Hayle is a small town, civil parish and cargo port in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the mouth of the Hayle River (which discharges into St Ives Bay) and is approximately seven miles (11 km) northeast of Penzance.
Hayle parish was created in 1888 from part of the now defunct Phillack parish, with which it was later combined in 1935, and incorporated part of St Erth in 1937. The modern parish shares boundaries with St Ives to the west, St Erth to the south, Gwinear and Gwithian in the east, and is bounded to the north by the Celtic Sea.
Hayle's position by the sea and its 3 miles of golden sandy beaches allowed it to develop as a holiday destination. Indeed, Hayle still has much holiday accommodation. The sand dunes or Towans are the favoured location for a number of holiday villages and caravan and camping sites. The Gwithian beach near Godrevy is not only picturesque but it is also a favoured area for water-related sports including surfing, windsurfing and body-boarding.
More reliable sunshine in the Mediterranean, coupled with cheap flights, saw a downturn in the fortune of Hayle as a tourist destination in the 1980s, although it remains a popular destination for families with young children. Schemes have been proposed for the regeneration of the town and its harbour but none has yet come to fruition.
The local community radio station is Coast FM (formerly Penwith Radio), which broadcasts on 96.5 and 97.2 FM.
