The plan
11.9 miles\804m ascent\average grade 8%\4:21 hours of strenuous-then-moderate walking, ending at Driftwood House (Cs) and Fieldhead Hotel (Ls). Only two more days after this one!
Reality
Ended up being about 12 miles, with a total of 3 testing ups-and-downs between Fowey and Polperro, with lots of steps (89 on one ascent), and then an easier path from Polperro to West Looe.
First, a couple of photo of Well House–the oldest house in Fowey. Our room was memorable…
The downstairs tea rooms had doors even I had to duck to walk through! It was a very atmospheric place, but I don’t think I’d choose it again.
First hurdle once out of our lodgings was the ferry from Fowey to Polruan–a short one just to get across the mouth of the River Fowey. The ferry leaves from the middle of town in the early mornings and evenings, and further out during the day (presumably to free the quay up for other uses?) We were on probably the last of the middle-of-town ferry.
Maybe it’s the weather (great for walking, not as good for making towns sparkle) or weariness, but Fowey wasn’t my favorite town. It hid the waterfront from the main street making it hard to figure out where the heart of the town is. Much prefer places like St Ives or Mevagissey, clustered around their ports.
Here’s a look back at Fowey from the Polruan side.
Stiff climb out of Polruan, but the “stiff” might be more my legs than a direct measure of steepness, especially compared to the more strenuous climbs to come. Looking back toward Polruan, just over the headland…
Thought the path rising up over a tiny headland looked fun–almost like a ski jump! Not interesting enough to get any closer to, though!
One of the truly stiff climbs. One nice thing about the steps today: they were much better sized for my short legs. I could even walk up some with single alternating feet–so much less effort than having to do two or three footsteps per rise.
Some of the path was fairly recently cleared. Some of it (not photographed) was much more overgrown. More nettle stings today than all other days combined!
The little town of Polperro was delightful. Unusual to see so many trees in towns around here. They must be strongly rooted to survive coastal storms.
We stopped for several drinks (very humid, sweaty day, despite the clouds, so we’d lost a lot of water!) and snacks. Then headed back out along the tiny streets. Would like to come back and explore Polperro some day.
Fairly soon after leaving Polperro we arrived at Talland Beach, where we had an ice cream at a well-run beach cafe.
Sheep! Finally! Really delicious lamb shank at tonight’s dinner too. Yum.
The last little bit into West Looe was an unusual wide path. No nettles here!
A view from the front porch of our lodgings (Driftwood House). Nice big room. No risk of hitting heads on anything here! But quite a hike from the nearest food, which was at Fieldhead Hotel where the Ls were staying.
VERY memorable meal at the hotel. It came across as thoroughly Fawlty Towers themed in some ways…rather scattered, nervous waitress, talk of bringing the chef in from home specially (because, SHOCK, customers!?) and a maitre d’hotel who was trying very very hard. We had drinks in the lounge first, then moved to the dining room, then back out to the lounge for coffee. They were very particular that it be done this way.
Despite all of this, the food was delicious–the best lamb shank yet, for example.
Waving goodbye as we stagger back to our lodgings…
