Looe to Mildrendreath

We caught the train to Looe, a very pleasant train ride with beautiful views out of the carriage all the way. As we approached Looe there were many birds in the river - herons, egrets, curlews as well as gulls and ducks.

After walking around Looe and having some lunch we followed the South West Coast Path towards Mildenreath.  There was a long steep climb up from Looe town, but the view from the top of the cliff over the beach to Hannafore Point was worth the effort.

We continued walking around the coast.  There was a proper path all the way, and we were often on quiet roads between attractive houses.  After we had gone down to Plaidy Beach we had to go up another hill and then down a long hill with steps to Mildrendeath.

We then turned around and walked back to Looe.  It had been an ideal walk for a winter's day when other paths would have been muddy.

Looe to Polperro

It was a beautiful sunny summers day.  It felt like it might be too hot to walk, but we decided that if we walked along the coast we would feel the sea breeze and so keep cool.

We drove to Hannafore and parked just before the road ran out.  The first part of the walk was a gentle uphill slope, but then we noticed a steep flight of steps.  As we went up we counted them 76 in total!  But the views over the sea to St Georges Island with all the little boats to and fro-ing from Looe made the climb worth it. Initially you could only see down the coast to Rame Head, but then the visibility improved and we could see a headland even further away.

St Goeges Island

Looking back to Hannafore

Before long we were heading downwards towards Talland Bay.  We stopped at the beach there to eat our lunch as we watched children playing in the sea and rock pooling.

From Talland Bay to Polperro it is only 1.5 miles but the hill out of Talland Bay was very steep.  Once we were over the top of that it seemed a short stroll into the busy village of Polperro.  There are sewerage works being done there that spoilt the seascape, but the village was as quaint as ever.  We walked through the village to the bus stop at the top and then caught the bus back to Hannafore.  As we came through Looe we noticed how crowded it was, particularly the beach.

Looe Beach

Before heading home we stopped for tea and cake at the Island View Cafe.  There was a wonderful view of all the boats going to the island and taking tourists  out for boat rides from Looe.