Port Gaverne to Port Isaac

1. From the car park at Port Isaac head down the hill to Port Gaverne

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.

2. From the beach take the lane on the right on the corner (not the one opposite the beach) heading up the valley from the old pilchard sheds
There were 4 large pilchard cellars built at the start of the 1800s which can still be seen at the bottom of the hill leading up to Port Isaac. In their heydey in the early 1800s it is suggested they could have processed 1000 tons of pilchards in a week.
3. At the end of the lane follow the path across a field
From Tudor times until the early 20th Century, Cornwall's pilchard fisheries were of national importance, with the bulk of the catch being exported to Italy (Cornish pilchards were a staple ingredient of spaghetti alla puttanesca). The pilchards were salted and then pressed to extract the oil (which was a valuable by-product) then packed with more salt into hogshead barrels. Huers (cliff top lookouts) helped locate shoals of fish. The huer would shout 'Hewa!, Hewa!' to alert the boats to the location of the pilchard shoals. Cornish tradition states that Hewa cake was baked by the huers on their return to their homes, the cake being ready by the time the crews returned to land.
4. On passing through a hedge, take the path that climbs up to the right (not straight on)
5. When the path emerges into a field follow the hedge on the left all the way across the field to a gate onto a road.

If you are crossing fields with cows in:

• Do not show any threatening behaviour towards calves (approaching them closely, making loud noises or walking between a calf and its mother) as you may provoke the mother to defend her young. Generally the best plan is to walk along the hedges.
• If cows approach you, do not run away as this will encourage them to chase you. Stand your ground and stretch out your arms to increase your size.
• Avoid taking dogs in fields with cows, particularly with calves. If you must, release the dog if cows charge as the dog will outrun the cows and the cows will generally chase the dog rather than you.
6. Cross the road and turn left along the lane walking along the grassy bank and back onto the road until you reach a bend.
7. Take the lane on the right from the bend up to the farm and the track that carries on in the direction of the lane.
8. At the end of the lane take the path and follow it around to the right through the trees (not to the left)
9. The tree cover opens out into a field with a lane.
10. Follow the lane to the end and onto a track which turns into a footpath
11. Follow the path until it comes out onto a lane. Turn right
12. Follow the lane down to the harbour

Port Isaac is a pretty fishing village with narrow winding alleys running down the steep hillside to the harbour. Particularly noteworthy is the number of 18th and 19th century white-washed cottages and granite, slate-fronted houses, many officially listed as of architectural or historic importance.

Port Isaac was a busy coastal port from the Middle Ages to the mid 19th century where cargoes like slate, coal and timber were shipped in and out. The economy was also heavily based around the pilchard trade and the sheds where the women cleaned and salted the pilchards now house the fish merchant and tiny aquarium. The stone pier was built in about 1300, and the rest of the harbour in the 19th century. In the church here for the harvest festival celebration, fish, nets, oars and lobster pots took the place of the more conventional flowers and fruit. It's still an active fishing port with locally landed fish available for sale at the fish merchants.

13. From the harbour follow the main road round the bay and up the hill to the car park overlooking Port Gaverne
The road off the Delabole road to Port Gaverne was quarried out in the early 1800s by the Delabole Slate company and known as "The Great Slate Road". Around 100 ships a year came to Port Gaverne to collect slate, each capable of carrying 50-80 tonnes. It would take thirty wagons, pulled by over a hundred horses to load a sixty ton ship. The slates were loaded by women who then packed them in straw to protect them on the voyage. The incoming ships also brought coal from Wales and limestone for the local limekiln which was used to whitewash the cottages.

Map of Route

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Other walks nearby

• Walks in the port gaverne area
• Walks in the port isaac area

Related walks you might be interested in

• Walks with a beach
• Circular walks
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• Pub walks
• Riverside walks
• Short walks