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A nice long (and quite tough and undulating - look at that ascent figure above!) walk between two pretty south Cornish harbour towns, out inland in the only sun of the weekend through the woods and hills above the sea, and back along the South-West Coast Path between the heavy showers.
Looe, with some of the tourist eyesores that are starting to afflict it well-hidden, looks lovely in the sunshine, split by the river at high-tide. A good path climbs above the western branch of the river through the woods, following the 'Giant's Hedge' - not the most spectacular of earthworks perhaps, but a nice woodland walk. It's then back lanes and paths undulating, sometimes steeply, back down towards the coast at Talland and then on to Polperro.
- Looe harbour, high tide
- East Looe River
- West Looe River
- Resting point beside the Giant's Hedge
- Descending to Talland Bay
- Back to Talland
- Polperro harbour
- Entrance to Polperro Bay
The Coast Path from there back to Looe is a really good walk, especially in its second half when the path is less vegetated and the views down the cliffs to the sea constant. Although the Path is quite popular (and very well marked), the area around is quiet, littered with secluded little beached bays that look almost inaccessible and jagged rocks jutting into the sea.
- View east from near Downend Point
- Talland Bay
- Talland Bay
- Sea-stack, Aesop's Bed
- Hore Stone from the coast path
- St George's Island
- View down cliffs from coast path
- Samphire Beach
- Hannafore Point
- Banjo Pier, Looe
- Stormy view of Whitsand Bay
- Fortifications, West Looe
- Looe Beach
This route might never climb very high, but it's rarely flat, and there are some pretty testing gradients - this walk was more of a test than a lot of mountain routes, but still well worth the effort.