Visiting the Cornish Seal Sanctuary

We love Cornwall and have made it our holiday destination 6 times in the last 10/11 years, visiting a wide variety of amazing beaches and well-known attractions. During our 2023 holiday, we finally got around to adding the Cornish Seal Sanctuary to our list. We had heard such great things from others and were really excited to see it for ourselves, and (spoiler alert!) it did not disappoint. If you love animals, nature and supporting genuinely brilliant causes, this is somewhere you absolutely need to pop on your itinerary.

What is the Cornish Seal Sanctuary?

Nestled in the picturesque village of Gweek, the Cornish Seal Sanctuary is a charity and rescue facility for injured, malnourished or orphaned grey seal pups found around the Cornish coast. Their dedicated team deliver expert care and work tirelessly to ensure that these youngsters can eventually be released back into the wild. The sanctuary also provides a permanent home for older seals and other marine animals, such as penguins and now puffins, that cannot be released (for a variety of reasons).

Visiting The Cornish Seal Sanctuary

Essential Info

Location: Cornish Seal Sanctuary, Gweek, near Helston, Cornwall, TR12 6UG.

Opening hours: Every day 10-5pm (last entry at 4pm). You can book online in order to avoid disappointment. If you book 2 days in advance, you will also save money.

Parking and Accessibility: There’s a good-sized car park on-site, which is free which is always a bonus when you’re travelling as a family (and watching the pennies!) From there, it’s a short walk down to the entrance. One thing to note is that the sanctuary is on a hill, so while the main paths are accessible (and there’s a land train to help with getting up and down if needed), some areas might be a bit of a struggle with a buggy or wheelchair. Their website does state that you can contact them before you visit to ask any questions and to gain help from staff on the day.

What is There to See and Do?

There is so much to see and do, from getting up close to the seals to letting the children go wild in the play areas, watching the penguins duck and dive in the water, keeping an eye out for the beavers, wandering through the woods or visiting the farm animals, you can easily spend all day at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary.

There are also daily talks and feeding times (check the schedule when you arrive), and bookable experiences such as breakfast with the seals, being a keeper for the day and a night time walk to catch a glimpse of the beavers (which is something I will most definitely be booking for our next visit).

Our Experience Visiting The Cornish Seal Sanctuary

We arrived around late morning (kids and travel from holiday home) and as soon as we were in, we made a beeline for the seals. We were all so excited to see these grey beauties, but I had no idea just how amazing this experience was going to be. The seals are playful, inquisitive, some love to show off and their homes are designed so you can always have a fantastic view of them.

I was blown away by how close we were, I really wasn’t expecting it, and if seeing them from above wasn’t enough, one of the enclosures has an underwater viewing area, and that was honestly my year made. The young seals absolutely relished in having an audience to perform to. They were swimming by the window and twisting around, coming right up to really take us in, dashing off and coming back like we were in a game with them and proving just how intelligent and fun-loving these creatures really are. If you do visit, make sure you find this area of the seal enclosure; it is such a highlight.

We sat on the bank overlooking the water and seals and enjoyed our packed lunch in the sun, the children then had a good run about in the play area and grabbed some ice creams from the cafe after.

We then listened to the talk on penguins, and then the smallest children made bracelets with a member of staff in the plastic waste education hut. He was really informative, passionate about reducing waste and fantastic with the kids.

Then it was onto the next exciting part (for me) – the Beavers. I was buzzing when I learnt that the sanctuary was helping to breed and reintroduce beavers into the wild, so I ran when I realised there was going to be a tour and walk. The member of staff leading this was so incredibly passionate about this programme, he taught us all so much, he took the time to answer all of our questions, and he had a very large group of people listening intently. Unfortunately, beavers are mainly nocturnal animals, so we didn’t see any that day, but as I mentioned before, you can book an evening tour to be in with a much better chance of seeing them in action.

The dam built by the beavers:

After this, we had a wander to see the farm animals and woodland, then returned back down to hear the talk on Diego the Sea Lion, who has sadly since passed away. It was such a joy to watch him move around his enclosure and learn his story. I feel lucky that we got to see him that year.

Once it was time to go, we headed up the pathway to the seal hospital to see what was going on with the pups that had been brought in. As they are all intended to be rehabilitated and released back into the wild, they aren’t all on show for visitors to gawp over, but we did see a couple, plus there is lots of information. Again, you can book a VIP session to get a behind the scenes look at how the hospital runs and how the pups are taught to feed and survive on their own.

On the way out, you just have to visit the gift shop. It is packed full of cute gifts, soft toys, Cornish made food/drinks/sweets, lovely homeware and eco-friendly products.

Overall Thoughts

If you love wildlife, animals and amazing success stories, the Cornish Seal Sanctuary is a must visit attraction. We all absolutely loved this day out and lots of wonderful memories were made. We will definitely be visiting again in the future.

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