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Port Navas





OS grid reference :- SW 732291

Surrounded by superb scenery and woodland, Port Navas is located at the head of the west end of Port Navas Creek, one of seven creeks leading off the Helford River, the village lies near Mawnan Smith and Falmouth.

Port Navas Creek, which is well known for its oyster beds, divides into three heads, the village of Porth Navas lies on the west one, Trenarth Bridge on the middle and the east one is near Budock Veane. The main section measures just over a kilometre in length, with the section to Porth Navas dividing off about halfway along.

The village, known in the Cornish language as 'Porth an Navasas' which name is thought to mean 'Cove of the Sheep', dates back to medieval times, although evidence exists of human activity on the site from as far back as the Iron Age.

Higher and Lower Quay, constructed in the mid-nineteenth century, stimulated the development of much of the village as it is seen today. The quays were used for shipping granite from the quarries around Constantine. A late nineteenth century account describes 'immense numbers of granite blocks piled up forty to fifty feet, waiting to be loaded into the two or three ketches, schooners or smacks moored under the cranes or anchored in the stream'. During this obviously very busy period, construction included a blacksmith's shop and workshops for the rough finishing of granite, as well as the Quay Master's cottage (now Creek Cottage); a chapel and restroom for seamen (now Mayn Cottage), and a lime kiln (now Old Kiln). The Higher Quay is now home to the Port Navas Yacht Club.

At the end of the village down the road beside the creek lies the Duchy of Cornwall Oyster Farm. The Oyster Farm has operated in Port Navas for more than a century and still raises oysters and mussels in the river.

A campaign group has been established in the village to protect and preserve Port Navas Quay, which has been visually spoiled and degraded. The popular Port Navas Regatta has been held on the Quay for more than eighty years, having been first held in August 1914. The Regatta features rowing and swimming races, games and amusements of all sorts.


Cornish Towns and Villages




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