Looe and local Attractions
Cornish Coast Spots - something for everyone
Below are some helpful links for you to many local attractions you can visit whilst staying at Sea Spirit
East Looe Beach
Walk through Looe's cobbled streets and discover Looe Beach. Perfect for sand castles and swimming, Looe Beach (also known as East Looe Beach) is a favourite with visitors. Being so close to the town, there are plenty of cafes, restaurants and shops to choose from and toilets facilities are also available.
Access is generally on foot as traffic is not allowed through the town centre in the summer. Parking is generally a 10-15 minute walk away.
Looe Beach can be extremely busy in the summer holidays so we recommend that you arrive early or wander along the beach to find a spot away from the crowds.
Hannafore Beach
Hannafore Beach can be found on the outskirts of Looe and is always quieter than the beaches closer to the town.
Being south east facing, it's a great spot to enjoy the Looe sunshine and twice a day amazing rock pools are uncovered by the tide.
The promenade runs the whole length of the beach, offering a lovely flat walk with Hannafore Kiosk and Island View café serving good freshly made food and drinks
Unlike other beaches in and around Looe, Hannafore is mainly shingle with some sandy stretches at low tide.
There is road side parking all the way along. A larger car park is available in West Looe, about 10 minutes walk away.
Dog friendly all year
Whitsand Bay
Whitsand Bay is a true Cornish gem but can be a little tricky to access. Not for mobility impaired.
Once you have climbed down the steep path, you will be rewarded with miles of sandy beach that join up with the neighbouring coves on the low tide to stretch across 4 miles.
The currents are very strong here and there is seasonal lifeguard cover but caution is advised before swimming or surfing.
The easiest access down to the beach is from the car park near Tregantle Fort that leads to Long Sands Beach. The second car park leads down to Freathy and Tregonhawke Beach.
Important notes:
Dog friendly all year
Summer lifeguard service
Mildreath & Plaidy Beaches
Milendreath beach is a fabulous spot with a large car park making it easily accessible, a lovely café and bar right at the beach and a watersports rental centre, Sea Explorers, where you can hire ( run by a lovely local family).
Plaidy is a small sand and shingle beach that you'll discover by walking along the coast path from Millendreath.
It has a wonderfully peaceful feel and is a lovely get away spot to enjoy the Looe sunshine and discover the rock pools at low tide.
There isn't a car park but parking at Millendreath is a short walk away along the coastal path.
Important notes:
Dog friendly (all year)
No life guard cover
Portwrinkle Beach
The little fishing village of Portwrinkle has a beautiful harbour and leads on to two beaches: Hoodny Cove to the west and Finnygook Beach to the east.
Finnygook Beach is the most popular and is closer to the road and car park. Both beaches have wonderful stretches of sand and Hoodny Cove has a more tucked away feel to it.
Both beaches reveal fascinating rock pools at low tide and the incoming tide provides a great opportunity for snorkelling.
Talland Bay
Talland Bay is a wonderful sandy and rocky cove, perfect for exploring.
The main beach is close to the toilets, lovely café with amazing bakes and watersports hire equipment, and a small car park. The second beach, known as Rotterdam Beach, can be accessed via steps from its own smaller car park across the bay.
You can walk across the rocks between the beaches and this is a prefect place to discover the rock pools revealed at low tide.
There is no lifeguard cover but the beach is popular for swimming along with fishing and snorkelling.
Important notes:
Dog friendly all year
No lifeguard cover
Monkey Sanctuary
Nestled into the side of the south Cornish coast between Looe and Seaton, Wild Futures’ Monkey Sanctuary cares for a range of different species of rescued monkeys, giving visitors an intimate insight to a working sanctuary and a chance to meet some of its amazing monkey residents and wildlife inhabitants.
There’s a lot to do for the whole family who can take a tour of the monkey enclosures and learn about these fascinating animals from the team of expert carers. It’s not just monkeys though! Kids will love the wild play area where they can learn about the environment around them and let off some steam in the playground. Take a gentle stroll around the beautiful Wildlife Gardens and check out the sea view or enjoy a bite to eat in the gift shop.
Old Sardine Factory Heritage Centre
Old Sardine Factory Heritage Centre Old Sardine Factory Heritage Centre Inside the Old Sardine Factory Heritage Centre
About
We are located at The Old Sardine Factory on the Quay in West Looe. Your visit to the Heritage Centre offers a unique experience immersing you in Looe; the story of the harbour, river and bridges. Plus all about sardines - and the backbone of our community - fishing, boats, the many characters who lived and worked here, and those who continue to do so.
Hannafore Point Walk
A gentle walk between Millpool in West Looe out to Hannaford Point. 2.7 miles/ 4.4 km
From Sea Spirit you'll be starting in reverse at the Hannafore end, there is access path straight down to the promenade. This is a gentle, mainly level walk on good surfaces. You can walk all the way along to the end where the steps go back up to take you to the road y Hannafore Point Hotel where you then walk along the road side pathway along to the steps going down alongside the river with Nelson the seals statue, and is well worth the walk along the West side of Looe river. Coming back all the way along and where the road ends back at the end of Hannafore, the Coast Path continues for a couple of fields through two gates along flat terrain before the path becomes more difficult. The fields are eminently passable with short grass and a reasonably level surface.
