Coverack

Cornwall Information & Accommodation Guide

Coverack, in Cornish, Porthkovrek, is a small, picturesque fishing village in the parish of St Keverne, on the Lizard

Coverack has seen many a shipwreck due to its proximity to the infamous Manacles reef. At low tide, there are good views across to the Manacles. One of the villages's most prominent buildings, got its name from the American ship, Paris, which was wrecked here in 1899. On this occasion, the Manacles did not claim the lives of the passengers and crew, all 700 of them were rescued.

A lifeboat was stationed here for many years, thanks in part to the pleas of the Reverend William Diggins, former Vicar of St Keverne, who in 1898, petitioned the Board of Trade for an additional lifeboat to the one stationed at Porthoustock, after the terrible loss of the S.S. Mohegan. The lifeboat station no longer has a lifeboat but the building has been converted to commercial use and can still be seen.

Smuggled also played its part in the development of Coverack as a village. Many of the pretty stone cottages around the harbour are believed to have hidden cellars where smuggled contraband would have been hidden.

Coverack's harbour was built in 1724 and is constructed of local serpentine and hornblende.

The village church, dedicated to St Peter was built in 1885. Its serpentine pulpit was donated by the old Poltesco serpentine works. The red brick and granite building overlooks the sea and depicts its patron, St Peter with crossed keys and St Keverne with his staff, in its stained glass windows.

Today, Coverack is popular with visitors for sightseeing, walking, fishing, swimming, windsurfing and other activities. Coverack Bay provides a safe anchorage for yachts during most weather conditions. Only when the wind is from an easterly direction is it unsuitable as a harbour. For visitors wishing to moor small craft in the harbour, please contact the Harbour Master on 01326 280679.

Coverack's fishing harbour is still active with many small fishing boats and pleasure craft. You will often see visitors fishing from the harbour wall. You can expect to catch pollack, wrasse, bass, and mackerel.

There are excellent walks in the area following the Cornish coastal footpath either westwards towards Kennack Sands, Cadgwith and Lizard Point, where you will walk along cliffs of serpentine rock, view the remains of an Iron Age cliff castle at Chynalls Point, see smalls rocky coves where you may glimpse seals basking, headlands such as Black Head and beautiful beaches, or eastwards to Lowland Point, Dean Quarry and beyond. You may be lucky enough to see dolphins who sometimes visit Coverack Bay.

General Information

ATM / Cash Points

The nearest cash point machines are at St Keverne

More information about Coverack coming soon.

Location:
Coverack is on the south coast of Cornwall on the Lizard Peninsula. Into Cornwall Area Map Lizard Peninsula Map
10 miles from Helston. Take the B3293 across Goonhilly Downs and then take the Coverack turning.

Road directions to Coverack

Books online:
Click here to buy books online about Coverack

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