A wedge of pale shell-sand and clear green water near Land's End, with the cliff-carved Minack Theatre right above it
Porthcurno is one of those Cornish beaches that looks almost tropical on a good day: pale sand made largely of crushed shell, and water that turns a clear green over it when the sun is out. It sits in a steep-sided cove near the very end of the Land’s End peninsula, so you walk down to it rather than stroll along. The water here is rated Excellent for bathing quality, though this is open Atlantic coast and the sea can pick up quickly, so keep an eye on conditions and on children.
The other reason people come is perched on the cliff at the south end: the Minack Theatre, an open-air theatre cut into the rock above the beach, begun by Rowena Cade in the 1930s and still staging shows through the summer. Porthcurno was also where the undersea telegraph cables came ashore, linking Britain to the rest of the world, and there is a museum in the valley about that history.
The beach lies right on the South West Coast Path, so it is easy to fold into a walk. Head east along the cliffs and you reach the headland of Treryn Dinas with the famous balancing Logan Rock, and the small tidal beach of Pedn Vounder just below. There is a car park behind the beach, but it is popular and fills early in high summer, so an earlier start pays off.
