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

Penwith Peninsula Penwith (; ) is an area of Cornwall, England, 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 one of the ancient administrati ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England. It is immediately to the west of the

Logan Rock The Logan Rock (, meaning ''balanced stone'') near the village of Treen in Cornwall, United Kingdom, 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, intent on ...

headland, below

Treen Cliff Treen Cliff is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) located on the Penwith Peninsula in Cornwall, England, UK, south-west of Penzance. First notified in 1951, with a revision in 1973, and a further notification on 1 July 1986, it is ...

. The name is from the

Late Cornish Cornish ( Standard Written Form: or , ) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. Along with Welsh and Breton, Cornish descends from Common Brittonic, a language once spoken widely across Great Britain. For much o ...

'pedn' (head, end) and 'an vownder' (of the lane). Access to the beach is either by boat, or on foot from the

coastal path A coastal path (or a littoral path) is a trail along a sea shore or a lake shore for pedestrians, and sometimes for cyclists or equestrians. Some coastal paths were originally created for use by customs or coastguard officials looking out for ...

along the cliffs. The top of this path may be approached from

Porthcurno Porthcurno (, 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 parishes in England, civil and an ecc ...

, approximately to the west, or from

Treen Treen (literally "of a tree") is a generic name for small handmade functional household objects made of wood. Treen is distinct from furniture, such as chairs, and cabinetry, as well as clocks and cupboards. Before the late 17th century, when sil ...

, 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 practicing 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 seabed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. The first submarine communications cables were laid beginning in the 1850s and car ...

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

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

and on to

Newlyn Newlyn () is a seaside town and fishing port in south-west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' It is the largest fishing port in England. Newlyn lies on the shore of Mount's Bay and for ...

and

Penzance Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...

. 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

Beaches of Penwith Nude beaches {{Penwith-geo-stub