Flying Flags Avila Beach, California Live Cam

Avila Beach sits in a south-facing cove on the coast of California, sheltered from the wind that hits the rest of it. The camera looks across a campground towards Port San Luis and the Harford pier.

The town centre is new for an old place. An oil pipeline had been leaking under it for decades, and in the late 1990s the beachfront was demolished, the ground dug out and the whole front rebuilt on clean fill.

Because the cove faces south, the fog and the north-west wind pass over the top of it; the water is warmer than anywhere nearby and sea otters lie in the kelp off the pier. Harford pier still lands fish and sells it at the far end.