Butterhole Beach

Butterhole Beach is a small, tucked-away cove on the coast between Padstow, Stepper Point and Trevone. It has a very different feel from the wider sandy bays nearby: more enclosed, more rugged, and framed by large cliffs that make the beach feel hidden into the coastline.

At low tide, the sand appears and the cove becomes much easier to read from above. The cliffs, rock edges and small beach create a tight natural frame, while the views beyond can open out toward Daymer Bay, Polzeath, Stepper Point and the mouth of the Camel Estuary depending on the angle.

This collection focuses on Butterhole from the air: the scale of the cliffs, the shape of the small cove, the colour in the water, and the way it sits within the wider Padstow coastline. Compared with the larger beach collections, these images are more contained and dramatic — low-tide sand, steep rock, Atlantic swell and glimpses of the estuary beyond.