Fowey to Pencarrow Head via Polruan - 2.5 miles

OS Explorer 107: grid reference SX124514 to SX150505

Walk Duration: 2 hours  

Purists amongst you will want to walk the half mile or so west to Readymoney Cove before commencing this walk - grid ref. SX124514 to SX118511. Park your car at Fowey Central car park and walk down the slope bearing right along the road where signed Readymoney Cove. Pass Castle Fields looking across the estuary to see Polruan. Turn left down Gallants Drive. Bear left then right down Readymoney Road to the cove. Walk out of the cove and along The Esplanade towards the town centre. Keep right at the fork in the road. Pass the Fowey Hotel and then turn right at the signpost to the ferry slipway for Polruan.

Park above Polruan in the main car park or conversely drive to Fowey then catch the ferry to Polruan. We chose the latter. Leave the quay at Polruan and walk up Garrett Steps turning right into West Street. On meeting Battery Lane turn left to enter St. Saviours Hill and then proceed up to pass the Polruan Primary School. At a sign saying Furze Park bear right down a lane signed 'coastpath'. Go through a kissing gate and follow the path down as it passes a seat. The path is obvious here and wends its way over a stile and footbridge and up to a rocky outcrop via two kissing gates and steps. The path levels out and then climbs between two more kissing gates. Enter a field with an electric fence. Pass a seat and rest for photographs at the viewpoint - you are 119m (390 feet) above sea level here. This is the NT property of Blackbottle Rock, grid ref. SX137506 - sadly the customary omega sign is missing however. Directly in front of you lies Pencarrow Head, a fine viewpoint.

It is possible to make out Rame Head and even the headlands of Bolt Head/Prawle Point in Devon to the east, with Gribbin Head, Black Head, Dodman Point and Zone Point to the west. Go through another wooden kissing gate and drop down gradually at first to pass a seat beside a granite NT moneybox. Follow the few steps down through another gate before climbing a stile. Continue towards the headland as the path levels above Great and Little Lantic Beaches. Start climbing now, gradually at first before the path steepens. As you near the summit cross a stile to a seat and rest for photographs Grid ref. SX150505. Examine the bench seat for its inscription reads 'Rest and be Thankful'. An excellent guidebook for the area is Bob Acton's Around the River Fowey - Landfall Walks Book No.7. See also the excellent Daphne du Maurier website.

It is possible to combine trips to the ports of Fowey and Mevagissey by boarding the Fowey-Mevagissey Passenger Ferry. The 35 minute trip on the 'Bessie James' leaves Fowey from Whitehouse Quay and passes the Blockhouse and Readymoney Cove on its way west. For more information try www.mevagissey-ferries.co.uk. The seating is limited to 35 people so arrive early.

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