HOLIDAYS IN GORRAN HAVEN

Only two miles from bustling Mevagissey, but a world away in feel, Gorran Haven is one of the most charming fishing villages on Cornwall’s south coast. Whitewashed cottages crowd the narrow lanes that run steeply down a little valley to a sheltered cove of fine sand, guarded by a sturdy stone quay where a few boats are still drawn up above the tide.

It is hard to believe today, but in the Middle Ages this quiet cove was a busier fishing port than Mevagissey. The Cornish name, Porthust, recalls the cove of St Just, whose tiny 15th-century chapel still stands at the foot of Church Street, right above the beach.

Gorran Haven is a lovely place for a family holiday. The main beach faces east into a bay sheltered by headlands, so the water is usually calm, and at low tide a second sandy beach opens up just to the north. Toilets, a beach café, a shop and a fish and chip shop are all within a few steps of the sand, and there is plenty of parking at the top of the village.

Just south of the village, the South West Coast Path leads round Maenease Point to the long, quiet sweep of Vault Beach and out to Dodman Point, the highest headland on the south Cornish coast. North, the path runs past Chapel Point to Portmellon and Mevagissey. Inland lie the Lost Gardens of Heligan, the Eden Project and the gardens of Caerhays.

For somewhere to stay, see Gorran Haven holiday cottages and holidays and short breaks in Gorran Haven.

Best Time to Visit Gorran Haven

Spring brings primroses and bluebells on the Dodman and the famous gardens of Caerhays and Heligan in flower. Summer is the time for swimming, rock pooling and kayaking from the beach, and for the village’s gig regatta and gala day – arrive early on hot days. Autumn and winter are peaceful, with empty coast paths, big skies and the beach almost to yourself.

The second beach and the best rock pools appear at low tide, so check the tide times before you go.

THE HARBOUR & QUAY

Fishing has been the life of Gorran Haven for at least 750 years. A record of a sea fishery here dates back to 1270, and a tax roll of the following year mentions seines – one of the earliest references to pilchard seining in Cornwall. In 1570 sixty-eight fishermen were listed in the village, against just eight in Mevagissey.

Up to six quays are thought to have been built in the cove over the centuries, the first probably by the Bodrugan family in the 15th century. Most were washed away by gales or fell into ruin, and for much of the 19th century the village had no quay at all – a serious blow to its fishermen.

The present quay was built in the 1880s by John Charles Williams of Caerhays Castle, who bought the site from the Duchy of Cornwall and paid for the work himself. Square-ended and built of stone rubble, it is now Grade II listed and is looked after by the village’s own harbour society. Today a few small boats work crab and lobster pots and take visitors out fishing in summer, and kayaks and paddleboards launch from the beach.

GORRAN HAVEN BEACHES

The main Gorran Haven beach lies right in the village, between the quay and the cottages, and is reached by a short slipway from Church Street that is suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs. It is a sheltered, east-facing cove of soft sand, usually calm and good for swimming, paddling and launching kayaks, with rock pools along its edges. North of the main beach, a second sandy beach, Little Perhaver, is uncovered as the tide falls, beneath the low rocky headland of Chapel Point.

There are no lifeguards at Gorran Haven, so swim with care, keep clear of boats near the quay and watch the rising tide. The beach is best avoided in strong easterly or southerly winds, when the sea runs straight into the cove.

Toilets, a beach café and shop are just up the slipway, with fish and chips across the road. Dogs are allowed all year but must be on a lead from Easter Day to 30 September. See our Gorran Haven beach guide for more.

Check the Met Office beach forecast and tide times before you go.

Vault Beach

South of the village, beyond Maenease Point, Vault Beach – also called Bow Beach – is a long, curving sweep of sand and shingle between Cadythew Rock and the great bulk of the Dodman. No road comes near it, so even in high summer it is rarely busy. From Gorran Haven harbour, follow the coast path south for about a kilometre (fifteen to twenty minutes); the National Trust car park at Lamledra (PL26 6JS) is closer but the final descent to the sand is steep either way.

There are no facilities and no lifeguards, so take everything you need, wear sturdy shoes and leave pushchairs behind. Bathing is usually safe in calm conditions. The far southern end of the beach is used by naturists. See our Vault Beach guide.

DODMAN POINT

Rising just south of Gorran Haven, Dodman Point – known locally simply as the Dodman – is the highest headland on Cornwall’s south coast, at around 114 metres (374 feet). Much of it is cared for by the National Trust, and on a clear day the views stretch west across Veryan Bay to Nare Head and east across St Austell Bay to the Gribbin.

Across the neck of the headland runs the Bulwark, a massive bank and ditch around 600 metres long that cut off the Dodman as an Iron Age promontory fort. Near the tip stands a late 18th-century Admiralty watch house, and on the summit a tall granite cross, put up in 1896 by the rector of St Michael Caerhays as a mark for sailors on this dangerous coast – the Dodman claimed many ships in the days of sail.

West of the Dodman, a steep lane drops to Hemmick Beach, a small sandy cove with rock pools, and beyond lie Porthluney Cove and Caerhays Castle.

