At high tide the beach at Port Gaverne is a shingle which is mostly flint - unusual in North Cornwall where most beaches are a golden sand composed of slate and fragments of shell. The reason is that the flint was used as ballast for incoming ships collecting Delabole slate which was brought to the coast by horse and cart. Once the tide goes out there is a sandy beach. Being very sheltered, Port Gaverne is good at all states of the tide for swimming and launching kayaks, though watch you don't stray across the path of any boats launching off the beach (or coming back in).
Behind the beach is a pub - The Port Gaverne Hotel - which was originally the old inn frequented by crews of the slate vessels. It serves real ales brewed locally at Rock and also serves great food. On the walls they have lots of photos and paintings of Port Gaverne and Port Isaac from the 1800s and early 1900s.
The headland on the right of the beach is an excellent spot for fishing for mackerel and occasional pollack. Seals can often be seen out from the headland. The footpath to the headland is accessible from the beach when the tide is out, otherwise you can walk up the hill to the right of the beach along road and join the footpath from there.
There is very limited parking close to beach (absolute maximum of 15 cars). However there is quite a big carpark at top of hill on left towards Port Isaac.
Directions
Take the B3314 through Delabole and past the turning to St Teath. Carry on along the B3314 past a few farm tracks on the right until you reach a slanted crossroads. Turn right here and the lane takes you to Port Gaverne.