Locals fear growing social media attention is turning a once under-the-radar beach into an overhyped and dangerous tourist hotspot.
Pedn Vounder, near Treen, is celebrated for its golden sands and turquoise waters. But the beauty spot has seen an influx of visitors due to its soaring popularity online.
Residents are concerned that visitors are seeking to recreate the Ibiza vibe in Cornwall, which has triggered numerous issues: traffic jams, dumped rubbish including human waste, onsite brawls and fires.
The fear is escalated by the lack of lifeguard coverage on a beach known for treacherous rip currents. Locals are worried that growing footfalls could lead to the erosion and deterioration of Cornwall‘s beautiful beach.
One resident told Cornwall Live that social media has drawn overwhelming crowds to the area which has sparked infrastructure problems.
“Apart from its access issues and lack of facilities including lifesaving, the huge coverage it has attracted on social media in the last few years has resulted in overwhelming numbers of visitors, who have in turn, created massive infrastructure issues for the local area,” the resident said.
Another local voiced their concern, stating that the town’s reputation as a “hidden gem” was having “catastrophic effects on the local environment and infrastructure”.
They added: “Simply put, the narrow lanes, coastal paths and the sheer volume of ‘Instagram‘ visitors who have ‘heard about it via social media’ are putting immense pressure on the local infrastructure. It is no longer a secret beach and its beauty is in danger of being its downfall.”
Traffic congestion is a common sight, often stretching all the way to Porthcurno, another popular beach spot. Cars are frequently abandoned on verges when parking spaces fill up during the peak summer season. The lack of facilities on the beach only adds to locals’ worries about litter, fouling and pollution.
Porthcurno is far from being Ibiza. Its narrow roads struggle to cope with the influx of as many as 3,000 cars on busy summer days, not just for the beaches but also for the ever-popular Minack Theatre.
A local resident, who reached out with his concerns, revealed that the issues began in 2018 when Pedn Vounder started trending on social media.
“The world and his wife descended on West Penwith and Treen. We had gridlocked roads, emergency services could not function, the local bus network got jammed, neither the refuse removal services nor food delivery trucks could get to Treen Farm campsite,” they said.
“The Minack staff and performers could not get to the theatre, there were nappies in hedges, aluminium BBQ trays left everywhere, human excrement in every field entrance and layby, bottles, cans, food packaging and bags of refuse liberally strewn into hedges, the path to the beach was a dangerous, degraded nightmare, people clambering over each other in the hope of a photo to share to social media, the beach was rammed, there were shards of broken glass, tent pegs, excrement left in the sand. It was hell.”
The resident added: “Every summer since has been equally stressful. Including the two lockdown years where all sorts of people who would normally have gone partying to Ibiza have sought out Pedn Vounder, lured by the Instagram promises of ‘paradise’ or ‘best beach in the world’.
“As a consequence gangs of party-heads have trooped down to the beach, a box of beer on one shoulder, ghetto-blaster on the other, oblivious to Covid, desperate to ‘get loaded’.”
The resident lamented: “The last decade has seen the beach turn from a quiet sanctuary where a few respectful people could find some peace and quiet in nature to a scene from an over-hyped summer festival that has gone on for way too long.
“Ankle-deep bottle tops, vomit, dog poop, litter, excrement, fights, fires, smoke, graffiti, drug abuse and paraphernalia. The same can be said for Porthcurno beach, Kynance, Sennen and numerous other hot spots in the county.”
The local also highlighted the dangers of Pedn Vounder’s strong rip currents, which “can be deadly to unwary bathers, as has been witnessed many times. The main path down to the beach is dangerous, slippery, a rock climb, there are numerous opportunities to kill yourself”.
He added: “People every year injure themselves, often because they’re completely oblivious, wearing flip-flops, lured by the Instagram eye-candy promise of a ‘bucket list experience’.
“There are stinging jellyfish, weaver fish, sea lice, the cliffs crumble from time to time and rock falls do happen. There are no lifeguards – just a bunch of selfless locals who help out where they can. Increasingly we have to call out the emergency services to mop up the mess.”