Seaton Beach is dog friendly all year round, it’s a 40 minutes drive from The Old Station and we love nothing better than putting the dogs in the car and heading to the beach for a dog walk before visiting this wonderful restaurant, It’s one of our local favourites, we recommend ordering a drink, sitting back and enjoying the view… and then savouring the fabulous food. Breakfast and Sunday lunch is superb here too.
Booking essential
Looe is made up of East Looe and West Looe, located either side of the river. The two Looe’s are joined together by a bridge across the Looe River, and have subtly different characters
East Looe is home to the harbour and main shopping centre while West Looe is quieter but also has shops, restaurants and hotels
Looe has been a holiday resort for over 200 years. In 1879, the arrival of the railway sealed the deal: Looe was officially a holiday destination, but even before this Looe was an early adopter of wheeled bathing machines next to the Banjo Pier
On paper, Looe is similar to Fowey: a steep valley leading down to a river, along the same stretch of coast… However, that’s where the similarity ends. Fowey is all about yachts, literature and boutique hotels, while Looe is unashamedly B&Bs, buckets & spades, and fish & chips
There’s room for both, of course, and Looe still packs in plenty of seaside charm.
Looe’s old town and harbour are particularly appealing, as is the distinctive pier, which was built in the late 19th century to ease river silting. The local seafood is superb, and there are plenty of beaches in and around Looe.
A Brief History of Looe
In medieval times, East Looe and West Looe were considered separate towns
The current seven-arch bridge was built in 1853, and replaced a 15th-century structure. There are still a number of medieval buildings in Looe, including St Nicholas’ Church, which managed to survive Looe’s dramatic pirate attacks. Most of the town was razed in 1625 when a band of Barbary Pirates, who had been terrorising the coast (including kidnapping fishermen) for years, attacked the port. Looe recovered, going on to become a hub for Cornwall’s famous smugglers, a trade that carried on for much of the 18th and 19th centuries
Looe continued to grow and became a (legitimate) harbour town, fishing and processing centre, as well as a commercial port for tin, arsenic and granite exports. In the 1820s the port was linked to Liskeard by a canal with the railway coming some years later. The unusual “Banjo Pier”, with its rounded end, was built to prevent the river mouth from silting up, allowing all the traffic to sail freely in and out of the busy harbour
Today’s Looe is both a working fishing harbour and one of Cornwall’s most popular visitor destinations. It’s increasingly relied on tourism for its income since its large pilchard canning factory closed in the sixties
Looe Island
In 1965 Babs and Evelyn Atkins bought Looe Island (also known as St George’s Island), which lies about a mile off the coast near Looe. The beautiful island covers an area of 22.5 acres and is just one mile in circumference. Its highest point is 150 feet above sea level. The partly wooded island has magnificent views as far as Prawle Point in Devon to the north and the Lizard Peninsula to the south
Looe Island has such an exceptionally mild climate that daffodils bloom at Christmas, and it’s a natural sanctuary for birds. A few stones remain of a Benedictine chapel built here in 1139. The island is accessible by boat and rarely, when there is an unusually low tide, by foot across the rocky sea bed. However, it is unwise to cross this way without a local guide as the tide rushes in very quickly
Looe Island is open to pre-booked day visitors in the season. Landing fees and other income from tourism are used to conserve the island’s natural beauty and to provide facilities for visitors. To maintain its status as a wildlife sanctuary, four-pawed friends can’t come to Looe Island with you, and fishing is also forbidden
It’s a tranquil place to visit, there are no roads, no shops and no cars. Bathing is safe when the weather is good and the island has two beaches, a natural rock swimming pool, coves and caves. Look out for the resident population of grey seals, who like to lie on the rocks off the island’s shore. Inland, you can enjoy a (short) woodland walk.
