Portreath Arms hands out free pints to litter pickers

The Portreath Arms mobilised the community on Sunday morning (March 20) by organising a beach clean and rewarding helpers with refreshing pints of Cornish larger afterwards.

Claire, Nicole and Jack outside the Portreath Arms

Armed with litter pickers and sacks, families and friends picked up hundreds of pieces of rubbish in a bid to keep the local beach looking its best. Volunteers of all ages scoured streams, rock pools and the harbour, recovering bits of rope, tyres and even an old post box.

To round off the morning, they gathered in the garden of the Portreath Arms to sort through the rubbish, where adults enjoyed a refreshing pint of Jubel beer and children had juice and biscuits.

Co-founders Claire Mounty and Nicole Ilett took over the Portreath Arms back in 2015 and have spent years turning it into a thriving community hub. The pub is involved in regular fundraisers and hosts its own "fun day’ every August, with all the proceeds going to charity.

Phil Tina and Stanley Rowe litter picking on Portreath beach

“We just help out whenever we can really, “If anyone says they need help with anything we’ll get on board,” said Claire.

In the last few years, staff at the Portreath Arms have earned a reputation for caring for the local environment.

“Back in the first lockdown, we would beach clean every night because we had extra time on our hands when the pub was shut. People would notice this, and those who were lonely or needed a chat would join in from a distance. It really boosted people's mental health,” said Claire.

A volunteer picks litter at Portreath Beach

“We continued in the height of the summer when the beach was packed with people and we would collect 10 sacks of rubbish a day,” she added.

When Jubel Beer approached the pub about collaborating on a beach clean - and offered to throw in a free keg of its fruit-infused larger - it was a no brainer.

Jubel runs regular beach cleans along the Cornish coast and is also a certified carbon negative company, which means it offsets twice the amount of its emissions through reforestation projects in the South West of England.

With the help of Love Portreath, the village climate action group, and Surfers Against Sewage, which donated the equipment, Sunday’s event drew in over 50 volunteers.

Jack McEvoy, key account manager at Jubel, said:

“I love working with Claire and Nicole at the Portreath Arms as they run a fantastic pub with a strong community feel. I mentioned a beach clean to them and they embraced the idea and took it upon themselves to make it a huge success. We were happy to support it with some Apres beers!”