Battery Rocks sits just to the west of Penzance’s historic harbour and is a favourite spot among locals for wild swimming, snorkelling, and rock pooling. With its easy access to the water and views stretching across Mount’s Bay, it’s one of those unassuming Cornish locations that offers something new every time you visit, especially beneath the surface.

Snorkelling here gives you a fascinating glimpse into the vibrant marine life that thrives along Cornwall’s rocky coastline. The clear, sheltered waters often reveal colourful seaweeds swaying with the tide, along with an array of coastal creatures that make this part of Penzance surprisingly rich in biodiversity.

As you explore the shallow reefs, keep an eye out for shoals of sand eels and juvenile pollock darting between the kelp. You might spot bright beadlet anemones clinging to the rocks, or discover clusters of mussels and limpets forming miniature underwater worlds. Spider crabs and velvet swimming crabs are also common, while starfish, sea urchins and the occasional cuttlefish make appearances during the summer months.

If you’re lucky, you might encounter larger visitors too, seals are known to pass through Mount’s Bay and are sometimes spotted near the rocks. On very calm days, you can even glimpse large wrasse and gobies among the kelp forests that fringe the area.

Battery Rocks has long been an important spot for the local community both as a historic sea bathing site and now as part of the Mount’s Bay Marine Conservation Area, which helps protect the diverse marine habitats found here. Whether you’re swimming, snorkelling, or just watching from the shoreline, it’s an incredible reminder of how much life can be found in the shallows right on Cornwall’s doorstep.

Join me as I explore the vibrant underwater world of Battery Rocks in Penzance.