HOLIDAYS IN CHARLESTOWN

Charlestown is a small harbour village on St Austell Bay, about two miles south-east of St Austell. It is one of the most complete Georgian ports in Britain – a harbour and village planned and built from scratch in the 1790s by the local landowner Charles Rashleigh, after whom it is named.

Before Rashleigh, this was the tiny fishing hamlet of West Polmear. His new port shipped copper from the mines inland and, later, china clay, and it stayed in business for over two centuries – the last cargo of clay left at the turn of the millennium. Because it was never enlarged for modern shipping, the granite quays, the inner dock and the village around them have survived almost unchanged.

That untouched Georgian setting, with square-rigged tall ships often moored in the dock, has made Charlestown one of Britain’s favourite film locations. It is best known today as a Poldark location, where the harbour stood in for 18th-century Truro and Falmouth.

The harbour is part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site, and the harbour itself is listed Grade II*. After storm damage closed the dock in 2024, a new lock gate was installed and the harbour reopened to vessels in April 2026.

Beside the harbour mouth is a small beach of sand and shingle, and the South West Coast Path runs through the village between Carlyon Bay and Porthpean. Around the harbour are pubs, cafés, restaurants, galleries and the historic Pier House Hotel and Rashleigh Arms.

Charlestown is an ideal base for exploring Mid Cornwall. The Eden Project is only a few miles away, as are the beaches of St Austell Bay, Mevagissey, the Lost Gardens of Heligan and the river at Golant and Fowey.

Accommodation includes harbourside cottages, B&Bs and hotels – see Charlestown holiday cottages and holidays and short breaks in Charlestown.

Best Time to Visit Charlestown

Spring sees the harbour’s new season begin around Easter, with visiting vessels and quieter quays. Summer is busiest, with Charlestown Regatta Week in July, harbour festivals and visiting ships – arrive early, as parking fills quickly.

Autumn is a lovely time for coast path walks and harbourside meals without the crowds, and the harbour’s Christmas markets bring festive life to the quays in December.

CHARLESTOWN HARBOUR & THE TALL SHIPS

Work on the harbour began in about 1790–91, to plans by the engineer John Smeaton, builder of the famous Eddystone Lighthouse. The outer piers were built first, and the inner dock was quarried out of the rock from 1796, with dock gates completed in 1799 to keep ships afloat at all states of the tide. A leat brought water several miles from the Luxulyan Valley to keep the dock full and flush it clean. The harbour was enlarged to its present form during the 19th century.

For much of its life the port was busy with ships loading copper ore and china clay, and the quays were lined with industries – boatbuilding, ropemaking, lime burning, net lofts, pilchard cellars and brickworks. Wagons of clay were pushed through tunnels to chutes above the dock, and some of these tunnels and the old clay dries still survive.

From the 1990s the harbour became famous as the home of square-rigged tall ships, used in films and television all over the world. The harbour has been privately owned by Rolf Munding since 2018. In September 2024 storms destroyed the old lock gate, leaving the dock tidal and the remaining vessels resting on the mud; after a project costing around £3 million, a new lock gate and bridge were installed and the harbour reopened on 4 April 2026, with visiting ships, harbourside businesses and events returning to the inner harbour.

The old Shipwreck and Heritage Centre beside the harbour has closed. The Charlestown History Group rescued a number of its artefacts with local connections, which are now on display in the village; the group welcomes visitors at the Pattern Hall.

POLDARK FILMING GUIDE & CHARLESTOWN ON SCREEN

Charlestown was one of the most important locations for the BBC’s Poldark (2015–2019). With a little set dressing, its Georgian harbour played several of the ports in Winston Graham’s story:

• Truro – the harbour doubled for 18th-century Truro, where Ross Poldark does business.
• Falmouth – the home of Captain Andrew Blamey overlooks the inner harbour, and it is from here that Verity elopes with him.
• St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly – in series two, the beach and slipway played St Mary’s, where Ross meets the exiled Mark Daniel.

Charlestown has a long screen history. Productions filmed here include The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (2010), a 2011 episode of Doctor Who and the award-winning Cornish film Bait (2018). It is not unusual to arrive and find the harbour dressed for a shoot.

To follow the Poldark trail further, the clifftop engine houses at St Agnes and Botallack, and the beaches of north Cornwall, were also used in the series.

CHARLESTOWN BEACH & ST AUSTELL BAY

Beside the harbour mouth is Charlestown beach, a small beach of sand and shingle split by the harbour walls, with more sand at low tide. It is a lovely spot for a paddle and for watching boats come and go, and the shallow water and rocks are popular with snorkellers on calm days.