Best Beaches in Looe
This stretch of coast is blessed with some of Cornwall’s best beaches, and Looe is a great place for a traditional seaside holiday. Try these fantastic beaches in and around Looe
Town Beach, East Looe
This busy family beach is right by the town, sheltered by the Banjo Pier and backing onto a walkway that runs the length of the beach. Top tip: this path takes you to second beach, which tends to be quieter. The beach is pretty safe for swimming (just stay close to the shore, and definitely at the beach side of the river mouth)
Plaidy Beach
Walk over the hill from Looe to enjoy this quiet sand and shingle beach. It’s good for swimming and snorkelling (just be aware that there’s no lifeguard cover at Plaidy), and there are rock pools at low water
Millendreath
This small sandy cove is owned by a holiday park, but is still open to the public (giving day visitors the advantage of access to toilets and a cafe). Look across to Looe Island as you enjoy a swim
Hannafore Beach
Hannafore Beach has a pleasant seafront and great views across to the island. The sand and shingle beach has some of the best rock pools around, and it’s also a good place to bring your dog
Seaton & Downderry
These shingly beaches run into each other. There’s a pub at the Downderry end (and it’s also worth remembering that there’s a naturist area to the east). Seaton Beach is popular with families, and allows dogs all year
Lantic Bay
Way off the beaten track, Lantic Bay is a beautiful National Trust-managed beach. Relax with a picnic on the shingly shore, before heading off along the coast path to enjoy the stunning views
Our personal favourite beach and also probably South East Cornwall’s best beach, but it’s not for everyone… and we tend to visit avoiding busier times, we like to swim here too
It has a three mile stretch of perfect sand but be aware that access to the beach is steep and challenging and also be aware that there are rip currents in this area and a risk of being cut off at high tide so keep an eye on the tide and be aware of access points to the beach, especially if you are walking
There are a number of access points to the beach, all are steep and are unsuitable for wheel chairs or push chairs. The main access points are at Tregantle, Sharrow Point, Freathy and Tregonhawke (we tend to use Sharrow Point or Freathy) all have steep paths and it take about 5 minutes to negotiate down to the beach
Crackington Haven is popular with tourists, walkers, and geology students. The surrounding cliffs are well known for their visible folded sedimentary rock formations. The village gives its name to the Crackington Formation, a sequence.
The village has two café-style tea rooms, and a pub called the Coombe Barton Inn in a building that was originally the house of a local slate quarry manager.
Crackington Haven has a stony foreshore but a sandy beach is revealed at low water. There are toilet facilities near the beach and lifeguard cover in the summer.
Immediately north of the beach is Pencarrow Point and a few hundred yards south is Cambeak headland (between Tremoutha Haven and Cam Strand); the clifftop here is 328 ft. One mile south of Crackington Haven, High Cliff rises to 735 feet (224 m). It is Cornwall’s highest cliff.
Crackington Haven lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Almost a third of Cornwall has AONB designation, with the same status and protection as a National Park.
Located about a mile outside the town of St Austell is an amazingly pristine, unspoiled example of a late Georgian working port. It was constructed between 1791 and 1801 by Charles Rashleigh, entrepreneur and member of the local landowning family, in response to the growth of the growth of the local mining industry. Originally built to export copper and import coal, it was soon being used for the export of china clay. It is from its creator that the the port gets its name.
Charlestown was formerly known as West Polmear with a population of 9 and a small fishing fleet that used the beach as a harbour. The project began with the construction of the pier to provide shelter for the fishing fleet and then the creation of a basin, cut out of the bedrock to allow the sailing ships in. The roads were widened and paved to allow for the wagons, which carried the cargo to and from the harbour.
Upon completion, Charlestown was a model Georgian “new town”. By the 19th Century various associated businesses were established in sheds and warehouses around the harbour such as pilchard curing, shipbuilding, brick making and lime burning, and the population exploded to close on 3,000.
Many attractive period properties sprung up in the village, ranging from elegant Georgian houses to squat fisherman’s cottages.
To this day the port remains unspoiled and retains much of its Georgian character. This unique combination has lead to Charlestown being a popular location for films and TV locations including Poldark, Hornblower, Mansfield Park and to some extent this has probably helped subsidise its existence and prevent development.
As well as being a harbour location Charlestown capitalises on it’s past by harbouring a fleet of square riggers ships. There are usually at least one of these magnificent ships in the harbour and they really do transport you into a bygone era.
Also worthy of mention is theShipwreck museum located in one of the old China Clay buildings, the centre contains a number of exhibits relating to Charlestown’s maritime past along with more general shipwreck salvage from Cornwall’s coast.
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