Looe Cornwall – Seaside Town, Sandy Beaches & Historic Fishing Harbour
Looe in Cornwall
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On This Page
- Holidays in Looe
- Life on the Water
- Things to Do in Looe
- History of Looe
- Key Buildings in Looe
- Looe Harbour & the Fishing Fleet
- Notable People from Looe
- Beyond Paradise Filming Guide
- Local Events in Looe
- Looe River & the Mill Pool
- Beaches near Looe
- Visitor Information
- Stay & Explore near Looe
- Frequently Asked Questions
- South East Cornwall Area Guide
HOLIDAYS IN LOOE
Looe in South East Cornwall is a very popular family Holiday Resort town, divided into two distinct parts - East and West Looe - with the Looe river running through the centre of the town.
East Looe is the main tourism centre - a collection of narrow streets lined with shops, cafes and pubs that lead through to the main town beach. The Beach is ideal for families. Bordered on the west by the Banjo pier - entrance to the main harbour and by a rocky promontory at the eastern edge, it is a compact beach.
Over the years, the town has retained a small fishing fleet, whose day boats return to land their catch alongside the riverside quay on the town's east side, close to the site of the old fish market - more on which further down this page.
Looe has been a holiday resort for well over 200 years, but it was the arrival of the railway in 1879 that truly established the town as a tourist destination - even before then, Looe was an early adopter of wheeled bathing machines beside the Banjo Pier. The distinctive pier itself was built in the late 19th century to ease the silting of the river, and remains one of the town's most photographed landmarks.
History runs deep in Looe's narrow streets. The Old Guildhall Museum and Gaol, on Higher Market Street in East Looe, occupies a Grade II* listed building dating from around 1450, which served as the town hall and magistrates' court between 1587 and 1878. Inside, exhibits cover Looe's fishing and boatbuilding heritage, its smuggling past, Looe Island, the Looe Valley Railway, and the town during the Second World War - along with the original raised magistrates' bench and old prison cells.
Looe's respectable seaside image today belies a more colourful past as a centre for smuggling. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, "free traders" used Looe Island and the surrounding coves to land contraband tea, brandy and tobacco brought in from the Channel Islands and France, evading the duty imposed on legitimate imports. In West Looe, the historic Jolly Sailor Inn was long known as a smugglers' haunt, and colourful local tales - including landladies concealing kegs beneath their skirts during customs searches - are still told about the trade today.
More recently, Looe's timeless harbour scenery has brought it a new kind of fame as a filming location for the BBC drama Beyond Paradise - see the dedicated section further down this page for a full guide to where the show films in town.
Life on the Water in Looe
Looe's RNLI lifeboat station was established in 1866, after several local boatmen lost their lives attempting to rescue the crew of a fishing vessel. The station's first lifeboat, the Oxfordshire, was launched 31 times over the following decades, saving 74 lives, before the station closed in 1930 when motor lifeboats at Fowey and Plymouth took over coverage of the area. After a 62-year gap, the RNLI re-established Looe as an inshore lifeboat station in 1992, and the current boathouse, home to an Atlantic 85 and a D class inshore lifeboat, dates from 2003. Since reopening, volunteer crews have launched over a thousand times, and the station's boathouse is usually open to visitors daily between 11am and 4pm from Easter to the October half term, subject to crew availability.
Down on Pennyland Rocks, opposite the lifeboat station at the mouth of the East Looe River, stands a life-size bronze statue of Nelson - a distinctive one-eyed bull grey seal who was a familiar and much-loved visitor to Looe harbour for over 25 years. Nelson made his home on nearby Looe Island, treating the harbour as his "dining room," where he was fed and his company enjoyed by generations of local fishermen, townsfolk and visitors. When Nelson died in 2003, the town commissioned a memorial in his honour - sculpted by Cornish artist Suzie Marsh, the bronze statue was unveiled on 28 May 2008 by round-the-world sailor Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. It remains a popular spot for photographs, and at low tide you can walk out onto the rocks to get a closer look.