St Austell Bay has a string of other beaches within a short walk or drive. To the west are the little cove of Duporth and the family beach at Porthpean, with its sailing club and beach café; to the east is the long sandy beach of Carlyon Bay, with Par Sands and Polkerris beyond.

The South West Coast Path runs through Charlestown. A popular walk heads west past Duporth to Porthpean, or east along the clifftops to Carlyon Bay and Par, with wide views across the bay to the Gribbin headland. For full beach details, see our Charlestown beach guide.

THINGS TO DO IN CHARLESTOWN

Charlestown is small enough to explore on foot in an hour or two, but there is plenty to fill a longer stay – from the harbour and its ships to the beaches and gardens of St Austell Bay.

For families, the beach, the harbour’s visiting ships and summer events, and days out at the Eden Project or Porthpean make for easy holidays. On rainy days, the Eden Project’s biomes, the Wheal Martyn clay works museum and the St Austell Brewery visitor centre are all close by.

For walkers, the coast path runs in both directions from the harbour. Here are some of the best things to do in and around Charlestown.

1. Explore the Georgian harbour and see the visiting tall ships.
2. Follow the Poldark trail around the inner dock and quays.
3. Relax on Charlestown beach – Charlestown beach guide.
4. Walk the coast path to Porthpean or Carlyon Bay.
5. Visit the Eden Project – Eden Project.
6. Discover the china clay story at Wheal Martyn – Wheal Martyn.
7. Tour St Austell Brewery – St Austell Brewery.
8. Visit the Lost Gardens of Heligan – Lost Gardens of Heligan.
9. Play golf at Carlyon Bay – golf in Cornwall.
10. Drop in on the Charlestown History Group at the Pattern Hall to see artefacts from the village’s past.

HISTORY OF CHARLESTOWN

In the mid-18th century, West Polmear was a hamlet of a few cottages, where pilchards were landed and cured. In 1791 Charles Rashleigh, a lawyer and landowner from the Rashleigh family of Menabilly, began building a harbour here to serve the copper mines and clay works of the St Austell district. The new port and village grew quickly, and by 1799 they had taken the name Charles’s Town, soon shortened to Charlestown. A gun battery was built on the cliffs in 1793 to defend the port against the French.

Copper ore poured out of the harbour in the early 1800s – Crinnis mine alone shipped some 40,000 tons between 1810 and 1813. Rashleigh’s fortunes did not last: his finances were damaged by the embezzlement of his agent, Joseph Dingle, and after his death in 1823 the estate passed in 1825 to the Crowder family. Under the Crowders the dock was extended, and St Paul’s Church, the Rashleigh Arms and the clay dries were built.

As copper declined, china clay took over, and Charlestown prospered from the clay trade until the First World War, carrying on in a small way until the last clay ship sailed around 2000. The Crowders sold the estate in 1986; from the 1990s the harbour became the base of the tall ships, and in 2006 it was inscribed as part of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site. Today Charlestown is a conservation area, and a new chapter began in 2026 when the harbour reopened with its new lock gate.

KEY BUILDINGS & LANDMARKS

• Charlestown Harbour – the Grade II* listed inner dock, outer basin and piers, begun in about 1790 to designs by John Smeaton.
• The Pier House Hotel – a Grade II listed late 18th-century building beside the harbour, now a hotel and inn.
• St Paul’s Church – the Grade II listed parish church, completed in 1851.
• The Methodist chapel – built in 1827 and listed Grade II*, closed for worship in 2000.
• The Rashleigh Arms – the village inn, built in the Crowder era and now a St Austell Brewery pub.
• Crinnis Cliff gun battery – the remains of the battery built in 1793 to defend the port.

LOCAL EVENTS IN CHARLESTOWN

The harbour and the village have a lively calendar, much of it centred on the water.

• Harbour season launch (around Easter) – the inner harbour reopens for the season with music and family activities.
• Charlestown Regatta Week (July) – a week of events including raft races and gig rowing, held for over fifty years.
• Harbour festivals (summer) – visiting vessels, live music and family activities in the inner harbour.
• Christmas markets (December) – festive markets around the harbour.

Dates change from year to year – check the harbour’s website or our Cornwall events guide for current dates.

PLACES NEAR CHARLESTOWN

• St Austell – the china clay town, about 2 miles north-west.
• Mevagissey – the busy fishing harbour, about 6 miles south.
• Golant – the peaceful village on the River Fowey, about 7 miles east.
• Fowey – the historic estuary town, about 8 miles east.
• Lostwithiel – the old stannary town, with Restormel Castle.