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Landscape
Celtic Cornwall
Ancient Sites
Where to Go
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Looe to Seaton - 3.8 milesOS Explorer 107 & 108: grid reference SX253536 to SX303544 View Map Walk Duration: 2 hours 35 minutes
Park your car at the Millpool Car Park in West Looe. Leave the car park and walk across the bridge into East Looe. Walk down through the town. You now have a choice: Either take the route to the left of the Ship Inn, up Castle Street and onto the footpath or continue down to the beach. We chose the latter, arriving at the beach after about 20 minutes relaxed walking. Take five minutes out to explore the beach and take the 'Khyber Pass' route to the altogether different 'Second Beach', with its rock pools and rugged nature. Return to the back of Looe Beach and take the steps up to meet the footpath opposite a house called 'Jax'. Where the path splits shortly take the lower, seaward route and continue along the tarmaced path to a seat.
Enjoy the view before continuing on down into Plaidy via Plaidy Lane. Arrive at Plaidy Beach some 50 minutes after leaving your vehicle. Look to the right of the beach to see rock pools at its western end. Look across Whitsand Bay to Seaton and Rame Head in the distance. Leave the beach and pass the waymark post following the tarmac road up between houses. At an house called 'Skewys' turn right as signed up a steep metalled lane passing another waymark post.
Follow the road as it kinks left then right before dropping down steps into Millendreath. Now just over an hour into your walk note the coarse grey sand of the beach, dominated as it is by the Beachfront Cafe and car park. Leave Millendreath after a few minutes and follow the route east where marked 'No Through Road'. The path passes 'Blackrock House' and 'Driftwood' before narrowing as it climbs. We found it to be quite muddy here, our walking sticks were invaluable, as were the 'Dock' leaves counteracting the Stinging Nettles on this rather overgrown section. Meet the road and continue east to the NT omega of Bodigga Cliff.
Enter the area via a gate and follow the wooden fingerpost stating Seaton 2½ miles (and Looe 1½ miles west). The famous Amazonian Monkey Sanctuary is 1 mile east along the road here. Walk towards the sea and notice two conveniently placed picnic tables. Take time out for photographs or a drink. We stopped here for 25 minutes as it was high noon on the hottest day of the year so far. Refreshed, proceed east down the path passing a short waymark post as the path drops quite sharply and heads seaward. Climb a stile and pass the NT exit marker. Look seaward to see Colmer Rocks. Pass through a gate and take steps down to a stile, one of many on your way east. The path undulates between short descents and climbs meeting stiles at regular intervals and was quite overgrown when we walked it. Climb up to a slaty outcrop pausing to catch your breath. Cross a stile and drop down into woodland, passing the seaward boundary of the Monkey Sanctuary as you pass Murrayton.
Further stiles are encountered as you head east crossing a boardwalk above a steep wooded valley. Follow two waymark posts as the sound of the sea filters through the trees. Pass a 'Public Footpath' sign then drop down steps as your view clears. As you walk past the NT omega for Struddicks, look below to see a sandy beach. Continue above Keveral Beach looking at the fine wave cut platform here. Climb steadily to leave NT property, passing a fenced wood of conifers. Descend the 36 steps to the final (7th) stile and then take the steep stone steps down to the road. Turn right as signed and head down into Seaton. Arrive at Seaton Beach roughly 2½ hours after setting out.
Previous walk: Talland Bay to Looe |
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