Port Gaverne Hotel

The secluded cove just down from this delightful 17th-century inn is where women once loaded sea-bound ketches with slate from the great quarry at Delabole. But after the railway arrived in 1893, sea trade declined and tranquillity returned to the port. The bar has slate floors, (naturally!) low wooden beams and the customary log fire. Locally supplied produce includes plenty of fresh fish, destined to appear, for example, as crab salad, Port Isaac Bay lobster thermidor, and whole grilled Dover sole. Other possibilities include honey-roasted breast of duck with brandy, cream and green peppercorn sauce; and ploughman's with Cornish Yarg and chutney. Walkers from the Heritage Coast Path are always pausing for a pint of Sharp's or St Austell in the small beer garden.