Newlyn is a working but picturesque fishing village. Penzance runs into Newlyn, as over the years ribbon development has taken up most of the green land that previously divided them. However Newlyn has successfully kept its characteristic identity.

With fishing being the main focus, the village has developed from the harbours outward. This has led to the harbour front being surrounded by small granite fishermens cottages, reached by narrow roads and alleys. This is an enjoyable area to walk around, but the lanes are not in many cases sufficient for traffic.

Newlyn has two quays, the old quay where only a few boats moor, and the main larger one where the majority of the shipping moor.

Old Newlyn Quay

There are many fishing villages in Cornwall, but Newlyn is the one to visit to see a real commercial port. This is an important fishing market. If visited early in the morning, you can see the catches that are landed here before they are auctioned. For obvious hygiene reasons, dogs are not allowed on the market. To get a better insight into fishing in Newlyn you can attend the Newlyn fish festival .

There is another source of information on fishing, an exhibition at the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen.

Scattered around Newlyn are art galleries. Many of them are relatively new, but the village itself has a rich artistic past.

The Newlyn School  was a group of painters who started to settle in this locality in the 1880s.

The group was headed by Stanhope Forbes and included such noteworthies as Walter Langley, Elizabeth Stanhope Forbes and Marianne Stokes, just to name a few. Works by these artists can be viewed in Penlee Museum, Penzance.

  Newlyn Art Gallery 

On entering Newlyn, there is the Newlyn Art Gallery, dating from the 1890s. Here exhibitions are held of contempory art, often that of local artists. Art in Newlyn is not dead. There are still many artists living, working in and inspired by Newlyn.