Step Inside a Piece of Lifesaving History This Easter in Cornwall

Penlee Old Lifeboat Station Reopens to the Public on 21st April

If you’ve ever stood at Penlee Point and wondered about the stories hidden behind the old boathouse doors, now’s your chance to step inside. Easter Monday, 21st April 2025, marks the first of six open days this year at the Penlee Old Lifeboat Station.

Between 11.00am and 3.00pm, the RNLI Visits Team of volunteers will be welcoming visitors to explore the iconic building — once home to Penlee’s lifeboats from before World War One right up to the early 1980s.

A Glimpse Into Over 100 Years of Lifesaving

Now a listed building, the Penlee Old Lifeboat Station remains a rare snapshot of a mid-20th-century RNLI base. Visitors will see the original service boards, listing well over a century of lifesaving operations by the lifeboats of Penzance, Newlyn, and Penlee.

Admission is free of charge, although the RNLI team say:

“We are always grateful for the generosity of donations shown by many of our visitors.”

More Open Days Throughout the Summer

If you can’t make it this Easter, there are five more opportunities to visit the station in 2025:

• Monday 26th May

• Sunday 29th June

• Sunday 27th July

• Wednesday 6th August

• Monday 25th August

Important Visitor Information

The site is accessed via steep and narrow concrete steps, and the interior remains much as it was during its operational days. Visitors are advised that some care is needed when moving around equipment inside the building.

So, if you’re in west Cornwall, don’t miss the chance to experience a rare piece of Cornwall’s lifesaving legacy.