Alongside the Victorian bridge, a small foot ferry still crosses the river between East and West Looe when the tide allows - a tradition that predates the bridge itself, run by a handful of local boatmen and a pleasant, low-key way to cross the water rather than taking the five-minute walk over the bridge. It doesn't run to a fixed timetable, so simply look out for it at the water's edge on either side.
For a closer look at the river itself, self-drive boat hire is available right on East Looe's quayside, near the RNLI lifeboat station - small, stable outboard-powered boats that need no experience to handle, letting you explore the estuary's woodland banks, swans and kingfishers at your own pace.
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THINGS TO DO IN LOOE
Beyond the beach and the harbour, Looe makes an easy base for boat trips, woodland and coastal walks, a scenic branch-line railway and the fishing village of Polperro. Here are twelve of the best things to do in and around the town.
- Take a boat trip to Looe Island – the island is a Cornwall Wildlife Trust nature reserve, and landing is only allowed on organised trips from the pontoon by the RNLI lifeboat station in East Looe. Grey seals are regularly seen around its shores. Cornwall Wildlife Trust – visiting Looe Island
- Walk the coast path to Polperro – one of the classic stretches of the South West Coast Path: around 5.7 miles from Looe station through West Looe and Hannafore, past Looe Island and Talland Bay, to Polperro. The first mile is flat; after that expect some climbs. Return the same way or by bus from Crumplehorn at the top of Polperro. Route details – South West Coast Path
- Ride the Looe Valley Line – the branch line runs from Looe to Liskeard alongside the East Looe River. Stop at Causeland for the Duloe stone circle or St Keyne Wishing Well Halt for the holy well – both involve an uphill walk from the valley floor.
- Explore Kilminorth Woods – one of the largest valley oak woods in Cornwall and a Local Nature Reserve, reached on foot along the West Looe River from the Millpool car park. Look out for the Giant’s Hedge, an ancient earth bank thought to date from the Dark Ages, and for herons and kingfishers on the water.
- Visit the Old Guildhall Museum and Gaol – a Grade II* listed building from around 1450 on Higher Market Street, with the original magistrates’ bench, prison cells and displays on fishing, smuggling and wartime Looe. Old Guildhall Museum
- Go rockpooling at Hannafore – the rock ledges below the West Looe promenade sit within the Looe Voluntary Marine Conservation Area. Go an hour or two before low tide to find anemones, starfish and squat lobsters. Hannafore beach guide
- Go crabbing – a Looe tradition for generations of children, from the quayside or the safer paths beside the Mill Pool on the West Looe River. Return the crabs to the water afterwards.
- Head out on a fishing trip – mackerel, reef and shark fishing trips leave from the harbour. Looe has been the home of the Shark Angling Club of Great Britain since it was founded in 1953, and sharks are now tagged and released.
- Hire a self-drive boat – small outboard boats from East Looe quay need no experience and let you explore the wooded upper reaches of the river at your own pace.
- See the lifeboat station and Nelson the seal – the RNLI boathouse in East Looe is usually open to visitors from Easter to the October half term, and the bronze statue of Nelson, the one-eyed seal who visited the harbour for over 25 years, stands on Pennyland Rocks opposite.
- Follow the Beyond Paradise trail – spot the Old Guildhall “police station”, Fore Street and the bridge from the BBC drama. See our filming guide below
- Spend a day in Polperro – the car-free fishing village with its tiny harbour and smuggling history is around five miles west by road or coast path. Polperro town guide
HISTORY OF LOOE
Looe grew up as two separate medieval settlements facing each other across the river - East Looe and West Looe each had their own parish, market and charter, and for centuries the two towns were run quite independently, right down to having their own mayors. The river divided them but also connected them: a bridge is recorded as early as the 15th century, rebuilt in its present stone form in 1853.
