Heritage warns of sheer unguarded drops within the ruins.
Which pubs in Fowey take dogs?
The King of Prussia on Town Quay and the Ship Inn on Trafalgar Square are both listed as “Dog Friendly Houses” by St Austell Brewery, which owns them. The King of Prussia has outdoor space on the quay; the Ship is a 1570s building of small period rooms, so it is the bad-weather option.
Nearby beaches with a dog
Polkerris
A couple of miles west. Owner bans dogs Good Friday to 30 September.
Par
A couple of miles north-west. Open all year.
Porthpean
5 miles west. Restricted 1 Jul – 31 Aug.
Talland Bay
7 miles east. Open all year; one guide reports a lead rule.
Whitsand Bay
A longer drive east. Open all year, but MoD firing closes the Tregantle end.
All of Cornwall
The council’s full list of 49 restricted beaches, with dates and hours.
Dog-friendly places to stay near Readymoney Cove
Somewhere your dog is genuinely welcome rather than merely permitted — enclosed outside space, somewhere to rinse sandy paws, and no surcharge surprises on arrival.
Dog-friendly cottages in Cornwall →Report a correction
Restriction dates get revised, car parks change hands, signs go up without notice. Tell us what you saw and we’ll check it against the council and update this page.
Checked 1 August 2026. The restriction is transcribed verbatim from Cornwall Council’s Dogs on Beaches order, which names “Readymoney Cove, Fowey” in the 1 July to 31 August group with hours of 10am to 6pm. That St Catherine’s Castle above the cove is free, open at any reasonable time during daylight hours, welcomes dogs on leads and has sheer unguarded drops within its ruins is from English Heritage’s own visitor page. Parking detail and the 60-space figure come from Cornwall Council’s own record for Readymoney car park, which gives the postcode as PL23 1JD; a secondary guide puts the car park at about 150 spaces, and we have used the operator’s figure. One well-known walk is missing from this page on purpose: the Hall Walk across the harbour from Bodinnick to Polruan is the obvious suggestion, but the National Trust page for it could not be read and we found no first-party source for its dog guidance or the ferry arrangements, so it stays off until someone can verify it. Restrictions are reviewed between seasons; this page records the position for the 2026 season. Reviewed by Dr Elizabeth Adey · Last checked August 2026 · Report a correction