Pedn Vounder () is a tidal beach on the south coast of the

Penwith peninsula Penwith (; kw, Pennwydh) is an area of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, located on the peninsula of the same name. It is also the name of a former local government district, whose council was based in Penzance. The area is named after o ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

, England. It is immediately to the west of the

Logan Rock The Logan Rock ( kw, Men Omborth, meaning ''balanced stone'') near the village of Treen in Cornwall, England, UK, is an example of a logan or rocking stone. Although it weighs some 80 tons, it was dislodged in 1824 by a group of British seamen, ...

headland, below Treen Cliff. The name is from the Cornish 'pen' (head, end) and 'an vounder' (of the lane). Access to the beach is either by boat, or on foot from the coastal path along the cliffs. The top of this path may be approached from

Porthcurno Porthcurno ( kw, Porthkornow, Porthcornow, meaning ''"pinnacle cove"'', see below) is a small village covering a small valley and beach on the south coast of Cornwall, England in the United Kingdom. It is the main settlement in a civil and an ec ...

, approximately to the west, or from Treen, approximately to the north. The final stage of the descent from the coastal path requires some climbing down steep rocks at the western end of the beach. It is sometimes possible to walk from Porthcurno beach along the shore, during low water of a

spring tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

. In common with some of the other secluded coves on the Penwith peninsula, this beach is an unofficial

naturist Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms a ...

beach. Signs on the cliff above the beach warn that swimming off the far side of the sand bar is dangerous due to strong currents. In 1880, a wooden hut was built above the beach to house a

submarine communications cable A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. The first submarine communications cables laid beginning in the 1850s carried te ...

from Brest, France. It connected with a land line running via the Trereen valley, and by Burnewhall to

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

and on to

Newlyn Newlyn ( kw, Lulyn: Lu 'fleet', Lynn/Lydn 'pool') is a seaside town and fishing port (the largest fishing port in England) in south-west Cornwall, UK.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' Newlyn lies on the shore of Moun ...

and

Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situ ...

. At this time Porthcurno was known world-wide as the British terminal of submarine telegraph cables.

Gallery

File:Pednvounder coastline - geograph.org.uk - 230536.jpg, Coast at Pedn Vounder File:Pednvounder beach footprints.jpg, Pedn Vounder beach File:Pednvounder sand bar cornwall.jpg, Pedn Vounder beach sand bar File:Sea at Pedn Vounder over Sandbank.jpg , Sea at Pedn Vounder over sandbank File:Pedne Vouder Beach Fossick.jpg, Aerial view of Pedn Vounder beach

References

External links

Pedn Vounder Beach
o

o
sennen-cove.com

Porthcurno and Treen information (usable on mobiles)
o
porthcurno.mobi
Beaches of Penwith Nude beaches {{Penwith-geo-stub