Porth Navas
Porth Navas, or Port Navas in English, is a small village in Cornwall, England. It lies where a short creek meets a branch of the Helford River, between Mawnan Smith and Constantine, in the parish of Constantine. The village used to be called Cove.
From medieval times the creek gave nearby farms access to the sea. In the 19th century, because the area has good granite, it was turned into a granite port. A track, quay, and cranes were built, and trade began in 1830. A second quay was added later for deeper water.
The port was busy, and granite from here helped build projects in London, including Tower Bridge. But cheaper granite from Norway and the rise of concrete led to decline. Ships carried coal and chalk until the 1930s. Oyster farming has been important since 1829.
Today Porth Navas is mainly a residential and leisure place. There are moorings for small boats and a club on the upper quay. The creek dries at low tide. A Methodist chapel is now a private house, and the village hall has been brought back into community use.
People visit for its beauty as part of the Helford River, though reopening the lower quay for oyster work has caused some controversy. The area is inside the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:38 (CET).