Porth Nanven
Encyclopedia
Porth Nanven (also known as Cot Valley Beach) is a beach in the far west of Cornwall
, United Kingdom
. It is located half-a-mile west of the village of St Just
.
The beach is at the seaward end of the Cot Valley
and is part of the Aire Point To Carrick Du Site of Special Scientific Interest
.
Porth Nanven is sometimes referred to as 'Dinosaur Egg Beach' because of a remarkable deposit of ovoid boulders covering the beach and foreshore. These boulders come in all sizes, from hen's egg to a metre or more in length, and have proved so tempting as souvenirs that they are now legally protected by the National Trust
which owns the beach.
Many visitors assume that these weirdly shaped boulders are the work of the sea, which they are, but the sea of 120,000 years ago. Sea levels have changed several time since then and are now much lower than they were back then, causing the ancient beach to be suspended in the cliff high above the present level. Stand on the beach and look back towards the cliff, and you will see a wall of the rounded rocks waiting to break away and join those on the beach today.
Work was completed in December 2005 on diverting and treating the sewage which used to be deposited offshore here; it is now safe to swim in the cove.
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is located half-a-mile west of the village of St Just
St Just in Penwith
St Just is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish encompasses the town of St Just and the nearby settlements of Trewellard, Pendeen and Kelynack: it is bounded by the parishes of Morvah to the north-east, Sancreed and Madron to the east, St Buryan and Sennen to...
.
The beach is at the seaward end of the Cot Valley
Cot Valley
Cot Valley is located half-a-mile south of St Just in west Cornwall, United Kingdom.The stream which runs down the valley discharges into the Atlantic at Nanven. This area of Cornwall was once mined for tin as evidenced today by the ruins along the stream.There is a settlement in Cot Valley and a...
and is part of the Aire Point To Carrick Du Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
.
Porth Nanven is sometimes referred to as 'Dinosaur Egg Beach' because of a remarkable deposit of ovoid boulders covering the beach and foreshore. These boulders come in all sizes, from hen's egg to a metre or more in length, and have proved so tempting as souvenirs that they are now legally protected by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
which owns the beach.
Many visitors assume that these weirdly shaped boulders are the work of the sea, which they are, but the sea of 120,000 years ago. Sea levels have changed several time since then and are now much lower than they were back then, causing the ancient beach to be suspended in the cliff high above the present level. Stand on the beach and look back towards the cliff, and you will see a wall of the rounded rocks waiting to break away and join those on the beach today.
Work was completed in December 2005 on diverting and treating the sewage which used to be deposited offshore here; it is now safe to swim in the cove.