HISTORY OF GORRAN HAVEN

With fresh water streams running down to a sheltered bay rich in fish and shellfish, Gorran Haven must have been settled very early. In the Middle Ages the village was known as Portheast, a corruption of Porth Just – the cove of St Just – and its people spoke Cornish until the language died out here in the 18th century.

For centuries Gorran Haven was the leading fishing village of this coast, larger than Mevagissey, until the introduction of drift nets in the 18th century shifted the balance to its neighbour. In the 18th and 19th centuries the cove also served as a small port, with goods brought along the coast from Fowey by barge and lighter. The early 19th century was hard: the quay fell into ruin and the fishery declined, until the new quay of the 1880s brought some recovery.

The village’s fishermen later ran a co-operative, but the outbreak of war in 1939 marked the beginning of the end of Gorran Haven as a real fishing village. Today it is a quiet holiday village and residential community, though a few boats still work from the cove and the harbour is looked after by local people.

Inland, Gorran Churchtown, a mile to the west, is the old heart of the parish, gathered around the church of St Goran.

Key Buildings

• St Just’s Church – the tiny 15th-century chapel of ease on Church Street, believed to have been built by Henry Bodrugan. Sold by Elizabeth I in 1568, it served for centuries as a fish cellar and net store and later as a meeting house, before being licensed again for worship in 1885. Grade II* listed, it seats only around forty.
• The Quay – built in the 1880s by J. C. Williams of Caerhays, of stone rubble with a stairway on its inner side; Grade II listed.
• Haven Church – built in the 1860s as the Mount Zion Congregational chapel and now a non-denominational church.
• Chapel Point – the three houses on the rocky point north of the beach were designed and built by the architect John Campbell in the late 1930s.
• St Goran’s Church, Gorran Churchtown – the Grade II* listed parish church, of 12th-century origin, whose tall late 15th-century tower was once used as a daymark by boats making for Gorran Haven.

COAST PATH WALKS

The South West Coast Path runs right through Gorran Haven. Heading south, it climbs round Maenease Point to Vault Beach and out to the cross on Dodman Point, then drops to Hemmick Beach and continues west to Porthluney Cove and Caerhays – a magnificent, hilly stretch of coast. Heading north, the path passes Chapel Point and Turbot Point to Portmellon, then climbs over Polkirt Hill into Mevagissey, about three miles in all.

Our Dodman Point and Gorran Haven circular walk (about 4¾ miles) starts at the National Trust car park at Penare, takes in Hemmick, the Bulwark, the Dodman and Vault Beach, and visits the village before returning over the fields.

• Dodman Point and Gorran Haven circular walk – Cornwall Online
• Gorran Haven to Portmellon circular walk (iWalk Cornwall)
• The Dodman (National Trust)
• Walking in Cornwall – Cornwall Online walks

THINGS TO DO IN AND AROUND GORRAN HAVEN

Gorran Haven is all about the beach and the coast path – but there is plenty more within a short drive. For families, the sheltered beach, rock pools and kayaking are perfect. On rainy days, the Lost Gardens of Heligan, the Eden Project, Mevagissey’s aquarium and museum and the shops of St Austell are all close by.

1. Spend a day on the beach – swim, paddle and explore the rock pools at low tide.
2. Walk to Vault Beach for a quiet swim beneath the Dodman.
3. Climb to the cross on Dodman Point and cross the Iron Age Bulwark.
4. Kayak or paddleboard from the beach on a calm day.
5. Visit St Just’s chapel, the tiny medieval church above the beach.
6. Walk the coast path to Portmellon and Mevagissey.
7. Visit the Lost Gardens of Heligan – Lost Gardens of Heligan.
8. See Caerhays Castle gardens in spring, and the beach at Porthluney Cove.
9. Explore the Eden Project near St Austell – Eden Project.
10. Play golf at the courses around St Austell Bay – see our Cornwall golf guide.

LOCAL EVENTS

• Gorran Haven Gig Regatta (summer) – pilot gig crews race off the beach in one of the village’s biggest days of the year.
• Harbour Society Gala Day (summer) – a family day on and around the beach, raising funds for the upkeep of the harbour.
• Street markets and village hall events – held through the year at the Memorial Village Hall.
• Caerhays spring garden season (spring) – the woodland gardens along the coast open for the camellia, magnolia and rhododendron season.
• Mevagissey Feast Week (late June) – a week of music, processions and harbour events just along the coast.

Dates change from year to year – check local noticeboards and the St Goran Parish Council website for this year’s events.

PLACES NEAR GORRAN HAVEN

• Gorran Churchtown – the parish village a mile inland, with St Goran’s church, a shop and the Barley Sheaf pub.
• Portmellon – a small sandy cove with a pub, on the coast path towards Mevagissey.
• Mevagissey – the busy fishing port two miles north, with its harbour, shops and restaurants.
• The Lost Gardens of Heligan – the famous restored gardens on the road to St Austell.
• Caerhays and Porthluney Cove – the castle, gardens and sandy beach west of the Dodman.
• Portholland and Portloe – unspoilt coves further west on Veryan Bay.
• St Austell – the nearest town and railway station, about nine miles away.