By the 13th century, Looe was already a working fishing port, and tin and copper mined on nearby Bodmin Moor was shipped out through the harbour. From the 1500s onward, herring and later pilchard fishing became the mainstay of the local economy, with whole families working the boats or sorting the catch on the quay - by the early 1930s the town's fleet numbered well over 200 vessels.
Not everything landed on the quayside was legitimate. Like much of South East Cornwall, Looe had a lively smuggling trade throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, with brandy, tea and tobacco slipped ashore from the Channel Islands and France to avoid import duty. East Looe was also, unusually for such a small town, a "rotten borough" that sent two Members of Parliament to Westminster from the 16th century until the electoral reforms of the 1830s.
The railway reached Looe in 1860 to carry minerals down from the moor, but it was the start of passenger services in 1879 that transformed the town's fortunes, opening it up to Victorian holidaymakers keen to swap the city for sea air. The elegant Banjo Pier followed in the 1890s, designed by local architect and civil engineer Joseph Thomas to ease silting at the harbour mouth, and guesthouses and bathing huts soon lined the seafront as Looe became one of Cornwall's most popular resorts.
During the Second World War, Looe took in evacuees from Plymouth and London, and local fishing boats were sometimes requisitioned for war service. The town's wartime history includes a bombing incident near Looe Island in October 1940, and the crash of a badly damaged B-17 Flying Fortress into Looe Bay in March 1944, in which all ten crew members survived after being rescued by local boatmen. Since the war, Looe has continued as both a working harbour and a well-loved holiday town - a balance that still defines it today.
↑ Back to topKEY BUILDINGS IN LOOE
- The Old Guildhall Museum and Gaol - dating from around 1450 on Higher Market Street, this Grade II* listed building served as East Looe's town hall, courthouse and gaol between 1587 and 1878. It's now a small museum covering fishing heritage, smuggling, wartime history and the town's civic past, including the original magistrates' bench and prison cells.
- St Nicholas Church - on the West Looe side of the river, this 15th-century building has served over the centuries as a place of worship, a town hall and a schoolhouse. It's now a working church again, with memorials to local sailors and occasional concerts and exhibitions.
- The Banjo Pier - designed by architect Joseph Thomas and built in the 1890s to reduce silting at the harbour mouth, the pier's distinctive curved shape gives it its name. It's one of the best vantage points in town for photographs of the beach and harbour.
- The RNLI Lifeboat Station - established in 1866 and rebuilt in its current form in 2003, the East Looe boathouse is usually open to visitors between Easter and the October half term.
- The Victorian Bridge - the seven-arched stone bridge linking East and West Looe dates from 1853, replacing earlier timber crossings recorded from the 15th century.
LOOE HARBOUR & THE FISHING FLEET
Looe's harbour has been a working fishing port since at least the 13th century, and for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries it was one of Cornwall's leading pilchard ports, with a fleet that numbered in the hundreds of boats at its peak in the 1930s. That fleet declined sharply after the pilchard shoals collapsed in the mid-20th century, and today's Looe fleet is a much smaller - but still very active - group of day boats: trawlers, netters and potters, alongside a growing number of hand-line fishermen who target bass and mackerel close to shore.
Day boats go to sea and return within a single tide, which means the fish landed on Looe's quayside is typically only hours old. Historically, that catch was sold at Looe's own fish auction, which ran from 1988 until it closed in 2019. Since then, arrangements for grading and selling the catch have shifted more than once, with fish generally transported by road to markets in Devon before some finds its way back to be sold in Looe itself, through the harbourside fishmonger and the town's seafood restaurants. It's an evolving situation that the Looe Harbour Commissioners and local fishing families continue to work through, but the boats themselves are still very much a daily fixture on the quay.
For visitors, the working harbour is as much a part of Looe's charm as its beaches - it's worth timing a stroll along the quay for when the boats come in, and the harbour is also the departure point for the town's shark, reef and mackerel fishing charters, as well as the Looe Island boat trips described in the Visitor Information section below.
