Summer Vacation, Day 17: Porthcothan Bay

July 27, 2026 · 3 min read

It feels unexpected to already write the seventeenth post about our vacation. Time is flying. On Thursday we have a ferry booked at Dover back to Calais. Nadine has been planning our return route and one of the last highlights is a campsite that’s only open two months a year, on top of a stormy cliff: Porthcothan Clifftop Camping.

The California with the roof up and a green windbreak on the cliff-top field

Before we left for the new campsite Nadine and Tilian went down to the beach of Perranporth to search for more coins. Kellin and me checked out playgrounds and got donuts for all. The ride was short and around 80 km in distance. Why the 40 km detour? There would have been a coastal road but I decided to take a longer route as I find the narrow roads nerve-wracking - a few times over the last days we got stuck and had to manage close calls with cars squeezing past our bus. Once arrived we set up the pitch and went down a well maintained and long stretching path down the cliffs and ended up at Porthcothan Beach. A deep and narrow bay between the cliffs with a sandy beach and quite a few people. It felt like a hidden gem for locals and tourists alike. We found a small ice cream shop next to the beach and grabbed some delicious vegan brownies, vegan Biscoff ice cream and alc./non-alc. beers. The boys played in the pools and later some ball throwing with Nadine and me. Towards 6pm the beach was mostly empty and local birds returned to get a refreshing bath or drink from the pools: sparrows, wagtails, barn swallows, pigeons. On the way back up the cliff we spotted stonechats, for the first time a linnet. Later I saw one of the bathing birds was a linnet too - I thought first it was a house sparrow.

Farmer on a quad bike with a terrier standing on the back — Jeff the warden and his dog welcoming new arrivals.

Boy in an Emo's Not Dead hoodie splashing water in front of the rocks — Kellin enjoying the pools left by the low tide.

Linnet bathing in shallow water — Linnet

Pied wagtail bathing in a pool — Pied wagtail

Stonechat perched on a gorse bush — Stonechat

Stonechat perched on bare twigs — Stonechat

Male linnet with red breast on a gorse bush — Linnet

Wave breaking on the rocks below the cliff — Rough waters down the cliffs at the campsite.

Rocky cliffs at Porthcothan Bay — More rough waters.

Angler with a fishing rod on the rocks above the sea — A crazy fisherman climbing down the cliffs.

Topics: Travel, Photography