Two kids under eight, a picnic in the boot, and the whole afternoon ahead. What Sarah wants is the easy stuff: wide, flat sand to run on and dig into — not a thin, crowded strip with the sea pushed right up to the dunes.
At Padstow the beach is a creature of the tide — the estuary sands appear and vanish with it. Arrive at high water and there’s barely a beach; catch it on the way out and there’s room for everyone.