Is Looe Worth Visiting?
Looe has been a firm favourite Cornish harbour town to visit for as long as I can remember. It is a popular holiday destination and rightly so. It caters to all tastes with sea, river and beach vibes to boast about. As a lad, I remember visiting Looe in an open-topped Morris Minor on a Sunday School outing. Nowadays I like to walk to Looe and arrange a lift home after a hearty meal and a stroll around the town with my wife.
On the banks of Looe River are the towns of East and West Looe. East Looe is the larger of the two and has a bustling town centre that leads down to the promenade, beach and ‘Banjo’ Pier. West Looe is quieter with a road leading down to the seafront and onto Hannafore. Looe Island lies off Hannafore Beach.
Looe is still an important fishing town with its own fleet and fish market, serving SE Cornwall. The population is just over 5,000, but the numbers swell in the warmer months as tourism, its other vital industry, increases. Looe does tourism exceedingly well with its plethora of guest houses, hotels, B&Bs and holiday parks in and around the town.
Looe’s History
I was quite amazed when researching its history. There are archaeological discoveries of Neolithic inhabitance around Looe! A Bronze Age tumulus or burial mount was discovered on the hill overlooking East Looe.
Bronze is made principally of copper and tin. And so it goes that the Bronze Age needed a source of tin. As many people know, Cornwall and tin went hand-in-hand in bygone days. However, not many people appreciate that tin must have been mined and exploited at the time of the Bronze Age. That’s 3300 to 1200 BC! This predates the still-visible remains of engine houses and mine workings on Bodmin Moor by thousands of years.
Iron Age and Romano British finds have also been unearthed over the years. There is evidence to suggest that Looe Island was a tin trading point. It may possibly have been Ictis visited by Pytheas in the 4th Century BC. Further evidence points to Looe and the surrounding area being of Roman influence or small-scale occupation.
There is much more detail given on Wikipedia – the History of Looe.
The Giants’ Hedge is an ancient earthwork that is said to have acted as a boundary and provides a route from Looe to the Fowey estuary. There is a detailed SW Coast Path walk along some of this route to Talland Bay and back to Looe.
The area known as Shutta, the hill and properties seen on the left on the way into Looe, was inhabited in the 12th century.
Looe is ancient in parts and old in others. Many properties are Grade II Listed.
Looe River
East and West Looe Rivers converge north of the bridge into the Looe River, which flows through East and West Looe and out to sea. The higher reaches of West Looe River are sourced from springs north and south of Dobwalls. East Looe River is sourced from a network of springs to the east of Golitha Falls (on the River Fowey) – Treweatha, Little & Great Fursnewth, Lestithawell, Higher & Lower Trelaske, Little & Lower Treworrick (just south of King Doniert’s Stone). I love these names.
There has been a bridge over the Looe River since 1411. The first was of wooden construction and, after it burnt down, was replaced by a stone structure later that century. The bridge you see today was completed in 1853. As well as connecting East and West Looe, it also carries the coastal road to Talland, Polperro, Lansallos and further west to Polruan.
Joseph Thomas of Looe designed and built the Banjo Pier during the 1800s. It stretches out to sea, following the river out across the beach, and offering protection to fishing craft from cross-tidal forces and winds. It likely controls and retains the direction of the river, which could shift year after year from rough seas and storms. The lifeboat station was built at the entrance area of the pier in 1866.
There is always activity on the river. The stretch that runs through Looe is tidal, which can restrict larger boats at low tide, but there is plenty of small craft arriving and leaving. I love settling on the side of the river and watching the boats and wildlife.
Slavery
As with many harbour towns, especially those on the south coast, Looe was subject to invasion by Barbery Pirates of North Africa. In 1625, despite being forewarned and many people fleeing to safety, 80 men were captured and enslaved. The town was torched. Can you imagine how that might have affected what would have been a small village with a population of a few hundred at that time? Especially given the men were mariners and fishermen – likely the most important income to the inhabitants.
Slavery affects the entire human race – history and the present day. Talk about it!
Liskeard and Looe Union Canal
At the turn of the 19th century, Looe and its people had endured suffering from the Napoleonic war. Blockades prevented the fishermen from reaching their pilchard fishing grounds. To add to the misery, much of the town was destroyed by the storms of 1817.
This was all to change at the start of the industrial revolution. Lead, tin, granite and minerals needed to be exported and imported. Robert Coad set to work to design and commission the Liskeard and Looe Union Canal. It was 6 miles in length with 24 locks. It connected with the rail system in place at that time that transported stone (ore and granite) from Cheesewring on Minions Moor to Liskeard.
The demand was great. So great that the canal simply couldn’t cope. It was replaced by a railroad which ran initially from Moorswater and later from Liskeard to Looe harbour.
The harbourside you see today was built at that time to cater for the train carriages and loading/unloading of ships.
Near the end of the same century, tin mining was already in decline, so the trains were modified to carry passengers.
Tourism
During the later Victorian era, it became trendy to go to beach towns for holidays. Now that it was possible to travel to Looe by train, the town prospered as a major tourist location. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, hotels and guest houses sprang up in East and West Looe to cater for the visitors. Naturally, shops to cater for the range of tastes opened their doors.
Thankfully, Looe is still a fishing town today. It is revered as a fishing port of excellence because small fishing boats tend to go to sea and return the same day. The fish are therefore very fresh.
The town is also known for shark fishing. This, along with the more normal fishing trips and boat excursions, adds to the list of activities a visitor can take part in.
Pubs, restaurants, gifts, ice cream, clothes jewellery, grocery and many more vendors’ shops line the streets of East Looe. West Looe has mostly pubs and restaurants with a few shops. There are plenty of reasons to make Looe a holiday destination.
Visit Looe
There is so much to see and do in SE Cornwall. Amazing beaches can be found from Looe and along the coast, west, to Whitsand Bay and Rame Head. Then around the coast to the picturesque villages, Kingsand and Cawsand. The SW Coast path offers stunning scenery in both directions from Looe. I’ve walked the stretch from Seaton to Looe many times, but I love the stretch from Looe to Talland and Polperro.
Read my articles, Whitsand Bay and Rame Peninsula.
The National Trust has many stately homes in the area – Antony House, Cotehele, Lanhydrock. There is also Mount Edgecumbe with its gardens and parkland open to the public.
Near Looe is the Monkey Sanctuary. The kids will love it and it needs your help for funding.
Make Looe your holiday destination with this list of hotels, guest houses and holiday properties in and around Looe.
While you are relaxing, read a great book about Looe and all it has to offer.
Leave a comment below with your experiences of visiting Looe.
