Penzance to Porthcurno, and back
Local Bus Autumn Winter Spring Timetables 2023 - 2024 scroll down for full timetable of bus services.
These buses run in a circular route. Some run clockwise and some run anti-clockwise, which explains why times to reach the same destination can be so different and in some places a bus to your destination could come on either side of the road. The circular route includes Land's End, so all of these either go to, or come from, Land's End. In summer some may have come from St Just and St Ives to Land's End as bus number LAND (formerly bus 300, then bus A3), or may go on to those places from Land's End, and may be open-top double-decker buses. Read more bus info. 2017 saw the introduction of a number of new semi-opentop buses in a circular service Penzance to Lands End to St Ives to Penzance under the route number A1 and A3, now LAND, with the memorable new route name Atlantic Coasters, later changed to Lands End Coaster.
To get to the Minack Theatre by bus you need to get off at the bus stop in the car park in the Porthcurno valley, between the former Cable Station Inn and the Telegraph Museum. From there it is about five minutes walk up a steep hill to the Minack - the buses do not go up that hill. At the Porthcurno carpark just opposite the former Cable Station Inn there is an official bus stop with timetables, and from here the bus turns around and goes back the way it came.
Please note that local bus services have been severely cut so that wealthy companies and individuals can avoid tax and social responsibility, and local residents can just stay at home and suffer.
Outside of towns the bus should pick you up and let you off where you ask, just wave at the driver to get on, as if you were hailing a taxi. This is officially called a "hail and ride" service. Read more bus travel and taxi information.
Current Bus Timetable
These buses are run by First Kernow, the local operation of the First Bus company.. From April 2020 to 31 May 2020 bus services were very limited due to Covid-19, with just four buses a day to Porthcurno. You can always check for latest service status at firstgroup.com/cornwall/current-bus-service., but that covers only buses provided by that company. The local Community Bus was running an independent service several times a day from Land's End to Sennen, St Just and Pendeen, but not to Porthcurno, Treen, St Buryan or St Levan, but that has now been taken over by Transport for Cornwall. Western Greyhound no longer operate buses in this area from November 2013, so buses 501 and 504 to Porthcurno no longer exist.
The entirely open-top 300 bus used to run in a popular big circle around Penwith, covering St Ives, Penzance, St Just, Land's End, and Porthcurno. It still effectively runs in a circle but changes its number at different points on the route and is called the Lands End Coaster. These services have been victims of cuts and confusion at Cornwall Council and First Bus, as have the evening buses which previously served the Minack Theatre. Meanwhile UK billionaires have doubled their wealth, and the UK government are further dismantling society, promoting global warming and hunger, and punishing everyone who is not rich. So catch these buses while you still can.