The National Lobster Hatchery

On South Quay in Padstow, right where the Camel Trail meets the harbour, the National Lobster Hatchery is one of the most unusual – and most worthwhile – things to do in North Cornwall. It is a marine conservation, research and education charity working to protect the European lobster, a species that matters enormously to Cornwall’s inshore fishing fleet, and its visitor centre lets you see that work up close.

Inside, you can follow the lobster life cycle from egg to adult. There are rarely seen baby lobsters in their rearing tanks, “berried” mothers carrying thousands of eggs beneath their tails, giant adult lobsters and other creatures from the Cornish coast. Staff on the floor are happy to answer questions, and upstairs a short film explains how and why the hatchery does what it does. It’s a compact centre, so it makes an easy hour on a rainy day or a perfect stop at the end of a ride along the Camel Trail.

The science behind it is simple but striking. In the wild, only around one in every 20,000 lobster eggs survives to adulthood. The hatchery works with local inshore fishermen, who bring in egg-carrying females; the larvae are hatched and reared in safety until the young lobsters are big enough to burrow into the seabed and protect themselves – a head start that improves their survival enormously. Tens of thousands of juveniles are released each year, mainly between spring and late summer, by boat, with divers and sometimes from the shore at low tide.

The visitor centre first opened to the public in 2000, and the National Lobster Hatchery became a registered charity in 2004 (charity no. 1105434). Today it welcomes around 40,000 visitors a year, publishes its own lobster research and was named Best Family Attraction in Cornwall at the 2024 Muddy Stilettos Awards. Every ticket sold helps fund the conservation work – and because tickets double as an annual pass, you can come back throughout the year to see how the youngsters are growing.

You can also adopt a lobster: each adopted juvenile is released off the Cornish coast, and you can look up where it went on the hatchery’s online lobster tracker. Adoptions make a popular souvenir from the gift shop, and the hatchery runs seasonal family events through the school holidays, plus the Lobster Lollop, a fundraising run along the Camel Trail usually held in November.

Opening Times & Ticket Prices

Open every day, 10am – 4pm (seasonal winter closure for maintenance; in 2026 the centre reopened on 14 February).

Tickets are valid as an annual pass for 12 months:

• Adult – £9
• Child (3–15) – £7
• Family (2 adults + 2 children) – £29

School and group visits are booked separately through the official website.