At the south end, at Sennen Cove, there are toilet facilities, a surf shop, a restaurant, and two car parks, one in a large field above the cliff, and another beside the beach.

The west facing bay is backed by a 38 hectares (94 acres) dune system which has developed from a limited supply of sand trapped within the shelter of the headlands, Pedn-mên-du (in the south) and Aire Point.

The dunes contain the only British population of the shield bug Geotomus punctulatus which was first recorded here in 1864.

[5][6] G. punctulatus is a southern European species and associated with sparsely vegetated areas of loose sand and feeds on lady's bedstraw (Galium verum).

Another rarity is Emblethis griseus a seed-eating bug associated with marram grass (Ammophila arenaria), common stork’s-bill (Erodium cicutarium), spurges (Euphorbia species) and sparse grassland.