Lerryn History Society outing to Porthcurno

Wednesday 16th October 2019

Lerryn History Society outing to Porthcurno

On Wednesday 16 October, 14 members of Lerryn History Society set off in the LAMA bus to visit the Telegraph Museum, Porthcurno.  Blessed with good weather we made excellent time arriving at the Museum in time for a much welcome refreshment break before starting our visit.

 We listened to a most interesting talk given by one of the volunteers and learnt how this Telegraph Station, in a small cove in Cornwall, was once the largest and most important in the British Empire.  The station was constructed in 1904 with telecommunication cables laid under Porthcurno Beach linking the UK to every part of it’s empire.  The Museum contains interactive exhibits and fascinating displays illustrating the technological and social significance of the communications revolution.  From the Museum we continued to the ‘tunnels’.  In 1939, as the Porthcurno Telegraph Station was the centre of international communications, the decision was made to protect the station by moving it underground.  In June 1940, 200 tin miners started digging into and dynamiting the hillside.  An amazing feat and well worth a visit.

To finish off a very enjoyable day we stopped at the Logan Rock Inn for a late but very pleasant lunch.