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NOTABLE PEOPLE FROM LOOE
- Thomas Bond (1765–1837) - a Looe-born solicitor and topographer who became the town's clerk and wrote Topographical and Historical Sketches of the Boroughs of East and West Looe (1823), still an important early source for the town's history. He is buried at St Martin-by-Looe.
- Joseph Thomas (1838–1901) - the architect and civil engineer who spent most of his working life in Looe, designing the Banjo Pier and creating the Hannafore estate in West Looe during the late 19th century. He died in the town he had helped to shape.
- Ray Bowden (1909–1998) - born in Looe, Bowden played for the local non-league club before signing for Plymouth Argyle and then Arsenal under legendary manager Herbert Chapman. He won an England cap in 1934 and remains one of the best-known footballers to come out of the town.
BEYOND PARADISE FILMING GUIDE
Since 2023, Looe's timeless harbour scenery has brought it a new kind of fame as one of the main filming locations for the BBC One drama Beyond Paradise, the Death in Paradise spin-off starring Kris Marshall as DI Humphrey Goodman. In the show, Looe stands in for the fictional Devon coastal town of "Shipton Abbott" - and much of what you see on screen is recognisably the real town. Filming has continued into a fourth series, so Looe's connection to the show shows no sign of ending soon.
Fans exploring Looe on foot can spot several familiar locations:
- Shipton Abbott Police Station - the Old Guildhall on Higher Market Street doubles as the police station where Humphrey and his colleagues work.
- Shipton Abbott's market square - Fore Street in East Looe stands in for the town's fictional market square.
- Shipton Abbott Bridge - Looe's own seven-arched Victorian bridge appears on screen under its fictional name.
- East Looe Beach - the town's main sandy beach features heavily throughout the series, along with the harbour and quayside.
A handful of other nearby locations also appear in the series, including Launceston (used for Shipton Abbott's high street scenes) and Pentillie Castle near Saltash (the home of Humphrey and Martha in the show), though Looe remains the heart of the fictional town. Guided walking tours of the Looe filming locations are also available locally for fans wanting a more structured look behind the scenes.
↑ Back to topLOCAL EVENTS IN LOOE
Looe has a busy calendar of recurring community events throughout the year, run largely by local volunteers, the Looe Lions and the town's harbour commissioners. Exact dates shift slightly from year to year, so it's worth checking the current listings before planning a visit around any of them.
- Looe Carnival Week (late July / early August) - a week of family entertainment building up to the Grand Carnival Procession, plus the town's famous Duck Race, in which thousands of numbered rubber ducks are released at Looe Bridge and carried down on the tide to be collected near the RNLI station.
- Looe Food & Drink Festival (June) - a one-day celebration of Cornish food and drink on East Looe Quayside, with local producers, chefs and live music.
- Looe Weekender (September) - a free three-day live music event held around the town.
- Looe Lantern Parade & Christmas Light Switch-On (late November) - a community lantern procession through the streets marking the start of the festive season.
For up-to-date dates and additional smaller events - including the Looe Beer Festival, raft races and RNLI open days - the Visit Looe events calendar is the best source to check before you travel.
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LOOE RIVER & THE MILL POOL
The river is spanned by a seven-arched Victorian bridge, giving access to both sides of the town and to the main Mill Pool Car Park. Looe has two parking areas, both in scenic locations - one adjacent to the river by the eastern side of the bridge, the other, larger car park, is on the western side of the river at the large Mill Pool Car park.
The Mill pool runs along the length of the Western arm of the Looe river, with stunning scenery on the opposite bank, including a heronry. Children love to play along this stretch of the river, catching small fish and crabs from the relative safety of the path that runs along the banks of the Looe river.
Across the seven-arched Victorian bridge lies West Looe, with its 16th century Jolly Sailor Inn and St Nicholas Church, and at Hannafore you can explore the rock pools on the beach and look across to St George's, or Looe Island, which has 12th century monastic cells and belonged once to the Abbot of Glastonbury. The island was popularised by the Atkins sisters in their books "We Bought an Island" and "Tales from our Cornish Island".