Polperro Harbour and Headlands
The walk descends through Polperro's narrow streets to the museum beside the harbour, then follows the coast path through The Warren. At Roy's Bench it descends onto Reuben's Walk and follows the coast past the lighthouse and back into the harbour to the Roman Bridge. The route then winds past the Three Pilchards and Blue Peter to the coast path along Chapel Cliff. The walk loops around to the top of Chapel Cliff to descend through the woodland on Brackenside and re-enter Polperro near the site of the Holy Well.
Looe to Polperro Walk
A coastal walk that starts a stones throw from Sea Spirit, from Looe and onto Polperro where you can catch a bus back to Looe 5.7 miles/9.2 km
This amazing coastal walk takes in a holy legend and a sixth century monastery, as well as an eighteenth century eccentric and a nineteenth century engineer. There are rockpools on the beaches, with remnants of shipwrecks and tales of smugglers, and the walk ends with a stroll up through the picturesque fishing village of Polperro to Crumplehorn, where you can catch a bus back to Looe. A good autumn walk for spotting migrant birds: finches and warblers in the hedges, skuas and terns offshore, and sometimes even the more unusual Sooty shearwater.
Around 3 miles in you get to Talland Bay which is a great stopping point for a well deserved beverage and piece of cake, and maybe a paddle in the sea!
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Seaton Valley Country Park Walk
A short circular ride or walk around the delightful Seaton Valley Countryside Park on the Cornish Coast at Seaton, near Looe.
The route begins at the parking facilities and takes you on a tour of the park which includes a riverside stretch along the River Seaton, and a coastal stroll by Seaton beach. There is also a sensory garden and a nature reserve with otters, kingfishers, dormice and butterflies. 2 miles/3km
Visit the GPS Cycle and Walking Routes website for more information including GPS files.
Link http://www.gps-routes.co.uk/routes/home.nsf/RoutesLinksCycle/seaton-valley-countryside-park-walking-and-cycle-route
Walk Lamana Chapel
A moderate walk with some steps and steep hills. Includes an ancient Celtic chapel site and opportunities to see some beautiful wildlife, 3.7 miles/ 6.0 km.
A visit to the site of an ancient Celtic chapel, where a Benedictine chapel was later built after a number of pilgrims drowned trying to reach the chapel on St George's Island! Some local historians claim that Jesus Christ landed in Looe when he visited Britain as a teenager, in the company of his great-uncle, Phoenician tin trader, Joseph of Arimathea.
Pause for a picnic in a flower meadow high above the sea, where the rattling call of a rare Dartford warbler can sometimes be heard.
Adrenalin Quarry
Adrenalin Quarry & Aqua Park offers an amazing day out, with Karting, Zip line, Giant swing, wild swimming, Axe throwing and more!
So if you fancy Jumping off a cliff or trying your hand at Axe throwing.. The quarry is just 10 mins from Looe (next to the A38). FOR ALL AGES
Unique gravity park, water park & race track with spectacular views and picnic spots, free entry and wild swimming.
Porfell Wildlife Sanctuary
Porfell Wildlife Sanctuary is a lovely family attraction only a few miles from Looe in South East Cornwall. It offers sanctuary to many different animals from around the world.
Since 1989, we have been created homes designed to suit each species’ individual needs. The result is a living attraction quite unlike a zoo. Here children (and adults!) can get up close to wildlife, feed the animals, touch them and learn all about the natural world.
Trebah Garden
Trebah is a sub-tropical paradise with a stunning coastal backdrop.
Discover the magic of this beautiful 26 acre Cornish valley garden, with over four miles of footpaths. Explore under canopies bursting with exotic blooms and follow vibrant tunnels of colour that cascade down to our very own secluded beach on the Helford River.
Trebah offers visitors a year round experience. In spring, Trebah comes alive with a colourful array of 100-year-old rhododendrons, magnolias and camellias. In summer, the giant gunnera is a must see for young and old.
In autumn, Hydrangea Valley casts clouds of china blue and soft white across Mallard Pond. In winter, our spectacular champion trees dominate the landscape, whilst plants from the southern hemisphere start to flower.
Looe Island
Looe Island is a marine nature reserve and the waters around it are teaming with life. The island provides a quiet haven for wildlife, with a variety of habitats
Looe Island is part of the Whitsand and Looe Bay Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) and has a variety of precious wildlife habitats including woodland, maritime, grassland, sand, shingle and rocky reef.
You can take a trip over from East Looe with the Boat Man! Its a pleasant 15/20 minute boat ride across.
You can walk the entire Island and learn the history of the Island, a swim in the crystal clear waters is also wonderful and refreshing before barding the boat back.
Unfortunately, dogs are not permitted on the island. The use of drones (UAVs) is not permitted over the nature reserve. Fishing is not allowed on the island during two hour visits also.
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Please note that visits can only be made on official, organised trips. You cant go over and land on the island by any other vessel. Access to the island and its foreshore is managed for the benefit of wildlife. Please help to keep Looe Island Nature Reserve special.
