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Maenporth

Good to go

No current pollution alerts — always assess conditions yourself.

Checked against the Environment Agency (England) · data last changed 2 months ago.

Sea conditions

Water temperature

16.8°C

Cool — comfortable for a shorter swim

Wave height

1.7 m

Significant wave height offshore; inshore conditions vary.

Tide

Going out

  • Low water around UTC
  • High water around UTC

Modelled values, not measurements — coastal water often differs from the open-sea model, and tide times are approximate to within about half an hour. Use official tide tables for anything that depends on precise timing.

This spot’s record

Maenporth is in Cornwall, about 4 km from Falmouth. Maenporth was rated Excellent in 2025 by the Environment Agency (England). Its previous classifications were Good in 2024, Good in 2023 and Good in 2022, so the rating here has moved rather than held. Across the 12 most recent samples published by the Environment Agency (England), E. coli counts ranged from 10 to 64 per 100 ml. The highest was taken on 15 September 2026. A classification is calculated from percentiles across four seasons, so no single reading decides how this water is rated.

Recent sample results

The last 12 bacterial samples published by the Environment Agency (England), most recent on the right. Counts are per 100 ml of water.

Dashed line: 500 E. coli per 100 ml, the Bathing Water Directive guide value for coastal / transitional waters.

Recent bacterial sample results for this bathing water
DateE. coliEnterococciAssessment
15 Sept6482—
4 Sept1010—
24 Aug4510—
17 Aug1036—
9 Aug1010—
31 Jul1010—

A bathing water's official classification is calculated from percentiles across four bathing seasons, not from any single sample — so one high reading doesn't mean a spot is unsafe, and one low reading doesn't mean it's clean today.

Quality over the last 4 years

  1. Good2022
  2. Good2023
  3. Good2024
  4. Excellent2025

This water has improved, from Good in 2022 to Excellent in 2025.

Facilities & access

Parking
YesMaenporth Beach about 50 m away (OpenStreetMap)
Toilets
YesPublic toilets about 150 m away (OpenStreetMap)

Storm overflows nearby

None of the storm overflows within 5 km with an up-to-date reading are discharging. Heavy rain makes combined sewers overflow into rivers and the sea by design, so this changes with the weather.

  • Not dischargingabout 1.8 km awayDischarges into FALMOUTH BAY/TRIB BICKLAND WATLast discharge ended Reported by South West Water
  • Not dischargingabout 2.4 km awayDischarges into SWANPOOL (S)Last discharge ended Reported by South West Water
  • Not dischargingabout 2.5 km awayDischarges into FALMOUTH BAY (E)Last discharge ended Reported by South West Water
  • Not dischargingabout 3.7 km awayDischarges into PENRYN RIVER(E)Last discharge ended Reported by South West Water
  • Not dischargingabout 3.9 km awayDischarges into PENRYN RIVER(E)Last discharge ended Reported by South West Water
  • Not dischargingabout 3.9 km awayDischarges into PENRYN RIVER(E)Last discharge ended Reported by South West Water
  • Not dischargingabout 3.9 km awayDischarges into PENRYN RIVER(E)Last discharge ended Reported by South West Water
  • Not dischargingabout 3.9 km awayDischarges into PENRYN RIVERLast discharge ended Reported by South West Water

These are the water company’s own reports of when an overflow is operating, not a measurement of the water at this spot. A discharge into a river some distance away may never reach here; a quiet list does not mean the water is clean. The swim status above comes from the bathing-water monitoring body and does not use this data.

Official water quality

Classified Excellent in 2025.

Official bathing-water profile

What Excellent, Good, Sufficient and Poor actually mean

Common questions

Can you swim at Maenporth right now?
Maenporth is currently marked "Good to go". No current pollution alerts — always assess conditions yourself. This reflects the latest data published by the Environment Agency (England). Conditions change quickly — always assess the water yourself before entering.
What is the water quality like at Maenporth?
the Environment Agency (England) classified Maenporth as Excellent in 2025. Classifications are a rolling assessment of bacterial samples taken over four bathing seasons, measured against E. coli and intestinal enterococci limits set by the EU Bathing Water Directive.
Is there a swimming ban or warning at Maenporth?
There are no active bathing restrictions published by the Environment Agency (England) for Maenporth. That is not a guarantee of safety — assess conditions yourself.
What facilities are there at Maenporth?
Maenporth has toilets, parking. Facility information comes from OpenStreetMap contributors.

This spot is also in

Get told when this changes

We’ll email you when the swim status at Maenporth moves — a pollution alert opening, or one lifting. Not a newsletter: only this spot, only when it changes, at most once every 12 hours.

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Nearby swimming spots

See all swimming spots near Falmouth — about 4 km away.

© Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2026. All rights reserved.

Contains Natural Resources Wales information © Natural Resources Wales and database right 2026. All rights reserved.

Contains SEPA data © Scottish Environment Protection Agency, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains DAERA and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Sea temperature, wave and tide data from Open-Meteo.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Modelled values, not measurements.

© OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed under the ODbL.

Storm overflow activity from the water companies via Water UK's Stream portal, licensed under CC BY 4.0.