There are boat trips to the island in the summer season, as well as along the coast. For the more adventurous there are shark-fishing trips. A train journey on the Looe Valley Line will take you to Causeland station, from where it's roughly a 1.3-mile uphill walk to the ancient stone circle at Duloe, or to St Keyne Wishing Well Halt, about half a mile below the holy well at St Keyne itself. Both stops sit down in the valley the railway follows, so allow a bit of a climb on foot to reach either site.
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BEACHES NEAR LOOE
Looe has two beaches right in town – the sandy family beach at East Looe and the rock ledges of Hannafore in West Looe – with a string of quieter coves within a few miles in either direction. Each has its own full guide in our Looe beaches section, with parking, facilities, dog rules and access details.
East Looe Beach
The town’s main beach – sandy, sheltered by the Banjo Pier and sloping gently into the sea, with the Pier Café, toilets and the shops of East Looe a short walk away. It is looked after by the East Looe Town Trust and has a year-round dog ban. Full guide to East Looe Beach →
Hannafore Beach – West Looe
Shingle and rock ledges below a long promenade with free roadside parking and views out to Looe Island. Hannafore is one of the best rockpooling spots in Cornwall, and dogs are welcome all year. There is no lifeguard cover. Full guide to Hannafore →
Plaidy Beach – East Looe
A small sand, shingle and rock beach just east of the town, reached through a gap at the end of the sea wall from East Looe Beach or along the coast path from Millendreath. There is no parking or facilities and very little beach at high tide; dogs are allowed all year.
Millendreath
A sheltered, south-facing sandy cove about a mile east of Looe at the end of a wooded valley. The holiday resort behind the beach is being redeveloped, and parking and facilities have been affected while work continues – check our Millendreath beach guide for the latest before you go.
Talland Bay
Between Looe and Polperro, Talland Bay has two coves – Talland Sand and the smaller Rotterdam Beach below St Tallanus’ church – with rock pools in the tilted Meadfoot rocks, seasonal cafés and parking, reached down narrow lanes off the Looe to Polperro road or along the coast path. Talland Bay beach guide · Talland Bay village guide
Polperro, Lansallos & Lantic Bay
Further west, the coast path continues to the harbour village of Polperro and on to the secluded National Trust coves at Lansallos and Lantic Bay, both reached only on foot. Polperro beach · Lansallos · Lantic Bay
Seaton, Downderry & Portwrinkle
Heading east, Seaton has a large sand and shingle beach at the foot of the Seaton Valley Countryside Park – the first park in Cornwall to win a Green Flag Award, with a level, pushchair-friendly path along the valley floor. A promenade links Seaton to the long beach at Downderry, and beyond lies the small former fishing village of Portwrinkle. Seaton · Downderry · Portwrinkle
Whitsand Bay & the Rame Peninsula
Beyond Portwrinkle, the long sandy sweep of Whitsand Bay runs to Rame Head, with the villages of Kingsand and Cawsand and Mount Edgcumbe Country Park on the far side of the peninsula. Whitsand Bay beach guide · Rame Peninsula guide
↑ Back to topVISITOR INFORMATION
Parking
Looe has two main Cornwall Council car parks – Millpool on the West Looe side (the largest, with disabled bays and EV charging points) and the smaller Riverbank car park on Station Road, East Looe, which fills quickly in peak season. A long-stay car park is also available at Kilminorth Woods. Free parking operates at Millpool overnight from 4pm to 9am between 1 November and 31 March.
Bus & Train
Looe railway station is the terminus of the scenic Looe Valley Line, connecting to Liskeard for onward mainline services to Plymouth and beyond. Regular buses also run from Plymouth and Liskeard, including routes via Saltash, Landrake and Widegates.
