Luke and Victoria Donovan have run Kynance Cafe and Cottage as a family business since 1999 when the National Trust purchased the premises. In the 20 years since, much has changed: at first there was no electricity, running water or any toilet facilities. Since then, with help from Objective One funding, Cornwall County Council and South Of England Regional Development Agency, the National Trust have installed mains electricity and water, allowing Kynance Cafe and Cottage to flourish.
Photo voltaic solar roof tiles have since been installed on both the cafe and the cottage, which generate enough electric to run the new toilet block and produce hot water for the cafe - even supplying additional energy that feeds into the National Grid. Kynance Cafe is the first National Trust property to be roofed with photovoltaic tiles which generate more than five thousand kilowatt hours of electricity a year – that’s enough to make 45,550 cups of tea!
With the welcome changes brought by the National Trust, the running of the business is much smoother nowadays, for which we are incredibly grateful. We look forward to sharing this special corner of Cornwall with you.
We offer a wide selection of food and drinks and try to cater to everyone's dietary requirements. Our menu consists of freshly prepared sandwiches and baguettes, salads, jacket potatoes, pasties, burgers, hotdogs and more. We also sell fresh smoothies, milkshakes and a wide selection of cold drinks. Choose from Puro Fairtrade coffee, a variety of teas or hot chocolate, all of which go very well with our homemade scones and cakes. Our alcohol licence allows us to sell local beers and ciders.
We take pride in all we do, and take sustainability and the environment seriously. We choose local food and drink suppliers wherever possible, such as local Retallick Butchers, Anne's Pasties, Roskilly's Ice Cream and Kynance Cornish Crab, all based on the Lizard Peninsula.
We are passionate about the beautiful environment in which we operate. Alongside our own recycling, we have recycling bins in the cafe garden which we encourage the public to use. We also compost all of our vegetable matter. The team takes responsibility ourselves in doing regular beach cleans and keeping the surrounding area as clean and natural as possible. We want to make sure we keep this special place as unspoilt as possible for generations of future visitors to enjoy. Thank you for helping us to keep Kynance clean!
This cosy cottage is located at the bottom of Kynance Cove, next to the cafe. There is one bedroom with a double bed and bunk beds, ideal for couples or families with young children.
The cottage has a fully equipped kitchen and washing machine, bathroom with shower, toilet and hand basin. All bed linen and bath towels are provided. There is gas central heating as well as a log burning stove. Logs can be purchased locally. There is a small sitting room with a sofa and dining table. There is also an outside picnic bench in its own garden.
Access to the cottage is from the National Trust car park, down a rough, unsurfaced private track, with parking at the bottom.
There is no television or mobile phone reception. For emergencies, there is an SOS phone on the beach. Mobile phone signal can be found in the National Trust car park at the top of the cove.
The change over day is Saturday. Winter bookings can be flexible with short breaks available through winter.
Please note that the cottage is non smoking, and unfortunately no pets are allowed.
tel. 01326 290436 or 01326 291117
7 days a week from the beginning of March until November.
Half term and Christmas holidays
Weekends from January onwards (weather permitting).