Section 6. Tintagel to Port Isaac - Cornwall Coast Path
Distance 9 miles - Grade Moderate (2 miles) then all Severe Grade - What this grade means.
Today you enter a more recent industrial past, and the walking is once more challenging, with over 7 steep cliff top rises and valley descents before Port Isaac. You will pass the 80ft pinnacle at Lanterdan Quarry in an area where fearless men were suspended down the sheer cliff faces on ropes to collect slate.
At ‘Donkeys Hole’ you will see the end of the disused tunnel where the blindfolded beasts were used to bring up the slate from the almost impenetrable beach far below you.
In contrast, idyllic Trebarwith Strand, possibly Cornwall's finest beach with its golden sands and rocky natural amphitheatre gives the only chance of refreshment on today’s walk, from the Port William Inn, which clings to the cliffside above a couple of seasonal beach cafes.
Climbing ‘The Mountain’ in the afternoon, home to peregrines, buzzard and kestrel, you are now in remote prospector country which supported stream panning for Cornish silver and gold. Finally, you reach Port Gaverne harbour with its old cob walled fish cellars which, in its heyday, was preserving and salting over 1.5 million fish a week. Just beyond, Port Isaac wedged into the cliffs with its charming whitewashed cottages is your reward for today's tough walking.