Porth Towan - Towan Cross - Chapel Porth
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Porth Towan is a seaside village a few miles from Redruth, known for its fine surfing beach. It derives its Cornish name from its sandy beaches and dunes. In Cornish, Porth means cove and Towan means sand-dune or beach. It became popular as a local seaside resort in Victorian and Edwardian times, when the local populace from Redruth and the surrounding areas flocked here, particularly on Bank Holidays. Today's shops and tourist amenities have their roots in this period, when a handful of bathing machines served the adventurous swimmers of the day, most people then being content merely to take tea after a walk on the cliffs.
In 1897 the wreck of the Rose of Devon left a lasting scar on the locality, bodies of dead sailors being buried in the cemetery at nearby Mount Hawke, where a Cornish cross now marks the sad event. Mount Hawke is the country cousin to Porth Towan, one and a half miles inland. Founded on mining and agriculture and once a local centre for rope-making, the village has become popular in the last twenty years.
Overlooking Porth Towan are the remains of Wheal Towan, one of Cornwall's most celebrated 18th Century copper mines and scene of a fortune amassed by Ralph Allen Daniell of Trelissick, 'Guinea-a-minute' Daniell - his reputed income night and day.
Porth Towan is the home of the novelist who writes under the name Chrissie Loveday.
England - South West England - Cornwall - Coast
Features
Birds, Butterflies, Cafe, Flowers, Food Shop, Gift Shop, Good for Kids, Great Views, Hills or Fells, Industrial Archaeology, Moor, National Trust, Play Area, Pub, Public Transport, Restaurant, Sea, Tea Shop, Toilets, Wildlife, Woodland