Five Adventure in Kilminorth Wood and finally get to Looe

A bright, sunny Saturday morning greeted us on Feb 6th. We had already decided that we were going to do the Looe walk in the fabulous book Pub Walks Of Cornwall. The idea of the book is that you drive to a pub, go for a walk in the English countryside and then drop into the pub afterwards for a pint of best ale. That's the sort of walking I like to do; something with a good reward at the end of it.

We drove to Looe following the Looe River down through the Looe River Valley. It is a pretty drive which winds down and ends up at the Looe Bridge. Looe is lovely with hills on the eastern and western sides and buildings propped up on the steep slopes. Narrow lanes, stone towers, fishing boats and the river make Looe a picturesque fishing village with a heavy tourism focus.

We drove across the Looe Bridge and then found the car park. The western side and the carpark area recalled the back of Narooma fish and chip shop area where the river widens into a lagoon and there are places for people to eat and for children to play. It felt like a holiday spot and it felt good. I commented to Stef that it really felt like the first place we had been in England where we were together looking at something different and new. Our car was one of about twenty in a one thousand space carpark complete with special tour bus parking areas. I think this might be a place to avoid in the summer.

We walked up the hill with our trusty pub book in hand. We found Kilminorth Wood and followed the Giant's Hedge - Watergate path. The ground was spongy with a carpet of decaying leaves. The air smelt of sweet soil. Moss and lichens hung on to the trunks of trees and the filtered sunlight cast dappled shadows on the ground. It was a lovely walk. It became a bit challenging as the path turned muddier and muddier but eventually we wound our way through the woods and down on to the riverbank. The tide was going out so we were able to walk along on the riverflats. The tides are huge and the river almost runs to dryness on the low tide.

After a couple of hours of walking it was lunchtime and we were hungry. It was time to see if we could up the ante from our previous fish and chips experience. We quickly found a place that had a large number of customers. It must be the place to go. We bought cod and chips and went to sit on a bench beside the river near the fishing boats. Does fish and chips get any better than that? The combination of hunger, beautifully cooked fish and chips, the river, the fishing boats, the sunshine and the big seagulls squawking led Eleanor to declare "I think this is the best fish and chips I've ever had, Dad." I simply replied "I think you might be right." The seagulls here have a distinctive cry. It is an echoing, yearning yelp which brings images of crashing waves, the Atlantic, square-rigger ships, pirates, treacherous coasts and gale-force 10. The Australian gulls were wonderfully portayed in Finding Nemo - ganging up and intimidating with their annoying "mine, mine, mine, mine" in their short, sharp screech. There is a sign near the Looe River that says "Don't Feed The Seagulls - They Are Vicious" and they look it. The Australian equivalent would read "Don't Feed The Seagulls - You'll Never Get Rid Of Them".

After lunch we walked along the river to Banjo Pier so that we could look at the sea. There were quite a few people about as it was a sunny Saturday. The beach was a dark coloured sand. There was a walled entry to the beach with steps leading down to the sand. The sea was glassy with a 2-3ft beach break foaming on to the shore. The coastline stretched around to the left and there were rocks at the eastern end of the beach. I thought it looked quite a bit like the view from Shelley Beach with the coast stretching away to Burrawarra Point. People were milling about on the sand and taking photos. No one dared to enter the freezing water though it looked quite inviting. I visualised what the beach would be like mid-summer with thousands of people on it. We are very lucky to have a low population and plenty of space in Australia.


It was a very enjoyable outing. We will definitely get down there to have a look at other parts, see the woods in spring and walk the coastal path.