Circular walk from Looe to Polperro, Cornwall

Turn right out of the train station and follow the road to the river bridge. Turn right and cross to West Looe. Continue downriver with views of beach opposite. Follow coast path along road – or drop down on to sea defence walls by Hannafore and coastguard station – and continue with coast on your left until the last house. Instead of following the lower coast path, veer uphill slightly to right to visit remains of 12th century Celtic chapel of St Michael of Lammana, before dropping down to rejoin coast path. Follow coast for two miles to Talland Bay where you join a minor road and there are two cafes – Smuggler’s Rest and, after the junction, Talland Bay Beach café.

After the fashionable beach café with its stylish beach huts, turn left at Kiln Cottage and follow steep path out of Talland Bay. The original coastal path then turned left but this was closed in 2014 due to cliff erosion so continue on until you join a steep tarmac road. At the crest, opposite static caravans, turn left following farm track, marked ‘coastal path diversion’. At the end of this, turn right over stile, then left and you’re back on clifftops with a National Trust sign ‘Downend’. Keep following coast path. Soon you see a lighthouse and the edge of Polperro and the net loft at the harbour mouth, under restoration by National Trust. Follow tarmac path into Polperro, passing herring-bone slate walling. This pattern is known as ‘curzy way’ in Cornwall. You soon arrive at Polperro Heritage Centre and the adjacent Museum Cafe. Both worth a stop.

Continue along pedestrian road between little fishermens cottages – now mostly holiday lets – past bridge on left, under sign for ‘House of Props’. At junction turn right to go steeply uphill on Talland Hill. Turn first right and follow minor road past school on left until you join the steep road you came up on the way to Polperro. Back in Talland Bay, follow road past café and then bear left at the junction.

After Talland Bay Hotel, turn right at Porthallow Farm. It’s easy to miss this turning as it’s not signposted as a right of way and appears to be a private farm drive. Continue past farm onto unmarked bridleway. After another property – Maryland – the bridleway becomes an overgrown tunnel of greenery, descending to a small ford and then up past another property – Walden – through a fern-edged holloway until you come out at Tencreek Cottage. Keep following the tarmac uphill to the road junction and turn right and follow road around to left, past caravan park. When minor road approaches near the A387 road, turn right, following sign for pedestrian route to town centre. At a green triangle – a ‘pulpit’ for 18th century Methodist preacher John Wesley – turn left and follow road down into Looe.