Port Navas Out of Season: Nothing Much Happens. It’s Brilliant.

Port Navas out of season – when Cornwall gets quiet

There comes a time every year when Cornwall exhales.

The summer crowds have gone home. The roads are quieter. The beaches have room again. And in Port Navas, absolutely nothing much happens.

It’s brilliant.

There might be a boat.

There might be a dog. (Probably Anabelle's, next door)

There might even be someone walking past in waterproof trousers, looking like they know something about the weather that you don't.

And then there's the Helford River, quietly doing its thing.

Welcome to Port Navas out of season.

Port Navas in autumn and winter

There's something rather special about Port Navas when the summer is over.

The Helford River can look completely different from one day to the next. One morning it might be glassy and still, with barely a ripple on the water. The next, the wind is blowing up the creek and everything is looking suitably windswept and Cornish.

Either way, it's lovely.

And because Navas Nook sits right down beside the creek, you don't even have to go anywhere to enjoy it.

You can sit in the cottage and watch the boats.

You can wander down to the slipway with the dog.

You can stand outside for five minutes just looking at the water and wondering why you don't do this more often.

Then you can go back inside, and sit by the woodburner.

Toastiecosy.

The beauty of doing absolutely nothing

This is perhaps the biggest attraction of Port Navas out of season.

There isn't a huge list of things you have to do.

No frantic itinerary.

No getting up early to beat the queues.

No "right, if we leave at 8.15 we can squeeze in the beach, the gardens, lunch, a boat trip and a cream tea before 4pm".

You could.

But you don't have to.

Instead, you can have a slow breakfast, go for a walk along the Helford, come back for a coffee and spend the afternoon reading in the Captain's Cabin.

Or have a snooze.

We're not judging.

The Captain's Cabin is particularly good for this sort of thing.

It's a little summer house in the back garden, overlooking the creek, and is basically an official Port Navas facility for reading books, staring out of windows and avoiding everybody else for half an hour.

It's very sophisticated.

And then there's the weather...

Now, obviously, we can't guarantee sunshine.

This is Cornwall.

Sometimes it's spectacular.

Sometimes it's raining sideways.

Sometimes you get all four seasons before lunchtime.

But that's part of the fun.

There's something very satisfying about being tucked up in a cosy Cornish cottage while the weather does whatever it's going to do outside.

The cottage has an open-plan living space, an electric Aga and plenty of room for six, so there's no need to feel guilty about abandoning your outdoor plans.

You can simply declare it a "weather day".

This is a perfectly legitimate holiday activity.

Walks, wildlife and the Helford River

When the weather does behave itself, the quieter months are arguably one of the best times to explore the Helford.

The summer rush has disappeared and the countryside feels wonderfully peaceful.

Take the dog for a walk.

Watch the birds.

Look out across the river.

See who's moored up in the creek.

Say hello to the swans.

They may or may not say hello back.

And then there's that lovely feeling you get when you come back to Port Navas and realise that Navas Nook is right there beside the water.

No driving.

No parking.

No "where did we leave the car?"

Just home.

A quieter Cornwall

Of course, Cornwall is still Cornwall out of season.

You've still got beaches, walks, gardens, villages, pubs, pasties and all the other important things.

But there's more space.

More quiet.

More time.

And Port Navas is particularly good at this.

It's a tiny creekside village on the Helford, surrounded by countryside and water, and Navas Nook is right in the middle of it all.

It's the sort of place where very little happens.

And that's exactly why quite a lot happens.

You notice the weather.

You notice the tide.

You notice the birds.

You notice that the light has changed.

You notice that you've been staring at the river for twenty minutes and haven't actually done anything.

Excellent.

That's the holiday working.

Come and see Port Navas when it's quiet

So, if you're looking for a Cornwall holiday cottage out of season, don't dismiss the colder months.

Come when the roads are quieter.

Come when the Helford is calm.

Come when Port Navas has returned to its natural state of doing very little.

Bring the dog.

Bring a good book.

Bring some waterproofs.

Bring absolutely no plans whatsoever.

Navas Nook sleeps six, is dog friendly and sits just feet from the Helford River in Port Navas.

The tide comes in.

The tide goes out.

And relax.

Right on.

Kurt