Porthcurno Beach (Cornwall)

We recently had our family holiday in Cornwall; Porthcurno to be precise (near Lands End). I haven’t been to Cornwall since I was 18, and I have to think, why did it take me so dang long to come back?! Cornwall is like another world, the flora and fauna, the climate, the air, the roads, the beaches, it literally feels like you are in the Mediterranean – they actually have palm trees! If you are lucky enough to get the weather then this is the place to be. I have been all over Great Britain and this place definitely ranks very high on my top 5 list!

Porthcurno Beach

Porthcurno is a tiny village, so small that it does not even boast a shop. But what it lacks in amenities it makes up for in its beach. Porthcurno Beach is on every top beach list in Cornwall and there is a reason for that, it is incredible.

During our 7-day holiday we went to this beach 4 times, it was stunning. It has soft, powdery white sand, surrounded by rocks on either side and in the middle is the most stunningly beautiful colour of sea. I have been to many beaches across the UK, most of them are grey, brown, white, a little blue but none of them were this colour of gorgeous green-blue (teal maybe). I found myself staring at it rather than reading my book, it was mesmerising.

Firstly, getting down to the beach, take the stairs down, do not follow the sign to the hill on the right, take the left-hand stairs down as it is far easier – unless of course you are nimble and like a slight challenge. Since there are rocks on either side of the beach, most people decamped to the rocks for a bit of shelter, this is especially good on windy days or if you are surfing/paddle boarding. There were a few surfers.

The water is on the colder side, and I was told the water is about 10 degrees colder than the rest of cornwall because the water is deeper (being crammed in between rocks), this is indeed true, I could not stomach the coldness of the water, though we did visit in June when the water had not had much chance to heat up. That being said the beach at St Ives had warm water during the same week. St Ives has a very large and open beach, right opposite the train station. The water was warm so the kids enjoyed paddling here, but it was not as stunning as Porthcurno (though it was still lovely in its own right).

When the water (at Porthcurno) is at low tide you are able to walk around through the rocks to the left to another “secret beach”, Pedn Vounder which is pretty quiet as the only way to get to it is by the low tide. Then if you continue walking round the left you can walk over to Nanjizal Beach (be aware it is a naturist beach). The secret beach also has a few caves and tiny waterfalls down the rocks and some rock pools.

My family, which included my two young children (aged 6 and 11) had such a great time. We would highly recommend this beautiful beach. In addition, you can technically walk up to the Minack Theatre (absolutely breath-taking), though we were told it is a long hard walk (so we drove instead). There is also a lovely beach cafe in walking distance from Porthcurno Beach, less than 5 minutes away. I spent 4 days at this cafe, the menu was small but perfectly formed, complete with Cornish treats such as Cornish pasties, crab, scones and icecreams.

A couple of notes that you may find helpful, firstly dogs are not allowed on this beach during the summer season, secondly they have a lifeguard station at this beach and they helpfully let you know the high and low tide times (on a chalk board) so that you can plan your trip around to Pedn Vounder beach (which is only accessible at low tide). It does not appear to be wheelchair accessible because the hill going down is not very wide and is quite steep, pushchairs could possibly be managed.

In summary this is possibly one of the best beaches in Britain, I would highly recommend it.