Month by month
Cornwall in December 2026: daylight, weather, holidays and dog rules
Photograph to come Cornwall in December.
What to expect in Cornwall in December 2026: sunrise and sunset, long-term average weather, bank and school holidays, and which beach rules apply.
Daylight
Sunrise and sunset in Truro (UK local time), from our own calculation using NOAA solar equations. Expect them to be within a minute or two.
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 December 2026 | 07:58 | 16:19 | 8h 22m |
| 15 December 2026 | 08:13 | 16:16 | 8h 03m |
| 31 December 2026 | 08:20 | 16:26 | 8h 06m |
Average weather in December
Averages for December over 1991–2020 at the Met Office weather station at Camborne. We calculated them from Met Office historic station data. They are long-term averages, not a forecast.
- Average daily high
- 9.9°C
- Average nightly low
- 5.6°C
- Average rainfall
- 126 mm
- Average sunshine
- 54 hours
- Average days of air frost
- 1.7
Bank and school holidays
- Christmas Day: Friday 25 December 2026
- Boxing Day (substitute day): Monday 28 December 2026
Bank holidays from GOV.UK.
- Autumn term ends on Friday 18 December 2026, then the Christmas holiday.
School dates for Cornwall’s Community and Voluntary-Controlled schools, from Cornwall Council. Academies and other schools may differ.
Beaches in December
Dogs: Cornwall Council’s seasonal dog bans run either 15 May – 30 September or 1 July – 31 August, depending on the beach, and the Summerleaze dogs-on-leads rule runs 21 May – 30 September. None of these seasonal rules apply in December. Three places have an all-year, 24-hour ban: Carnsew Pool, Copperhouse Pool and Hayle Estuary. Privately owned beaches can set their own rules, and the council’s other dog orders (such as picking up after your dog) apply all year. Full list.
Water quality: the Environment Agency samples bathing waters only during the bathing season (15 May – 30 September in 2026), so there is no official sampling or daily pollution risk forecast in December.
Lifeguards: Cornwall Council says the RNLI’s main lifeguard season runs from May to September and varies by beach. Check the RNLI lifeguarded beach finder before you swim.
Tides: check BBC tide tables, as the council advises, and allow time to get off the beach before dark.
Browse all 87 beaches in our guide.
What’s on in December
Events, markets and live music across Cornwall are listed on our sister site: Share Cornwall’s events calendar.
Sources and checks
- Met Office: Camborne historic station data – 1991–2020, our calculation, Open Government Licence v3.0
- GOV.UK: bank holidays
- GOV.UK: when do the clocks change
- Cornwall Council: school term dates – 2026/27 and 2027/28
- Cornwall Council: dogs on beaches – last updated 23 October 2026
- Cornwall Council: beach safety – last updated 1 April 2026
Last checked: . Published by Oaknest Media. How we check: editorial policy.