This south-easterly facing beach lies on the south coast, west of St Austell Bay.

The top and vegetated back of the dunes is made over to holiday caravan development.

The beach is gently sloping and extends from the harbour, The White River (St Austell River) and dilapidated breakwater in the north to the edge of the holiday camp in the south.

The sand is high on the left (north) of the breakwater but very low to the right. It is very coarse below Mean High Water and left of the breakwater, comprising mainly large quartz fragments derived from china clay waste.

To the south the sand is finer but much of this is a veneer.

On the south-west side the active face is made up of rock armour facing a sand and soil bund. Northwards the rock armour phases out and the active face is more natural. Toward the north-western end there are sections of netting, presumably to stabilise the sand and encourage dune development.