Penzance Travel Guide - The Minack Theatre

Porthcurno beach is located some 7 miles south-west of Penzance and is one of the finest beaches in Cornwall. It is of golden sand set in a cove beneath a curve of granite cliff where, facing to the south-east, it acts as a "sun-trap" to the joy of sunbathers, while the sea is a magnificent turquoise-blue (reminiscent of Caribbean beaches). The eastern end of the beach is flanked by the headland known as Treryn Dinas, on which stands the famous Logan Rock - a monumental stone weighing 60-70 tons which, in days past, could be rocked by the pushing effort of just one man! Above the western end of the beach is the famous Minack Open-Air Theatre and beyond stretches the coastal footpath leading first to the beaches of Porth Chapel and Porthgwarra and thence on towards Lands End.

The Minack Theatre, built in the style of an ancient Roman Amphitheatre, but with the added drama of the ocean as its backdrop, was constructed in the 1930s - as a hobby project - by the late Miss Rowena Cade who lived in the large house just behind the theatre. While the theatre began as a "garden project", it has developed over the years since its inception into a world-famous venue and a summer season of plays and musical entertainment is held every year from the end of May until late September. The programme includes a wide variety of productions - straight plays, comedies & musicals - ranging from Shakespeare to Gilbert & Sullivan as well as modern productions, each showing on weekdays (Mondays to Fridays), with a change of programme and production company weekly. While performances are not taking place, the Theatre - and its adjacent Visitor Centre (which tells of the history and development of the Theatre) - can be visited at a small charge. Sometimes rehearsals for the forthcoming performance can be seen during these visits allowing a 'sneak preview' of the next show!

The Museum of Submarine Telegraphy, just up the valley from the beach, commemorates Porthcurno's importance as the primary landing place for Britain's network of international telephone and telegraph cables. The Museum is housed in a series of underground tunnels established during the Second World War as a secret communications base and shows much important historical telegraphy equipment.

There is road access to Porthcurno leaving the main Lands End road approximately 3 miles west of Penzance. There is a regular bus service from Penzance, approximately every hour during the summer and every two hours during the winter. Although there is no bus service returning after the evening Minack Theatre performances, there are Coach Tour services several evenings weekly providing inclusive travel and reserved theatre seats (bookable in advance through Carnson House Hotel). There is car parking immediately at the head of Porthcurno beach while the Theatre is reached by a road climbing the hill beyond the beach to a car park immediately at the Theatre entrance.