Porthkerris

Verified2026-09-30 checkedReefPelagic

A Cornish beach you can walk into, and basking sharks feeding offshore in early summer.

Depth: 6–25 m20–82 ft
Difficulty: Beginner
Entry: Shore · Boat
Typical current: Light
Coordinates: 50°2.418′N 5°4.416′W
Activities: Scuba · Snorkelling · Freediving

Porthkerris is a shingle beach on the Lizard with a reef straight off it, and it is where most of England's shore diving happens: walk in, swim out over kelp and gullies from 6 to 25 m, come back for a pasty. Offshore in May and June the second largest fish in the world arrives — basking sharks feeding on plankton blooms with their mouths a metre wide, met by snorkellers and not divers, because bubbles turn them. Cuttlefish come inshore to spawn in spring and thornback rays lie in the sand. Water 9–17 °C; the visibility is best after a settled week.

Drive to Porthkerris Cove on the Lizard peninsula, 40 minutes from Falmouth. Shore entry off the beach.

Best season

ExcellentJun–Aug
GoodMay
GoodSep

Conditions

Water temperature: 17.5°C64°F
Wave height: 1.5 m5 ft
Air temperature: 13.2°C56°F
Wind speed: 34.9 km/h21.7 mph

Updated 2026-10-07 15:45 UTC · Source: Open-Meteo

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0)

Conditions are reported for information only. Assess the site yourself and follow your guide and your training.

No live conditions for this site yet.

We only show numbers we can attribute to a source.

Sea state and tide

On a date

Tide · 10/7

High02:580.93 m
Low09:04-2.05 m
High15:121.20 m
Low21:36-2.55 m

Forecast heights against mean sea level. Real tides in a bay, a harbour or over a flat can differ — check an official tide table before you get in.

Pick a day to see its tide

Only wave height and wind are scored, because those are what close a boat ramp or a shore entry. Water temperature is reported and never scored: 12°C is an ordinary dive in a drysuit and punishing in a 3 mm, and a number that cannot see your suit has no business marking it down. Stars do not decide whether you get in — you and your guide do, on the day.

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0)

Marine life you may see

Basking sharkCetorhinus maximusMay–JulSeasonal
Thornback rayRaja clavataSeasonal
Ballan wrasseLabrus bergyltaCommon
European lobsterHomarus gammarusCommon
Common cuttlefishSepia officinalisApr–JunSeasonal
Lion's mane jellyfishCyanea capillataJun–SepSeasonal

From divers

What people who were in the water reported. Not a forecast, and not a judgement about whether the site is safe to dive.

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