National Lobster Hatchery

It’s only £3.75 to get in for an adult, and that’s a donation to the hatchery as you can also gift aid it so they get a little extra.
Huge lobsters to peak at, mummy lobsters being fed and teeny baby lobsters to look at. Very sweet little place and especially worth popping in if the sun isn’t out.
You can make as much or as little as you like out of it. Staff are helpful and knowledgable so ask questions and learn all
about lovely lobsters!

No day in Padstow is complete without a trip to the National Lobster Hatchery… And that is said without a trace of sarcasm. Based along the seafront (within the harbour area) the hatchery is a charity which seeks to increase the number of lobsters in the seas around the UK.
Entry is around £7 for adults and you can giftaid your entry to up your contribution to their hard work. The hatchery is small, but there is plenty to see (especially if you are a fan of sealife, like me). Once you have paid, you can read about the lifespan of these interesting creatures and why the work they are doing at the hatchery is so important. Did you know a lobster can live to be 140+ years old?
Once you have read the info boards, you move on to the really cool stuff… the creatures! The Lobster hatchery is home to anemone, shrimp, crabs, lobsters and starfish. All of the boards around the tanks is super interesting and gives you a little insight into where that particular individual was found and why it is based in the hatchery.
The real selling point is the baby lobsters. Who knew they would be so cute?! With their dinky claws and little black eyes, you will totally fall in love with these little crustaceans. I couldn’t stop snapping photos throughout our visit to save the memories of the lovely little things.
The hatchery will only take you around 30 minutes to get through (if you read all the information, which I encourage you you to do), but there is plenty to see and admire. The staff are working so hard to conserve the Lobster stock in the oceans and have come up with interesting ways to maximise the amount of babies born — so it’s well worth a visit. Good for little kids and big kids alike!

Small and perfectly formed, just like the baby lobsters on view!
Not a huge place but you could spend about 30 mins to 1 hour, reading the info and checking out the sea creatures. Yep, there’s lobsters here — baby lobsters (in egg form) are brought here to grow before going back to the sea to create sustainable farming and there’s also crab’s on show too.
You get to see the lobsters at all stages — from little dots to tiny ones, but clearly lobsters which look white opaque, through to the one in ten million ‘Jaffa’ lobster which is orange. You can adopt lobsters which are released into the wild again (£2.50 to adopt a lobster) and the cost is only £3.50 entry for adults and the entry ticket is valid for a year.
It’s cute, small and most of all, isn’t an expensive trip, but it is fascinating and informative. I loved it and now I can’t bring myself to eat lobsters, having seen them in miniature form…

I think we only dived in here because it was raining outside but it was a really pleasant surprise.
It’s not very big but it was quite impressive. The hatchery exists to keep the lobster stocks at a sustainable level. Fishermen bring in pregnant lobsters and the hatchery rear the young, away from natural predators and release them back when they are old enough to fend for themselves.
It’s great to see the lobsters go from the tiny little things to the huge monsters that they keep in the big tank at the end.
It’s not too expensive — think it was about £7 for adults, and you don’t feel bad about paying as it is a charity and you feel good about helping when you come out. There are lots of information boards for the kids to read and learn all about these interesting creatures — it kept my kids interested for the duration we were there.
A nice rainy day thing.