The Helford is a short, steep-sided tidal river on the south coast, its ancient oak woods running down to the water and its creeks winding into the green country beyond. A quieter, secret Cornwall — mentioned in *Frenchman's Creek* — with a ferry across the passage, the Ferryboat Inn on one side, and some of the finest sailing in the south-west. Pilot-gig fleets from Helford and Porth Navas work the lower reaches.