Porthcurno

Porthcurno is a small cove with a disproportionately large reputation, thanks to a beach of pale, almost Caribbean-blue water and the open-air theatre carved into the cliff above it.

The Minack Theatre, built into the granite cliff face overlooking the cove, was the personal project of Rowena Cade, who began building it by hand in the 1930s and kept adding to it for decades. It's still a working theatre today, staging performances through the summer months with the sea as a backdrop, and it's open to visitors outside performance times too.

Porthcurno also has a less obvious claim to fame: from the 1870s it was the landing point for a network of undersea telegraph cables connecting Britain to the rest of the world, and later a key wartime communications station. The old cable station buildings now house a small museum on the site's communications history.

Where to Stay in Porthcurno

Porthcurno itself is a hamlet with no hotels of its own, so the nearest genuine options are a short drive away in Sennen, St Just and Penzance.

• 
  The Old Success InnSennen Cove, on the beach
• 
  The Land's End HotelSennen, clifftop above Land's End
• 
  Cape Cornwall ClubSt Just, golf and leisure resort
• 
  The Queens HotelPenzance seafront
• 
  Artist Residence PenzanceChapel Street, Penzance
• 
  Hotel PenzanceBritons Hill, above Penzance harbour
• 
  The Dolphin TavernQuay Street, Penzance harbourside
• 
  Camilla HouseRegent Terrace, Penzance
• 
  Chy-an-Mor Guest HouseRegent Terrace, Penzance, adults only
• 
  The Pendennis Guest HouseAlexandra Road, Penzance
• Bosavern HouseBosavern, near St Just
• 
  Sennen RiseMayon Farm, Sennen, off the A30
• The Old Post House B&BBosorne Street, St Just

Getting there

Porthcurno sits at the end of a single road a few miles south of St Just and Land's End, with limited parking at the beach itself — arriving early in summer makes a real difference.