Pentewan is a village on the south coast of Cornwall, between Mevagissey and St Austell. It once worked for a living: in the 19th century a harbour was built here to ship china clay from the pits inland, and a railway ran from the clay country down to the quay. The sea had other ideas. The harbour silted and closed, the railway followed it into history, and the village settled into a quieter trade.
The beach
What remains of the working past is mostly sand. Pentewan Sands is the broad beach below the village, used by families in summer and rearranged by the sea all year round.
The village
The old harbour walls are still part of the place, and the streets behind them are short and open to the weather.
Sources
Last checked: 2026-10-11