- Portscatho is in Cornwall, England.
- Roseland Peninsula
- Check access, weather and local guidance before travelling.
About Portscatho
Portscatho is a small, unspoilt fishing village at the south of the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall, its whitewashed cottages grouped around a shingle cove and a working harbour. It remains a genuine fishing village rather than a resort, with boats landing crab and lobster onto the quay.
The story of Portscatho
Portscatho grew up around a natural cove on the Roseland Peninsula used for fishing and for the export of local slate and produce across the Fal Estuary in the 18th and 19th centuries, within the manor of Gerrans. The pilchard seine fishery was the village's mainstay, with curing cellars and a salting yard recorded on the harbour in the early 19th century. The Roseland Peninsula was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1959, protecting the coastline from development, and Portscatho remains one of the few working harbours on the south Roseland coast. Nearby St Anthony Head, the southern tip of the peninsula, carries a 19th-century coastguard station and a Victorian gun battery.
Visiting with care
Drive around the Roseland Peninsula from Tregony or cross on the Place-St Mawes chain ferry, then walk the cove and the coast path to St Anthony Head. Buy fresh crab from the harbour and eat at the quayside pub.
Interesting facts
- Portscatho lies within the Roseland Peninsula, designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1959.
- The pilchard seine fishery supported the village in the 18th and 19th centuries.
- The nearby St Anthony Head battery was built in the 19th century to defend the Fal Estuary.
- Portscatho remains a working fishing village, with boats landing crab and lobster on the harbour.
Getting there
Parking and access details — check locally for the latest information.