Friends of Fistral Dunes (FFD) is a local community group made up of local individuals and community organisations; these include Newquay Marine Group, Land and Sea Cornwall CIC, relevant Cornwall Councillors and local stakeholders. Anyone interested in volunteering and joining are welcome to join.

1. To promote the conservation and sensitive use of Fistral Dunes.
2. To make Fistral Dunes a valuable local community asset and a diverse habitat.
3. To advise and assist in the management of Fistral Dunes in accordance with the Cornwall Beach and Dune Management Plan 2016.
4. To structure the management plan into short term, medium term and long term goals and initially concentrate on:
5. Restoring the dunes
6. Protecting the dunes
7. Monitoring the dunes
8. Temporarily restricting access to some parts of the dunes for conservation purposes
9. Providing more accessible areas in agreed locations
10. To promote knowledge of all aspects of Fistral Dunes, particularly the natural history and ecology.
11. To support and encourage all stakeholders, user groups and organisations with an interest in Fistral dunes.
12. To devise a wider dune management plan for the future.
13. To secure funding from a variety of sources to carry out these tasks.

In recent years, it has become increasingly obvious that Fistral’s dunes are experiencing erosion and sediment loss, perhaps at a rate not seen before. This is partly to do with the weather, partly to do with the dune’s dynamic ecosystem and partly to do with human activity.

It is critically important that we rehabilitate, conserve and manage this dune system before it is lost.

The role the dunes play in providing important biologically diverse habitats cannot be easily recreated elsewhere.

They also have a role in providing protection against the risk of coastal flooding due to the dynamic nature of beach‐dune interactions and their sheer size preventing the sea from impacting upon the hinterland behind the dune systems.

They have a role in providing access to the sea for residents and visitors alike, which is vital to the holiday industry upon which a significant proportion of Cornwall’s economy depends.

FFD has decided to step in to manage the dunes as they have had very little effective and holistic management in recent years. As one of Britain’s most iconic beaches, we feel we must act before Fistral’s dunes are lost.

This will be an ongoing project. We aim to hold various volunteer days to tackle different points of management for the dunes. Stay tuned on social media or join our email list to keep up to date.

COVID-19 restrictions are impeding work at this time, but we are working behind the scenes to ensure we have everything we need to get going once we are allowed to work in groups again.

We are paying attention to the seasons and making sure we carry out the most appropriate activities at the most appropriate times of the year.

Cormac will be installing a new South Fistral access route. FFD’s involvement will be helping with clearing invasive vegetation in this area and transplanting native vegetation to appropriate locations. If you would like to stay up to date on future actions, please sign up to our mailing list.

Most certainly! Please sign up to our newsletter and look out for events for volunteer days. You can also follow us on social media via Facebook and Instagram. We also have a dedicated Facebook volunteer group which you are welcome to join too. We will post events on our website too!

Cornwall Council are the owners of the Fistral Dunes. Cormac and a Cornwall Council beach ranger are responsible.

We are working alongside the council with this project and there are councillors who are members of FFD.

There will be the current access points: From North Fistral Car Park, from South Fistral near Sea Spray, at the end of the golf course path (directly over the dune) and the new access point being installed towards the southern end of Fistral. If we keep to these access points, there is less likelihood of the rest of the dunes eroding.

It is evident that when the paths are not being used, new access routes are created. Once these become established, it becomes an ‘accepted’ route to the beach. Soon, people decide to veer off this path and further paths are created in the same way. This is very evident at the access route at the end of the golf course path. There is little vegetation holding the dune together and further heavy use can cause the total collapse of the dune.

We have no intention of taking away locals and tourists joyful experience of Fistral. We simply need to work in balance with the natural ecosystem, and therefore respect that it also needs to have a functioning dune network. Picnics and viewing areas will be in designated spots along the dune pathway.

We understand the romance of finding a sand gully to watch the sunset from. Currently though, it is obvious that this has encroached on too large an area and has made the dunes unstable whilst also affecting the natural wildlife. The areas that will be able to be accessed will be restricted for the benefit of all.