Situated on the north coast of Cornwall lies the small town and working fishing port of Padstow. Approximately 14 miles up the coast from Newquay, Padstow is at the mouth of the River Camel estuary with the approach in to the harbour being notorious for the presence of the Doom Bar, a sand bar which has caused many ship and small boat wrecks over the years. Padstow has remained relatively unspoilt over the years despite the increase in tourism and second home owners and the harbour, although used mainly for leisure craft during the summer months, still has a thriving fleet of inshore fishing boats which are used primarily for the fishing of lobsters and crabs. Stunning views of this spectacular section of the Cornish coast are on offer by walking the coastal path up to Trevose Head and Stepper Point.
Photos of Padstow by Cornish photographer Carl Whitfield (CWWPhotography).
A perfect summer morning at Padstow.
About this photograph
A lot of planning went into getting this and several other photographs of Padstow taken on the same day. I had wanted to capture the harbour with the surrounding buildings reflecting in the water and Padstow is ideal for this as the sluice gates at the harbour entrance are often closed which meant I didn't have to take into consideration tide times like with other photographs. The main part of getting the planning right was to make sure the sun was going to be in the correct position, which meant an early start. I arrived at Padstow at about 06:30am and made my way to the harbour, the conditions were perfect so after walking around the harbour to decide on what shots I wanted to take, set up my equipment and took a series of photographs from different positions around the harbour. This particular photograph was taken at 07:18am on 2nd June 2009. I have recieved comments about this photograph by people thinking that it is just a mirror image created by photo software, I can assure you that it is not. I put in a lot of thought and planning into my photography and had made several visits to Padstow in the run up to getting this series of photographs to ensure I was there at the right time for what I wanted to achieve. This has not been cut in half and flipped over to create the image, firstly there are small ripples in the water which is causing a slight blur of the reflected buildings and yachts, also you can see that in the bottom right hand corner of the photograph there is a darker patch which is where the water is in the shade of the sun that is rising high in the sky behind me.
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography
Looking across the harbour at Padstow. This photograph is another in a series of shots taken on the same day, this particular one was taken at 07:29 on 2nd June 2009.
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography
Fishing boats moored up in the harbour at Padstow.
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography
Another view of the harbour at Padstow on a glorious summer morning. This photograph was taken on 2nd June 2009 at 07:38.
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography
Lying Four Abreast
Four fishing boats moored up in the harbour at Padstow on a calm evening. This photograph was taken on 12th November 2008 at 17:09.
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography
The almost perfect reflections in the water of the harbour at Padstow. One of a series of five photographs taken on the same day at Padstow, this one was taken at 07:14 on 2nd June 2009.
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography
First Light at Padstow
A photograph taken of Padstow harbour as daylight starts to break through the clouds on a bitterly cold winters day in Cornwall. This photograph was taken at 08:11 on 9th December 2008.
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography
Taken at 07:25 on 2nd June 2009, this is one of five photographs taken of the harbour at Padstow on the same day. After careful planning and a bit of luck I got the perfect day for this series of photographs of Padstow.
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography
Stepper Point
Taking advantage of a glorious summers day in Cornwall, after spending the morning at Padstow I drove to Harlyn Bay and walked the coastal path to Trevone Bay and then onwards to Stepper Point when I got these two photographs. The photograph below was taken at 11:40 and the one below this at 12:03, both on 2nd June 2009.
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography
Hawkers Cove
Looking across towards Hawkers Cove at low tide on a beautiful sunny winters day in Cornwall. Hawkers Cove is a hamlet of a few houses situated roughly a mile and a half from the town of Padstow on the north coast of Cornwall. This photograph was taken at 14:49 on 14th February 2010.
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography
Padstow Harbour
A beautiful winters day at Padstow, this photograph was taken at 13:49 on 14th February 2010.
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography
The Camel Estuary
Low tide at Padstow and the River Camel estuary becomes a vast bank of sand including the notorious 'Doom Bar' sandbank which has caused many ship and small boat wrecks over the years. In the distance to the left is Hawkers Cove. This photograph was taken at 14:39 on 14th February 2010.
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography
Looking across the harbour at Padstow on a sunny winters day in Cornwall. This photograph was taken on 14th February 2010 at 13:49.
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography
Hawkers Cove
Looking across the golden sands at low tide towards Hawkers Cove. This photograph was taken at 14:43 on 14th February 2010.
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography
Cloud Reflections
An early morning photograph of the harbour at Padstow and the perfectly still water gives for some stunning reflections of the harbour and the clouds in the sky. This photograph was taken at 08:29 on 30th October 2010.
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography
Autumn Sun at Padstow
The early morning Autumn sun at Padstow and the perfectly calm water gives for some wonderful reflections of the harbour. This photograph was taken at 08:48 on 30th October 2010.
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography
Padstow Harbour
Another view of the harbour at Padstow in the early morning Autumn sun, shortly after taking these photographs the clouds moved in and it turned out to be quite a miserable grey day. This photograph was taken on 30th October 2010 at 08:41.
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography
Harbour Reflections
Looking across the perfectly still water in the harbour at Padstow which gives for some stunning reflections that almost create a mirror image of the harbour. This photograph was taken on 30th October 2010 at 08:53 and about 20 minutes after taking this photograph the cloud that is starting to build up in this shot had moved in and all the blue sky had gone.
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Photos of Padstow by CWWPhotography