Porthcurno Beach is a beautiful white sand, southeast facing beach in the western corner of the very lovely Porthcurno Bay. The beach has some protection by the cliffs on either side but the beach has a deep shelf into the sea at high tide that adults would find a challenge and so care must be taken with children.
Facilities at the beach include car park, toilets, cafe and lifeguard patrols during the summer, with access to the beach along a hard path through the trees from the car park.
This is a popular location as we would also suggest a visit to the Minack Theatre in the cliffs to the west and if you have time to the east Pedn Vounder Beach and the famous Logan Rock. This popularity does mean the car park can get very busy as a number of visitors use it to visit the theatre and museum rather than spending the day on the beach.
Porthcurno beach has seasonal dog restrictions, check signs on the beach.
Water samples are taken at regular intervals during the bathing season and at the end of the season the water quality is classified as:
Excellent: the highest classification meaning the water is cleanest
Good: generally good water quality
Sufficient: meets minimum standards
Poor: You are advised not to swim. The beach will stay open and an action plan should be in place to improve the water quality.
Our weather forecast for Penwith Peninsula in Cornwall
Today (Tuesday, Mar 02)
Expect a temperature in the range 8.3℃ to 8.9℃ with a wind speed 8.1 m/sec (ESE)
Wednesday, Mar 03
Expect a temperature in the range 9.3℃ to 9.7℃ with a wind speed 6.1 m/sec (ESE)
Thursday, Mar 04
Expect a temperature in the range 8.7℃ to 8.9℃ with a wind speed 0.8 m/sec (NNW)
Friday, Mar 05
Expect a temperature in the range 7.2℃ to 8.3℃ with a wind speed 3.3 m/sec (ESE)
Saturday, Mar 06
Expect a temperature in the range 5.5℃ to 6.1℃ with a wind speed 5.7 m/sec (ESE)
Sunday, Mar 07
Expect a temperature in the range 5.2℃ to 6.1℃ with a wind speed 3.6 m/sec (S)
Monday, Mar 08
Expect a temperature in the range 9℃ to 9.8℃ with a wind speed 10 m/sec (SW)
Weather forecast from Yr, delivered by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and NRK
Tides
Our tide forecast for Porthcurno Beach in Cornwall.
In this 'you may also like' section we attempt to answer what else can I do? Here you have a list by order of being the closest some more beaches, things to see and do, places to eat and upcoming events.
The festival runs for three days at Porthminster beach in St Ives. Activities include: fantastic demonstrations from nationally renowned celebrity chefs artisan traders with high-quality food and drink music performances children’s play area water sports activities Read more…
Levant Mine and Beam Engine is part of Cornwall and West Devon Mining World Heritage Site. Includes the only Cornish beam engine anywhere in the world that is still in steam at a tin and copper mine. Read more…
North Cliffs beach, or Deadmans Cove is a pebble beach although you will get some sand as the tide goes out. A couple of small car parks but nothing else. Read more…
Sennen Cove is in the far west of Cornwall, tucked into the corner of Whitesand bay on the Penwith peninsula. In the summer walk the coast path and experience one of the best sea views possible. In the winter this can show how rough these waters can get. A major surfing location but it is also suitable for beginners. The Read more…
St Ives Bay has two main areas. The town beaches on the St Ives side of the estuary and then the long beach on the Hayle side of the estuary. The Hayle side has 3 miles of sandy beach backed by sand dunes (“Towans”) and cliffs. The beach stretches from St Ives estuary up to Godrevy beach, just off the Read more…
Porth Loe beach has no sand and is formed only of boulders. No facilities and very hard to get to. We have no dog information for Porth Loe beach. Read more…
Newlyn is best known for being a fishing port and harbour. Green Rocks beach is an easterly facing beach that has more shingle than sand and is largely covered at high tide. Facilities and car park are in Newlyn centre, a few minutes walk from the beach. Read more…
This is a great example of an art deco lido. The Lido was designed in the 1930s and in February 2014 it was severely damaged by storms and was re-opened in May 2016 after refurbishment. Read more…
St Ives has had a lifeboat since the 1830s and the station today currently operates two lifeboats. Station and shop open weekdays in the summer. Read more…
Porthmeor Cove beach is a small sheltered cove with a combination of sand, pebbles and rocks. Not to be confused with the larger sandy Porthmeor beach in St. Ives town. No facilities, access from the coastal path. We have no dog information for Porthmeor Cove beach. Read more…
Penlee House Gallery and Museum is a small museum and art gallery contains many paintings by the ‘Newlyn School’ (c.1880 – c.1940) including Stanhope and Elizabeth Forbes, Walter Langley, Harold Harvey and Laura Knight. Set in an elegant Victorian house and park, Penlee House also covers West Cornwall’s archaeology and social history, and offers a cafe and shop. Read more…
Kenneggy Sands is a large sandy beach that used to be accessed from the cliff path via metal ladders. In recent years coastal erosion has claimed this access route and now the only way to access is at low tide from neighbouring coves. Care must be taken as the beach all but disappears at high tide. The beach has no Read more…
Hayle Towans beach sits alongside Hayle estuary. Good sandy beach although we would recommend moving along the beach away from the estuary for safer swimming, check out the lifeguard swimming flags that normally sit in front of Black Cliff beach. Whilst the north end of St Ives Bay has good surfing beaches, Hayle Towans is the spot for kitesurfing and Read more…
Perfect after a Minack visit
Good beach and protected by the high cliffs. The sea steeps very quickly and was a problem for smaller children and we were quite nervous.
The road access was a pain as we got stuck on narrow lanes between tractors and buses.
Overall a great stop off when combined with a trip to Minack Theatre but not sure if I would just visit the beach.
Porthcurno beach has seasonal dog restrictions, check signs on the beach.
1 Review on “Porthcurno Beach (Cornwall)”
Perfect after a Minack visit
Good beach and protected by the high cliffs. The sea steeps very quickly and was a problem for smaller children and we were quite nervous.
The road access was a pain as we got stuck on narrow lanes between tractors and buses.
Overall a great stop off when combined with a trip to Minack Theatre but not sure if I would just visit the beach.