Polzeath (/pəlˈzɛθ/; Standard Written Form: Polsegh, meaning dry creek) is a small seaside resort village in the civil parish of St Minver[1] in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.

[3] Dolphins may sometimes be spotted in the bay and the coastline north of Polzeath is a good area for seeing many types of birds, particularly on migration but also including occasional puffins nesting on the offshore islands.

The road rises up steep hills at both ends of the seafront, towards the village of Trebetherick to the southwest and New Polzeath to the northeast.

[8][9] Until 1934 the main street through the village crossed the stream by means of a ford and a footbridge was provided for pedestrians although this was sometimes washed away by winter storms.

In July 2022, police imposed a two-day 10pm curfew after drunken late-night beach parties of around 200 teenagers consistently got out of hand.

Local resident Andy Stewart, a former police officer, said the teenagers were often children of million-pound second home owners in the nearby village of Rock.

He said, “They don’t realise there is excessive drinking, cocaine, nitrous oxide, underage sex and big fires.” Stewart has refused to identify the schools where many of the teenagers study, though he has been in contact with their senior staff.

[17] Another poet, Laurence Binyon, wrote the Remembrance Day ode For the Fallen in 1914 while sitting on Pentire Head, Polzeath (or "Polseath" as it was called), during World War I.

In the first of Enid Blyton's Famous Five novels, the eponymous children express disappointment that their holiday will not be spent at Polzeath as usual.