Nuns Beach is a heavily modified and now artificial beach. The beach lies immediately north of Portland Harbour and is backed by a car park. A long beach originally ran below the white limestone cliffs on either side of Portland Harbour. The harbour construction resulted in erosion of most of this beach and exposure of the backing cliffs. Some sand accumulated on the northern side of the harbour breakwater to form Nuns Beach. In addition, a groyne has been built at the northern end of the 300 m long, east facing beach. In 1990, sand from Pivot Beach was dumped here to replenish the beach.
The beach is well protected by Cape Nelson and the harbour walls. Waves average less than 0.5 m which, with the fine beach sand, ensures a low, shallow beach and attached bar.
Beach Length: 0.3km
General Hazard Rating:
3/10
Patrols
There are currently no services provided by Surf Life Saving Australia for this beach. Please take the time to browse the Surf Safety section of this website to learn more about staying safe when swimming at Australian beaches.
Click here to visit general surf education information.
SLSA provides this information as a guide only. Surf conditions are variable and therefore this information should not be relied upon as a substitute for observation of local conditions and an understanding of your abilities in the surf. SLSA reminds you to always swim between the red and yellow flags and never swim at unpatrolled beaches. SLSA takes all care and responsibility for any translation but it cannot guarantee that all translations will be accurate.