Polruan Cornwall – Historic Harbour Village Overlooking the Fowey Estuary

POLRUAN

Polruan is a steep hillside village at the mouth of the River Fowey, facing Fowey across the harbour. Though often called a fishing village, it has always been a place of boatbuilding and seafaring rather than fishing – and there is still an active boatyard here today, building and repairing boats of all kinds.

Legend says St Ruan was the first to settle on the top of Polruan Hill, where the ruins of St Saviour’s chapel stand today. The village is well sheltered from the prevailing winds, and Polruan Pool is a haven for small boats. Polruan lies in the parish of Lanteglos-by-Fowey, and its quiet charm has long attracted artists and writers.

The Polruan Ferry

The passenger ferry across to Fowey runs every day of the year, leaving each side every 10–15 minutes once the day’s service has started. In summer most daytime crossings land at Whitehouse Pier in Fowey, and in winter the ferry runs to Fowey Town Quay. It is still the best way in and out of the village – by road the alternatives are the Bodinnick car ferry or the long way round via Lostwithiel. Services can be stopped by rough weather.

Ferryside & Daphne du Maurier

Across the water at Bodinnick stands Ferryside, a former shipwright’s workshop and quay of the early 1800s that the du Maurier family bought in 1926. Here the young Daphne du Maurier wrote her first novel, The Loving Spirit, published in 1931 – inspired, she said, by the sense of freedom her new life at Ferryside brought. In 1932 she married Major Frederick “Boy” Browning, later Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Browning, at Lanteglos church near Polruan. Ferryside was Grade II listed in 2017; it is a private home and not open to visitors.

Bodinnick & the Hall Walk

A pleasant way to arrive in or leave Fowey is on the Bodinnick car ferry. On the Bodinnick side, a short steep climb past the Old Ferry Inn leads to the start of the Hall Walk, which follows the estuary over Pont Pill to Polruan, where the passenger ferry takes you back to Fowey. Along the way are the memorial to “Q”, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, and the old quay at Pont.

Mixtow & St Cadix

Upriver, the hamlet of Mixtow takes its name from the Michelstowe family; its deep, sheltered water is a favourite spot for yachts escaping the winter gales. Off Penpoll Creek, St Cadix was a small Benedictine priory cell before the Dissolution; the present house dates from the early 18th century. Swans gather on this quiet stretch of the river, and Penpoll Creek winds away to Middle Penpoll.