The story of our station

The Lizard Lifeboat Station sits in one of the most remote and rugged settings in the whole of Great Britain – at the foot of a 140ft (45 metre) cliff less than a mile from England’s most southerly point. Its wild location means that every time the boat is launched, the crew have to run down more than 200 steep steps from the station car-park to the boathouse in Kilcobben Cove.

Lizard Point has been a navigation marker for seafarers since prehistoric times and is mentioned as early as 250 BC. Countless ships and lives have been lost in its treacherous waters – but in the last 150 years, many have also been saved by successive Lizard lifeboats.

There have been RNLI lifeboats at The Lizard since 1859. From 1867 until 1963 there was also a lifeboat at Cadgwith, a couple of miles east along the coast.

The first lifeboat station was at the most southerly point, Polpeor, and in 1885 another station was built at nearby Church Cove, a mile or so to the east. That station closed in 1899 but the Polpeor station continued right through until 1961. Meanwhile a Cadgwith station was opened in 1867 and remained in action until 1963.

When the previous boathouse at Kilcobben opened in 1961, the station became known as The Lizard Cadgwith Lifeboat Station. The name was officially changed in 1987 to its present The Lizard Lifeboat Station.

A series of boats have served the stations over the years, ranging from the original £135, six-oared, 30ft Anna Maria in 1859 to the present £2.7m, twin engine, 53ft Tamar class lifeboat Rose (16-20) official number 1300.