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National Lobster Hatchery

807 Reviews

#9 of 19 things to do in Padstow

Features Animals

Nature & Parks, Nature & Wildlife Areas

Open Now: 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM

South Quay, Padstow PL28 8BL, England

Open today: 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Review Highlights

“A really interesting place!”

Okay, so it's only lobsters and not your usual Sealife Centre, but the story of the life, trials... read more

Reviewed 23 December 2018

Andy H

“Fascinting”

It was great to be able to revisit the hatchery after having first visited last year. It has become... read more

Reviewed 12 December 2018

randbn

Devon, United Kingdom

via mobile

Read all 807 reviews

178

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Certificate of Excellence

Traveller Overview

4.0 807 reviews

Excellent48%
Very good36%
Average12%
Poor2%
Terrible2%

Travellers talk about

“lobster”(545 reviews)

“life cycle”(31 reviews)

“gift aid”(17 reviews)

About

The National Lobster Hatchery is a conservation, education and research charity based in Padstow, Cornwall. We exist primarily to help conserve the vulnerable lobster populations and preserve the coastal marine bio-diversity of Cornwall and the...more

Open Now

Hours Today: 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM

See all hours

Suggested duration: < 1 hour

Contact

South Quay, Padstow PL28 8BL, England

Website

+44 1841 533877

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1 - 10 of 804 reviews

522zaks

Leeds, United Kingdom

3212

Reviewed 2 weeks ago via mobile

Rain stop

Visited the hatchery on a recent visit to Padstow (to get out of the rain) but even though it's small inside I found it very interesting worth a visit even when it's not raining.

Date of experience: February 2019

Thank 522zaks

Thank you for taking the time to review your visit and for supporting the hatchery. I am so glad that you found our Visitor Centre interesting, we are constantly reviewing our displays and trying to showcase the challenges Lobsters and other marine animals are facing.

nicolemK3227DH

Beaulieu, United Kingdom

5123

Reviewed 3 weeks ago via mobile

Informative

In the area so thought we would wander along and have a look, small but very informative and can take up to an hour if you read all the stuff which in fairness was all pretty amazing and jaw dropping, would highly recommend taking kids...More

Date of experience: January 2019

Thank nicolemK3227DH

Great review thank you Nicole for taking the time to share your thoughts. We absolutely love it that we are able to share the absolutely fascinating life cycle of lobsters and because of the support we receive through the admission fee, we are able to...More

Clare C

Staines, United Kingdom

1722

Reviewed 5 weeks ago

A surprising gem!

We nipped in here to warm up one chilly August day, but 8 months later the kids still talk about it! It’s tiny, but the staff are so knowledgable and friendly, the kids learnt so much and loved every minute. They couldn’t decide what plastic...More

Date of experience: August 2018

Thank Clare C

Its so lovely to hear that your children enjoyed their visit. We do often find that children of all ages want to visit us again and again. Thank you also for the extra support you gave us by "Adopting a baby lobster" Don't forget to...More

Helen M

Bournemouth, United Kingdom

Reviewed 29 December 2018

Such a delight, highly recommended, just go and visit.

You just have to visit, the staff are so friendly, great information, I thought we would be 5 minutes, we stayed, watched, read, and studied for over half an hour. Great for adults with or without kids, Such a fabulous enterprise, so happy to support.More

Date of experience: December 2018

Thank Helen M

Wow thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience with the online community. I am so pleased that you enjoyed your visit. Don't forget to use your Annual Pass if you visit Padstow again. We would love to welcome you again...More

Andy H

122

Reviewed 23 December 2018

A really interesting place!

Okay, so it's only lobsters and not your usual Sealife Centre, but the story of the life, trials and tribulations of the little local lobsters is fascinating! A great place to visit, right on the harbour at Padstow. Not expensive and all for a good...More

Date of experience: September 2018

Thank Andy H

dalmart

Auckland, New Zealand

3821

Reviewed 16 December 2018

Overpriced for the experience

The hatchery is interesting and informative but very overpriced for the short lived experience. We wandered why there was hardly anyone there-and now we know!More

Date of experience: September 2018

Thank dalmart

Thank you for your feedback. It really helps us to try to understand our visitors expectations. We do accept that our Visitor Centre is not a very large place but we do try to pack a lot in. Every penny of the admission fee goes...More

randbn

Devon, United Kingdom

1611

Reviewed 12 December 2018 via mobile

Fascinting

It was great to be able to revisit the hatchery after having first visited last year. It has become part of every trip down to Cornwall and is great to see the work that is being done. Small, but very informative. Well worth it.

Date of experience: November 2018

Thank randbn

Sab-Lilly

244

Reviewed 4 December 2018 via mobile

Enjoyable experience for young children

Visited with a three and one year old. Staff were very friendly. There were a few very large lobsters plus lots of information boards which were really interesting. Also some interactive games for the children which kept them entertained. Doesn’t take very long to look...More

Date of experience: November 2018

Thank Sab-Lilly

Thank you so much for taking the time to review your visit. I am so glad you enjoyed your time with us. I will pass on your kind comments to the Visitor Centre team. Don't forget to use your annual pass if you are visiting...More

Unicorn72

Bristol, United Kingdom

11740

Reviewed 30 October 2018 via mobile

Disappointing and very overpriced.

We drove from East Cornwall to visit this as the website makes it look really good. Firstly it is extortionate to charge a single parent adult prices for 2 dependant children still in full time education. A child is someone under 18. My children are...More

Date of experience: October 2018

Thank Unicorn72

First of all thank you so much for coming to the hatchery. We do acknowledge that we are not a large attraction and try to reflect this in our admission prices: £4.50 for an Adult and £2.00 for Children between 5 and 15 years of...More

janetmD2313RO

Gold Coast, Australia

10126

Reviewed 29 October 2018

Great learning experience for all ages to learn about Lobsters life cycle

This is a little gem to save and help increase more Lobsters being born into the world and release into the sea without too many predators before they are able to hatch and grow into big lobsters. Great sponsorship program to improve the lobsters chances...More

Date of experience: January 2018

Thank janetmD2313RO

What a lovely review. Thank you so much. I will pass on your comments to the rest of "Team Lobster"

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Questions & Answers

Ask a question

HeidiS1841

Can dogs come in

13 July 2018|

Answer

Yes....dogs allowed.

sandstring

our family of 4 will be visiting the area in October half term. Will you be open every day? And will we need to prebook? how much is a family ticket please? x

28 August 2017|

AnswerShow all 3 answers

Hi there, Great news that you are planning to visit us. We open every day at 10 am. You don't need to pre-book as you are able to purchase your entrance tickets as you come into our Visitor Centre.