Portscatho, Cornwall – Fishing Village on Gerrans Bay

HOLIDAYS IN PORTSCATHO

Portscatho is a charming and unspoilt fishing village with a picturesque harbour, lying in a sheltered, east-facing cove in the corner of Gerrans Bay, with lovely views along the bay to Nare Head. Its name comes from the Cornish porth, a harbour or cove, and skathow, boats – the harbour of boats.

The village grew up around the pilchard fishery. Its position was chosen by fishermen looking for a base that was sheltered from the prevailing south-westerly winds, and the same shelter makes Portscatho a lovely spot today for swimming, kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding. A few small boats still fish from the harbour for crab, lobster and fish.

Portscatho’s closeness to some of the finest sandy beaches on the Roseland makes it a firm family favourite. There are rock pools to explore on the harbour beach, and within a short walk are Porthcurnick and Towan, two of the best beaches on the peninsula.

Around the little square and the lanes behind the harbour are a village shop, galleries and gift shops, and the Plume of Feathers, an 18th-century Cornish pub a stone’s throw from the water. The village of Gerrans, with its spired church, is just up the hill.

For somewhere to stay, see Portscatho holiday cottages and holidays and short breaks in Portscatho.

Best Time to Visit Portscatho

Spring and early summer are lovely, with wild flowers along the coast path, especially in May and June. Summer is busiest, with the regatta and the beaches at their best. Autumn brings warm seas and quiet paths, and winter is very peaceful.

Parking in the village is limited and the main car park is a walk uphill from the harbour, so arrive early in summer, or park at Porthcurnick and walk round on the coast path.

PORTSCATHO HARBOUR

The heart of the village is the little harbour, sheltered by its stone breakwater, with a slipway down to a beach of sand and shingle where the boats are drawn up. At low tide rocky ledges and pools are uncovered on either side – ideal for rock pooling and crabbing.

In the days of the pilchard fishery the shore was lined with low fish cellars, where the catch was salted, pressed and packed into barrels for export to the Mediterranean. Records from as early as 1626 list eighteen seine boats working from the village, and the last great pilchard catch in Gerrans Bay was landed in 1908. Today the harbour is home to a few inshore fishing boats and pleasure craft.

The sheltered water is good for swimming, kayaking and paddleboarding, but there is no lifeguard – keep an eye on children and on the tide.

BEACHES NEAR PORTSCATHO

• Portscatho beach – the harbour beach of sand and shingle, with rock pools at low tide.
• Porthcurnick Beach – a broad, sheltered sandy beach just north of the village, home to the Hidden Hut café. Dogs welcome all year. National Trust parking at Trewince, about ten minutes’ walk.
• Towan Beach – a long sandy beach to the south, about five minutes’ walk from the National Trust car park at Porth Farm, with a seasonal tea room.
• Pendower and Carne – a mile of sand at the far side of Gerrans Bay, a short drive away.

None of these beaches has a lifeguard. See our guide to beaches on the Roseland Peninsula.

HISTORY OF PORTSCATHO

Portscatho has been a fishing village for centuries, part of the parish of Gerrans. Its fortunes rose and fell with the pilchard shoals: when the fish came into Gerrans Bay in late summer, huers on the cliffs signalled to the seine boats, the nets were shot around the shoal, and the whole village turned out to land and cure the catch. In poor years, when the shoals failed to arrive, times were very hard.

In the 18th century Portscatho was part of the manor of Pettigrew, while neighbouring Gerrans was in the manor of Nampity. By the early 20th century the pilchards had all but gone – the last great catch in the bay, in 1908, was credited to Edward Peters, landlord of the Plume of Feathers. Since then Portscatho has become a quiet holiday village, while keeping its working harbour and its character.

WALKS FROM PORTSCATHO

The South West Coast Path runs right through Portscatho. Heading south, it follows low cliffs past Towan Beach to Porth Farm and on round St Anthony Head to Place – with the Place Ferry back to St Mawes in summer. Heading north, it passes Porthcurnick and continues round Gerrans Bay to Pendower, Carne and Nare Head.

A favourite short circuit is the coast path from Portscatho to Towan Beach, returning along the lanes through Gerrans. The wild flowers along the cliffs are wonderful in May and June.

THINGS TO DO IN AND AROUND PORTSCATHO

• Rock pooling and crabbing around the harbour and on the ledges at low tide.
• Swimming, kayaking and paddleboarding in the sheltered water of Gerrans Bay.
• A beach day at Porthcurnick or Towan, with lunch at the Hidden Hut or the Porth Farm tea room.
• Walking the coast path to St Anthony Head and its lighthouse.
• Visiting the spired church of St Gerran in Gerrans, just up the hill.
• Browsing the galleries and craft shops in the village.
• Taking the ferry from St Mawes across to Falmouth for the day.

PLACES NEAR PORTSCATHO

• Gerrans – just up the hill.
• St Anthony Head – about 4 miles south.
• St Mawes – about 5 miles.
• St Just in Roseland – about 4 miles.
• Veryan – about 5 miles.
• The Roseland Peninsula – our guide to the whole peninsula.