Facilities
Public toilets at Millpool and near the harbour, plus a Tourist Information Centre, banks, a pharmacy and a small supermarket. East Looe Beach and Hannafore have facilities close by; Plaidy and Millendreath are more limited – see the beach guides above.
Cafés & Restaurants
East Looe’s narrow streets are packed with independent cafés, traditional fish and chip shops and harbourside restaurants serving locally landed seafood. West Looe offers a quieter selection of pubs and eateries, including the historic Jolly Sailor Inn.
Boat Trips from Looe
Sightseeing cruises, mackerel fishing, shark and reef fishing charters and glass-bottom boat tours leave from the harbour. Landing trips to Looe Island run with Cornwall Wildlife Trust from the pontoon near the RNLI station – landing is only allowed on an organised trip.
Disabled Access
Millpool car park has disabled bays, and East Looe Beach has a slipway and ramps. The town centre streets are narrow, and both sides of the river climb steeply away from the harbour. Confirm Blue Badge parking with Cornwall Council before you travel.
STAY & EXPLORE NEAR LOOE
Local Beaches
- East Looe Beach – in Looe
- Hannafore Beach – approx. 1 mile
- Millendreath Beach – approx. 1 mile
- Talland Bay – approx. 3 miles
- Seaton Beach – approx. 4 miles
- Downderry Beach – approx. 5 miles
- Lansallos – approx. 6 miles
- Lantic Bay – approx. 8 miles
- Looe beaches guide – all seven beaches
- Beaches in Cornwall – complete guide
Local Attractions
- Polperro – approx. 5 miles
- Old Guildhall Museum & Gaol – in Looe
- Looe Island – approx. 1 mile offshore
- Polperro Model Village – approx. 5 miles
- Adrenalin Quarry – approx. 8 miles
- Porfell Wildlife Park & Sanctuary – approx. 9 miles
- South West Coast Path – walks from Looe
- Polperro & Talland Bay circular walk
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT LOOE
Looe is pronounced simply as "Loo", rhyming with "too".
The Looe River splits the town in two. East Looe is the busier side, with the main tourist beach, shops, cafes, pubs and the old fish market quay. West Looe is quieter, with narrow streets, the historic Jolly Sailor Inn, and St Nicholas Church. A Victorian bridge and a small foot ferry connect the two sides.
East Looe Beach has a year-round dog ban. Hannafore Beach and Plaidy Beach allow dogs all year. Millendreath and several other South East Cornwall beaches, such as Portwrinkle, have seasonal restrictions over the summer, so check the signs when you arrive.
Yes. Looe Island (St George's Island) is a nature reserve managed by Cornwall Wildlife Trust. Landing is only permitted as part of an organised boat trip, which departs from the pontoon near the RNLI lifeboat station in East Looe.
The BBC drama Beyond Paradise uses Looe as the fictional Devon town of "Shipton Abbott". The Old Guildhall doubles as the show's police station, Fore Street stands in for the market square, East Looe Beach appears throughout, and Looe's Victorian bridge appears on screen as "Shipton Abbott Bridge".
Looe railway station is the terminus of the scenic Looe Valley Line, connecting to Liskeard for onward mainline services. The line first opened for goods in 1860 and began carrying passengers in 1879.
The main car parks are Millpool on the West Looe side, and the smaller Riverbank car park on Station Road in East Looe. A long-stay option is also available at Kilminorth Woods.
Yes. A small fleet of day boats - trawlers, netters and potters - still lands at Looe's quayside every day, though the fleet is far smaller than in its early 20th-century pilchard-fishing heyday. Looe's own fish auction closed in 2019, so most of the catch is now graded and sold at markets in Devon before some of it returns to be sold locally.
Looe's recurring annual events include Carnival Week and the Duck Race in early August, the Looe Food & Drink Festival in June, the Looe Weekender live music event in September, and the Lantern Parade and Christmas Light Switch-On in late November. Exact dates vary each year.
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