Best Cornish Harbours with walls for jumping off into the sea from

[BernardBlacksMolluscs]

I'm obsessing about starting to plan our summer holiday. The highlight of any Cornish break for my DC is jumping off a harbour wall into the sea. We've been to

• Charlestown
• Mousehole
• St Ives
• Polruan

and through obsessive google maps usage I've always managed to pick a holiday location with harbour walls that are suitable!

I was wondering if anyone else has DC with similar views, and if they'd recommend any other locations?

There's no point addressing the OP directly. She only responds to posts she likes and pretends that she's ignoring the rest because it would be "churlish" not to. Clearly just an entitled knobhead

@Nimbostratus100 I wonder where you are? Our local fisherman got quite cross last summer about the jumpers (even though they and their own children are keen participators 😂) because they were literally getting in the way of small boats trying to safely enter and exit the harbour to and from fishing trips.

Every year on Spotlight news (local Cornwall/Devon area) there is at least one report of someone dying or getting life changing injuries from this. Don't let your child do it.

That's a bit different to jumping off walls or cliffs into the sea with unknown dangers!

This.
My kids go mountain biking, play rugby, climb massive trees, ice skate and plenty of other things that carry a risk - but none of them are done against the express advice and pleas of emergency services.

My children enjoy playing chicken on the local motorways when we go on holiday - can anyone recommend a good spot for this?

It helps them develop the ability of risk taking, dealing with adrenaline and peer pressure.

I like to join in, I also find it exhilarating

No frothing and indignation from pearl clutchers please - this is a perfectly acceptable hobby, no more dangerous than rock climbing, and lots of people do it

But it is possible to risk assess and identify the dangers, and that's what OP is asking for help with.
For example, my fave spot, stones on pier painted white at the min tide height - if water is below white stones, don't jump. Sea bed is exposed at low tide, just sand, no rocks or other hazards. You can see boats coming literally a mile off. The vast majority of kids & adults who jump are sensible - no shoving, limited show boating, making sure the water is clear below.
Places that are busy with boats, dangerous, unknown, or where the harbour masters don't want it to happen, people should steer clear.
Coasteering companies don't have magical powers - their approach to safety & risk assessment can be done with common sense.

I'm in a popular spot for this and here alone over the past few years there have been several life changing injuries and a death. There are literally big danger of death signs on the walls. Nobody is frothing or pearl clutching.

It makes me feel ill seeing people doing it but like a PP said, I've always assumed this was reckless teen behaviour...it's shocked me to think that there could be parental encouragement.

OP If you're not bothered about the risks to your DCs then please at least consider the RNLI and the NHS.

Last time I was in Mousehole there were signs everywhere telling you not to enter the water due to some kind of sewerage issue. But then there were probably also signs telling you not to jump off the harbour wall

Quite.
a desperate analogy made to try and deflect from the fact that she is unable to distinguish exposure to manageable risk with growing independence from irresponsible thrill seeking.

my children have a lot of fresh air, lots of roaming and adventures and freedom. I draw the line at actively creating opportunities for them to hurl themselves from harbour walls / cliffs into the sea below because I don’t want them to paralyse or kill themselves. Or risk anyone else’s life trying to save them. Or take up critical time in a hospital or ambulance when there are people who didn’t deliberately court danger but also need those things.

Fucking hell I just wouldn’t be encouraging my kids to do this. I can just imagine the teen version pissed and hurling themselves off a harbour wall nostalgically remembering their childhood.

I'm from Mousehole way and spent most my summers "jumping" down there. It is as safe as pier jumping can be as it's in the harbour, a quiet one at that with minimal currents. They would have great fun jumping with all the local children too as it's a popular place to go. Other than that Ross bridge in Penzance harbour is another popular place. There is a small section of the harbour next to Abbey slip that is boat free and another popular place in the summer, especially if it around a spring tide.

This. There are lots of reputable companies offering coasteering in Cornwall (you can Google them). Much better idea.

thank you for the suggestion, and how wonderful to have grown up in Mousehole. It is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to.

Coastering looks a lot of fun, I’m definitely going to check it out, thanks

OK, forget the tree climbing - what about rugby? I also encourage my children to get involved and play these sports myself and see a lot more injuries and pressure on the NHS.
Should we not play rugby?!

If you don't want to pier jump, that's fine. It is scary.

We were down in Mousehole in the rowing regatta this summer, crowds of local children and adults jumping afterwards. And then the blessing of the new lifeboat. A fab day.

I used to do this as a kid where I grew up right by the sea. During my childhood one child was paralysed and three siblings drowned. We were unsupervised risk takers, I also used to go out in a rowing boat with no life jacket and also out to the rafts that used to be chained up, now long gone, with kids fighting on them playing a sort of King of the Castle game and throwing themselves or their mates off them I have also been swimming when it’s been snowing with two other 10 years olds in rough seas, To get to the best beach which was a mile away I used to cycle in just my swimming costume and flip flops down a really steep hill at speed on my racer bike, I’m actually surprised I’m alive looking back. I was fortunately never injured.

Do not do tombstoning.

You see a lot more injuries with rugby because thankfully only a tiny number of individuals jump of harbour walls, piers and cliffs into the sea whereas thousands of young children play rugby.

rugby is a contact sport where there is a known element of risk and a likely range of injuries that people chose to allow their children to be exposed to. They are being managed and coached and supervised by trained adults. Rather like riding bikes. Going swimming. Deciding it would be fun to jump off a harbour into a body of water when there are all sorts of warnings and you run a proportionately far higher risk of life changing injury or death is incomparable ultimately.

I don’t recall any signs up at swimming baths or at rugby pitches or bike tracks saying … “ (insert activity) don’t do it. “

Plus you don't put anyone else at risk when you need rescuing from rugby

I actually don't think we should play rugby. I've got two DC who've played rugby in school for 9 years, and I can see how many measures are taken to try to make it safer. But actually, I don't think anyone should be playing full on contact sports like this (or other high risk activities) when ambulances and emergency care are in crisis.

School sports - and indeed adult sports - all put the NHS under pressure when things go wrong.
Hill walking puts mountain rescue under pressure and at risk.
Swimming, sailing, paddleboarding - all put the RNLI and coastguard under pressure when things go wrong.
I genuinely don't think pier jumping is more risky than these other activities, and I don't think parents are 'bonkers' or irresponsible or all the other things that have been mentioned on these threads for sending their DC off to rugby or on a trampoline or going out sailing or horse riding or walking in the Lakes.

I also think people have let their imaginations run wild

You’d be hard pushed to categorise jumping off the harbour wall steps at Mousehole as tombstoning. I’m not advocating jumping off Durdle Door.

but plenty of people felt entitled to imagine some things, get furious about them and then be very rude to a stranger on the internet about them (me!). It’s been an interesting insight into the ways of Mumsnet if nothing else

And I’ve had some great suggestions which I’m grateful for

Cornwall is such a dangerous place.
We'd only just got there and our youngest fell off a swing and broke her finger.

Yes, they do have A&E Departments in Cornwall.

One an and e with 40 beds for the whole county.