Historic Fishing Villages.

For hundreds of years, one of the sources of income in Cornwall has been the sea. Legally, this involved harvesting them through fishing, illegally through smuggling and collecting from the many wrecks that regularly littered the shore (the last instance of which was the Kodima, which came ashore off Portwrinkle a year ago with a cargo of wood. Within a week, the beaches were clear of that cargo!).

Cawsand & Kingsand

These twin villages, one of which was in Devon (Kingsand) and one in Cornwall (Cawsand) before the county line was moved to the River Tamar, are fascinating places. With narrow winding lanes literally down to the water’s edge, they have changed little over the centuries. Nelson spent a night here with Lady Hamilton in the Ship Inn (now a private house) when his fleet was at anchor in the bay. As well as fishing, smuggling was an important trade right in to the nineteenth century. Cawsand has the better of the two beaches. Of the four pubs in the villages, the Cross Keys in Cawsand does a good selection of food, whilst the Halfway House in Kingsand is the more atmospheric of the two. Both are children friendly.

Looe

Still the European shark fishing centre, Looe did become rather commercialised and a“kiss-me-quick” type of resort in the seventies and eighties. However, of late it has been going more up-market and now has a good range of restaurants and some interesting shops. It also has a working fish market, for it is still an important fishing base. It is a good place to start a walk along the coast, as well as offering the chance to go out fishing in a boat for the day. Split by the river estuary, East Looe is where most of the attractions are situated, West Looe tends to be more hotels and residential properties.

Polperro

A lovely little fishing village with a picture book harbour, Polperro does tend to become busy in high season. A visit to the Blue Peter pub to sample the atmosphere and listen to the music is never a wasted one.

Fowey

Although not strictly a fishing village and more the size of a small town, Fowey (pronounced to rhyme with joy) is a delightful place to visit, steeped in history. It Is still an important port for china clay, amazingly Britain second biggest export. It was a den of pirates and privateers during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and at one time, was almost independent of government by having two forts and a chain across the river mouth to prevent Navy ships from entering! The ruins of these, from the time the government decided enough was enough, can still be seen. Daphne Du Maurier fans will not be disappointed, for the author spent most of her life living there and there is a shop in the town with information about her life. A walk to Ready Money Cove and the fort is a must. Sam’s does great food, especially seafood, but beware, it is deservedly always busy and does not take credit cards.