Perranporth (Cornish: Porthperan) is small seaside resort on the north coast of North Cornwall. The village's modern name comes from Porth Peran, which is Cornish for the cove of Saint Piran, the patron saint of Cornwall. He founded St Piran's Oratory on Penhale Sands near Perranporth in the 7th century. Buried under sand for many centuries, it was unearthed in the 19th century.

Get in

By road

Coming from Exeter, take the A30 continuing past Bodmin and turn off onto the B3285 for a short drive on the back roads to the coast.

By plane

The nearest airport is Newquay Airport (NQY ^IATA), which has daily flights to London Heathrow.

By train

The nearest station is at Newquay which is on a branch line which splits off at Par station from the main line between Exeter and Penzance. Trains are every 2 hours, but this may be seasonal. Alternatively, take a train to Bodmin Parkway and a bus connection from Bodmin to Perranporth. The timetables of these buses are designed to fit around the big trains arriving (according to Wikipedia)

Get around

Perranporth is just a large village, so most of the points of interest to the tourist are in walking distance of the beach and St Piran's road.Portheras Cove

See

• Impressive rock formations along beach
• 1 Perran Round. Perran Round (also known as St Piran's Round) is an amphitheatre in the hamlet of Rose, midway between the villages of Goonhavern and Perranporth, Cornwall, UK. It is described as the best surviving example of a plen-an-gwary, a medieval amphitheatre used for performing the Ordinalia, or Cornish miracle plays. (updated Dec 2020)
• 2 Perranzabuloe Museum, Ponsmere Rd, TR6 0BW. volunteer run local history museum. (updated Dec 2020)
• 3 Blue Hills Tin, Trevellas Coombe, St Agnes TR5 0YW, ☏ +44 1872 553341. mid-May - mid Oct Tu-Sa 10:00-16:00. This 19th century ore-crusher still functions. The overshot waterwheel drives "stamps" which pound the ore, which is then shaken to separate good ore from debris. It's then smelted for tin: nowadays they use a small furnace and make it into giftware. Adult £7. (updated Jul 2021)

Do

• 1 Perranporth beach, ☏ +44 7591 935222. A large stretch of golden sand, edged by impressive rocky cliffs. A shipping container filled with Lego toys was lost overboard in 1997, and there's a chance that you'll find one of the iconic plastic bricks on the beach, especially on the tide after a bad storm. RNLI Lifeguard on duty May to September. Dogs welcome, and must be kept on a leash during July and August. Wheelchair-accessible toilets nearby. Special wheelchair for sand can be rented (phone in advance for details). (updated Jul 2022)
• 2 Chapel Rock Pool. is an open air bathing pool sitting on the beach next to Chapel Rock. It was created by adding a couple of concrete walls abutting the rock to enclose a shallow pool. The water is refilled daily by the high tides. (updated Dec 2020)

Buy

• Perranporth has a small selection of shops including two Co-op foodstores, Boots chemist and a butcher.
• 1 Piran Surf, 38 St Pirans Rd, TR6 0BJ. wetsuits and surfing equipment. (updated Dec 2020)

Eat

• There are a few seaside restaurants and bars alongside the beach, and cafes along St Piran's Road
• 1 Perranporth Inn, 36 St Pirans Rd, TR6 0BJ. mains £7 - £15. (updated Dec 2020)

Drink

• 1 Seiners Arms (on the beachfront). hotel, bar and restaurant. (updated Dec 2020)
• 2 The Watering Hole. A bar on the beach, with food and live music. (updated Dec 2020)

Sleep

• 1 Perranport YHA. cliff-top 24 bed hostel with space for one tent (in an exposed location). (updated Dec 2020)

Go next

• 1 Newquay
• 2 Truro (England)
• 3 Redruth
• 4 St Columb Major