Discover Porthcurno
Discover what else you can see and do on your day out to PK Porthcurno, from strolling around the museum gardens to visiting one of Britain’s most spectacular beaches. With stunning coastal walks and the famous Minack open-air theatre next door, a visit to PK makes the perfect family day out.
Enjoy Our Gardens
Relax in our beautiful sub-tropical gardens and enjoy our wildflower planting scheme, created as part of our work with the Eden Project to increase biodiversity in the valley.
Walk the South West Coastal Path
Enjoy beautiful walks along the coastal path located just a few metres from the museum.
Visit the Minack
Porthcurno’s Minack is one of the world’s most famous outdoor theatres. Built into the cliffs above Porthcurno beach, it offers spectacular views across the Cornwall’s Atlantic coastline, and welcomes more than 100,000 people a year to its stage performances. www.minack.com
The Valley
Porthcurno Valley owes its unique heritage to the arrival of the first undersea telegraph cable in 1870. Zodiac House, located to the west of the valley, was the very first telegraph station building at Porthcurno, followed by Eastern House, which was constructed in 1904. By 1920, PK had become the largest and most important telegraph station in the world, shaping the landscape of the valley and the community that grew up around it. At one time, the whole valley was owned and operated by the telegraph company, and in wartime, Porthcurno was only accessible by special pass. Today, our museum occupies Eastern House and the secret underground bunker and escape tunnel that was dug into the hillside during WWII, while the old Cable Hut still stands above Porthcurno Beach.
Porthcurno Beach
Porthcurno beach is one of Europe’s most photographed and picturesque beaches, thanks to its fine golden sand, turquoise waters and towering granite cliffs. To the west, the world-famous Minack Theatre looks down from the clifftop, and along the headland to the east is Cornwall’s legendary Logan Rock. The beach is a popular destination for families thanks to its sheltered, south-facing position with lifeguard cover from May through September. Dogs are welcome on the beach during the low season, from October to April.
The Coastal Path
Walkers can enjoy spectacular views around Porthcurno from the South West Coast Path, which climbs high above the coves of Porthgwarra, Porthchapel and Porthcurno, taking in PK Porthcurno on the way, and on to Pedn Vounder and Penberth via Logan Rock and Cribba Head. As an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, this stretch of coast has been used many times as a film and TV location, most recently as the location of Ross and Demelza’s beloved Nampara Cove in the BBC adaptation of Poldark.